Vientiane

This delightfully friendly capital, studded with crumbling French mansions, bougainvillea­-blooming streets and steaming noodle stalls, is somewhere between a big town and a diminutive city; the kind of place you might find a Graham Greene protagonist. Its conveniently compact travellers’ enclave is based around Nam Phu, the Mekong riverside and Setthariat and Samsenthai streets. Full of things to see, from Buddha Park to the Morning market and an impossibly rich selection of international cuisine – most pointedly French – you’ll find yourself slowly won over by the easy charms of this evolving backwater. The city may reveal its beauty less readily than Luang Prabang, but spend a few days visiting its unusual sights, sampling its excellent food and enjoying a Beer Lao at sunset by the river, and you’ll soon feel at home here.

When the best time to visit Vientiane

Vientiane has a tropical climate with a dry season and a wet season typical of Laos and its neighboring countries. Temperatures range from warm to hot, with some very humid days when the rains mark the start of the southwest monsoon season in May or June. Rainy conditions continue through to the end of October, then the northeast monsoon arrives bringing with it drier and cooler days.

November through February feature the most comfortable, sunny days in Vientiane, and then the temperatures rise in March, April and May. This is the best time to visit Vientiane.

Getting There & Away

Air

The best price found from Vietnam to Vientiane is on May 31st

-Vietnam Airlines

–Laos Airlines

-Jetstar

Please contact us to book flight ticket.

Boat

Passenger boat services between Vientiane and Luang Prabang have become almost extinct as most people now take the bus, which is both faster and cheaper.

A regular slow boat makes the trip from Vientiane to Pak Lai, 115km away. Boats leave Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 8am (120,000K, about eight hours).

Bus

Buses use three different stations in Vientiane, all with some English-speaking staff, and food and drink stands. The northern bus station, about 2km northwest of the centre, serves all points north of Vang Vieng, including China. Destinations and the latest ticket prices are listed in English.

The southern bus station, commonly known as Dong Dok bus station or just kéw lot lák ków (9km bus station), is 9km out of town and serves everywhere south. Buses to Vietnam depart from here.

The final departure point is the Talat Sao bus station, from where desperately slow local buses run to destinations within Vientiane Province, including Vang Vieng, and some more distant destinations, though for the latter you’re better going to the northern or southern stations. The Thai-Lao International Bus also uses this station for its trips to Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nong Khai and Udon Thani.

Jumbo & Tuk-Tuk

Drivers of jumbos and tuk-tuks will take passengers on journeys as short as 500m or as far as 20km. Understanding the various types of tuk-tuk is important if you don’t want to be overcharged. Tourist tuk-tuks are the most expensive; share jumbos that run regular routes around town (eg Th Luang Prabang to Th Setthathirath or Th Lan Xang to That Luang) are much cheaper – usually about 20,000K per person.

Taxi

Car taxis of varying shapes, sizes and vintages can often be found stationed in front of the larger hotels or at the airport. Bargaining is the rule for all, the exception being Meter Taxi Service. Drivers from this company often wait for fares on Th Pangkham, roughly across from the Day Inn Hotel. Another useful new company is Taxi Vientiane Capital Lao Group.

The Talat Sao taxi stand at the corner of Th Lan Xang and Th Khu Vieng, across from Talat Sao, is where you’ll find taxis to the Friendship Bridge (300B).

A car and driver costs about US$50 per day as long as the vehicle doesn’t leave town. If you want to go further afield, such as to Ang Nam Ngum or Vang Vieng, expect to pay more.

Cyclo

Cycling is a cheap, easy and recommended way of getting around mostly flat Vientiane. Loads of guesthouses and several shops hire out bikes for about 10,000K per day; you won’t need a map to find them.

Sights & Activities

COPE Visitor Centre

COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise) is the main source of artificial limbs, walking aids and wheelchairs in Laos. Its excellent Visitor Centre, part of the organisation’s National Rehabilitation Centre, offers myriad interesting and informative multimedia exhibits about prosthetics and the UXO (unexploded ordnance) that make them necessary. Several powerful documentaries are shown on a rolling basis in a comfortable theatre, and there’s a gift shop and cafe, 100% of the proceeds of which go to supporting COPE’s projects in Laos.

Xieng Khuan

Twenty-five kilometres southeast of Vientiane, eccentric Xieng Khuan thrills with other-worldly Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, and was designed and built in 1958 by Luang Pu, a yogi-priest-shaman who merged Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, mythology and iconography into a cryptic whole.

Kaysone Phomvihane Memorial

Opened in 1995 to celebrate the late president’s 75th birthday, the Kaysone Phomvihane Memorial near Km 6 on Rte 13 south serves as a tribute to Indochina’s most pragmatic communist leader. Kaysone’s former house is a model of modesty, while in contrast, the museum is a vast Vietnamese-style celebration of the cult of Kaysone (a cult he never encouraged).

