Vientiane is a bit like Laos in general: sleepy, relaxed and sometimes underappreciated. It’s also known as being kind of boring. The Amazon gag gift below definitely plays on that theme.
The city has about 1 million people, wide streets, relatively little traffic for a capital city, and not many traditional tourist sites. It’s actually probably a pretty liveable city if you are Lao, but it’s definitely not very exciting if you’re a tourist.
Either Lao Telecom is so good to its customers that no one ever needs help, or so bad that everyone has just given up.
At the center of town is The Patuxai, which was dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France.
I was expecting to be able to climb up the seven stories to the top to get a view of the city, but the stairs were closed with small rope and a paper sign saying “No Up.” There was no explanation as to why.
Some of the nice work under open ceiling in the center of the building.
One of the city’s most famous sites is Haw Phra Kaew. It was first built in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha, but has been rebuilt several times.
The most famous attraction in Vientiane, and maybe all of Laos, is Pha That Luang. It is a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of the city. Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century AD, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions, some as recently as the 1930s, due to various foreign invasions. It is generally regarded the national symbol of Laos.
Vientiane did have possibly the best night market I’ve seen so far in SE Asia. From (probably fake) Versace purses to lingerie to (probably fake) Nikes to (definitely fake) Rolex watches. It was better than many malls.
I’m actually saving the best for last in this post. I rented a scooter and drove the 25km south to Buddha Park, which sits along the Mekong River near the border with Thailand. It was built starting in 1958 and has an amazing collection of crazy Buddha and Hindu sculptures and monuments.
The first thing that catches your eye is this three story building that resembles a giant pumpkin. The three stories supposedly each represent three levels: hell, earth and heaven. You enter through its mouth and climb staircases from hell to heaven. Each story contains sculptures depicting that level. At the top there’s a vantage point where the entire park is visible.
Maybe its just the real life scary version of Charlie Brown’s The Great Pumpkin 🙂
The rest of the park is just as wierd and wonderful.
Looking out across the Mekong River into Thailand.
I stayed in another really comfortable guesthouse with a nice, relaxing pool area.
