Vientiene is the low key capital of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, with handy overland links to Thailand, it is a pleasant introduction to the country with some interesting sights.

 

 

Think of the average Asian capital city – and it will be nothing like Vientiene, Laos’ laid back capital with only 850,000 people. You will not find glittering high rises, mega shopping malls and multi-lane express ways. McDonalds and Burger King have not even arrived on the scene – yet now is probably the perfect time to go, before another Asian tiger twitches his tail and this sleepy little place is transformed into the more usual paean to mass consumerism.

Vientiene has not had the easiest of rides. War with Siam (Thailand) in the 18th century bought the loss of the precious Emerald Buddha in 1778. This famous image is carved from one piece of jade and today can be seen in the temple of the Grand Palace, Bangkok.

It was then sacked by Siam in 1827-28 and things did not really look up until the French started rebuilding it in the 20th century, leaving a legacy of wide boulevards and colonial buildings. It is a leafy city, with tamarinds and palms overhanging the pavements and has a relaxed feel to it.

We only had two days here but it was enough to give us a good insight into this likeable city. The mini bus from Vang Vieng dropped us off centrally and we only had a short walk round the corner to the Chantha Inn opposite Wat Mixay. This was another 80,000 kip a night dive but it did what it said on the tin and provided inexpensive no frills central acommodation. This is one of the great advantages of cheap digs: if you are disappointed you don’t feel you have been ripped off or wasted your money as you spent so little in the first place!

For breakfast, we went next door to the much smarter Mixay Hotel which had a nice outdoor seating area and did passable omelettes.

Our sightseeing started with the nearby National Museum, housed in an old colonial building. It is a bit of a mish mash: the early exhibits are the more interesting with displays on the Plain of Jars and the Champasak temples.  There is then a badly labelled exhibit on the Secret War before the final rooms which are devoted to modern Laos and everyday governmental issues which you can happily skip.

We walked on to Wat Sisaket which is the only wat that was not destroyed in 1827/8, which was lucky as it was only completed in 1824, having being built as the king’s private monastery.

The inner temple is surrounded by the most wonderful cloisters, containing some 6,840 buddha images, the smaller slotted into niches on the back walls, the larger standing – or sitting –  like sentinels to the front. It is a very impressive and atmospheric display.

The temple itself is richly decorated with sadly decaying murals depicting the other lifetimes of the Buddha: there was scaffolding up for restoration when we visited. The niches in these walls once held little silver buddhas, but today they are just clay – it is not surprisingly they were often ransacked.

A further 20 minute walk will bring you to one of Vientiene’s quirker sites: Patuxai, which means ‘Gate of Triumph’. It commemorates those who fought to free Laos from the French in 1949, rather ironically as it bears more than a passing resemblance to the Arc de Triumph in Paris, albeit with an Asian hat on.

It is also sometimes called ‘the vertical runway’ as cement donated by the USA in 1960 for a new airport was supposedly diverted into this monument. It actually looks better than I expected and has an ornate interior with colourful figures. The surrounding area seems to be a popular place to stroll.

Walking will give you a chance to enjoy the varied architecture of Vientiene and there are plenty of great juice bars and cafes along the way. We liked Le Bannneton for great coffee and the Scandinavian Bakery of all places had a good range of pastries and cakes and proved a good place to stock up before our overnight train trip to Bangkok.

The happening place to hang out in the evenings has to be the riverside promenade running along the Mekong. Not only did it have one of the mass participation open-air exercise classes which are so popular in Asia and very amusing to watch, but it was a great place to catch the sunset over the water. There are several bars along the strip for a sundowner – we found one with a first floor seating area – so you can kick back and contemplate the lights of Thailand on the other river bank.

There is also a night market, though it is not as good as the one in Luang Prabang. There are less good quality crafty things and more run of the mill clothing, but it is quite extensive and worth a wander.

We found an open air restaurant area nearby where we had delicious pork ribs cooked on a BBQ and my favourite Asian vegetable, called ‘morning glory’ which sounds a bit dubious but is actually delicious, slightly similar to purple sprouting.

Late in the afternoon of our second day, we got a mini bus to Thanaleng from where a slow shuttle train links into the Thai network at Nong Khai. Both trains and cars share the same bridge over the Mekong so the traffic was paused while we trundled over, giving us a final unimpeded view of the sun setting over the river and Vientiene – bringing a lovely holiday in Laos to a fitting end.