Pha That Luang

Svelte and golden Pha That Luang is the most important national monument in Laos; a symbol of Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignty. Legend has it that Ashokan missionaries from India erected a tâht (stupa) here to enclose a piece of Buddha’s breastbone as early as the 3rd century BC.

A high-walled cloister with tiny windows surrounds the 45m-high stupa. The cloister measures 85m on each side and contains various Buddha images. Pha That Luang is about 4km northeast of the city centre at the end of Th That Luang.

Wat Si Muang

The most frequently used grounds in Vientiane are those of Wat Si Muang, the site of the lák meuang (city pillar), which is considered the home of the guardian spirit of Vientiane.

The large sǐm (destroyed in 1828 and rebuilt in 1915) was constructed around the lák meuang, and consists of two halls. The large entry hall features a copy of the Pha Kaeo (Emerald Buddha), and a much smaller, rather melted-looking seated stone Buddha that allegedly survived the 1828 inferno.

Locals believe it has the power to grant wishes or answer troubling questions, and the practice is to lift it off the pillow three times while mentally phrasing a question or request. If your request is granted, then you are supposed to return later with an offering of bananas, green coconuts, flowers, incense and candles (usually two of each).

Wat Si Saket

Built between 1819 and 1824 by Chao Anou, Wat Si Saket is believed to be Vientiane’s oldest surviving temple. And it shows; this beautiful temple turned national museum is in dire need of a face-lift.

Lao National Museum

Sadly this charming French-era building, flanked by cherry blossom and magnolia trees, is due to be knocked down and moved to newer premises. Formerly known as the Lao Revolutionary Museum, much of its collection retains an unshakeable revolutionary zeal. Downstairs has a potted account of Khmer culture in the south, accompanied by tools and Buddha statuary; upstairs has ponderous displays that tell the story of the Pathet Lao, peppered with busts of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh.

Buddhas

Along the western side of the cloister is a pile of Buddhas that were damaged during the 1828 Siamese-Lao war. And in the sǐm (ordination hall) a slightly damaged Khmer-style Naga Buddha – which depicts the Buddha seated on a coiled cobra deity (naga ), sheltered by the naga ‘s multiheaded hood – is also on display just in front of the main seated Buddha; it is believed to date from the 13th century and was brought from a nearby Khmer site.

The sǐm is surrounded by a colonnaded terrace in the Bangkok style and topped by a five-tiered roof. The interior walls bear hundreds of Buddha niches similar to those in the cloister, as well as beautiful – but decaying – Jataka murals depicting stories of the Buddha’s past lives. Portions of the Bangkok-style murals are unrestored 1820s originals, while others are a 1913 restoration.

Lao Textile Museum

What began as a private museum, established by the family that runs Kanchana Boutique, has subsequently become something of a Lao cultural center, with the help of several foreign NGOs. The emphasis at this leafy traditional Lao compound is predominantly on textiles, and in addition to a wooden house filled with looms and antique Lao textiles representing several ethnic groups, the museum also offers courses in weaving and dyeing, and a shop.

The museum also offers Lao cooking classes, although these didn’t yet appear to be up and running during our visit, and on Saturdays, lessons on traditional Lao music, although the latter are only for those with experience playing Lao instruments and who are fluent in the Lao language. For both of these we’d advise calling the museum or Kanchana Boutique in advance.

The museum is located about 3km northeast of the National Circus (Hong Kanyasin); Kanchana Boutique can provide a map.

Eating

Lao Kitchen

This superb new Lao restaurant is contemporary, fresh and unfailingly creative in its execution of trad-Lao dishes. Colorful walls dotted with superior photography, Indy tunes and decent service complement a menu spanning stews to Luang Prabang sausage (full of vim), laap variations, stir fried Morning Glory, and various palate-friendly sorbets. Prepare to return again and again.

Makphet Restaurant

Managed by Friends International (www.friends-international.org), Makphet helps disadvantaged kids build a future as chefs and waiters, while reviving the country’s traditional cuisine. Guacamole-green walls and hardwood furnishings add style to delicious dishes such as spicy green papaya salad. It’s located opposite Wat Ong Teu off Th Setthathirath.

La Signature

With Billie Holliday drifting onto the fan-cooled terrace of glass-topped wicker tables (and upstairs in the ochre hued restaurant), La Signature is perfect for throwing on your smarts and taking a romantic supper. Pan fried salmon with blue cheese, lobster, roast lamb and thyme… a few of the delights awaiting you in this beautiful French villa.

Bistrot 22

Moved a little further out of the center to a less bubbly locale, Bistrot 22 is however enjoying great reviews for Chef Philippe’s lustrous cuisine and dishes like pear salad, deep fried apple and camabert salad, tender steaks and cauliflower soup. This intimate little restaurant is the gastro highlight of many people’s visit to Laos.

Le Banneton

Hands-down the country’s best croissants, though to get them at their best and before the supply runs out, get yourself here first thing in the morning. Le Banneton’s Doisneau-spattered interior makes for a nice place to read a paper over a tart, salad, panini or tasty omelette, or you can sit outside on the small terrace.