Pha That Luang

After crossing the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge border at Nong Khai, Thailand, we finally set foot in Laos. However, it did take a bit of time for our on-the-spot 15 day tourist visas to be processed (The visa costs US$30 and you need a passport size photo). There was nothing much of interest at the checkpoint except for a couple of duty-free shops. After clearing customs, towards the left of the checkpoint, there were tuk-tuks waiting to bring us into Vientiane which is around 20km away. By the way, Vientiane is pronounced as 'Wieng Chan'.

Vientiane is a capital city that doesn't look like one and is quaintly evocative of a past era. For one, there are no fast food restaurants, and the other thing is, it doesn't have high-rise office buildings, which is a major hallmark of urban cities. But then as the Lonely Planet book, South-East Asia on a Shoestring says, it is one of the least developed and most enigmatic countries in Asia. It was precisely this reason which drew me to this country.

I asked the tuk-tuk driver to drive us on to Thanon Samsenthai, which is the main shopping area. He drove us straight to Phonepaseuth Guesthouse (E-mail: dayinn@laotel.com Tel: (856-21) 212263 ) at Pangkham Road near Thanon Samsenthai instead. I suppose he receives a commission for every customer he brings to this guesthouse. Nonetheless, eager for a place to rest after a long train journey, we decided to check the place out. For US$17 per day, we had a clean, air-conditioned room with hot water showers. For sure there are better deals around but we decided to stay at this guesthouse.

After a long bath and a short rest, we decided to go to the National University of Laos to look for my friend Kongchay, an exchange student for one semester at my faculty. Armed with only information about her faculty and name of university, we hired a tuk-tuk for 100 baht to bring us there. Upon arrival at the University, we were almost denied entry by the security guard who demanded to see a pass which obviously we didn't possess. Luckily my tuk-tuk driver saved the day by leaving something with the guard to be retrieved when we exit the campus. Inside, the various faculties, housed in separate buildings, were spread over a vast area. It wasn't easy finding the English Department which is the department Kongchay belonged to. The people we asked for directions in English, i suspect many barely knew what we were referring to. After driving up and down the streets of the university aimlessly trying to spot the department, we finally chanced upon a Caucasian. He finally directed us in the direction of the English Department. However, at the department, more trials awaited us. Nobody knew who we were referring to. Luckily we met a very helpful girl called Care (This is how i think it is spelt), who brought us around and helped us to locate my friend. The information i had was wrong. She is a sixth year student but i thought she was a fifth year student. If not for Care, we might not have been able to find her at all. Kongchay was having her lessons then so we decided to meet up for dinner later on.

We returned to our tuk-tuk driver who was waiting to bring us back to Thanon Samsenthai. Along the way, he paused to ask us if we wanted to visit the Grand Sacred Stupa (Pha That Luang) for 50 baht more. We decided to have a look since we were in the vicinity. It was painted in gold and is a beautiful sight to behold. It is also supposed to contain a relic of the Lord Buddha. The Grand Sacred Stupa is the most important national monument in Laos, a symbol of both the Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignty (May 1999, Lonely Planet-South East Asia on a Shoestring, Pg 362). The grounds are open to visitors from 8-11.30 am and 2-4.30 pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Admission is 500 kip, however since we didn't have any kip, we paid in baht.

Patuxai

From the Grand Sacred Stupa, we proceeded on to Patuxai (Victory Monument) and bade farewell to our affable tuk-tuk driver. This large unfinished monument built in 1962 with a small park surrounding it, is reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which is unsurprising as Laos used to be a French colony. It is left in it's unfinished state when the French left the city and the Laotian didn't want to complete the structure. From the outside, it looks pretty impressive but on the inside, when you climb up a stairway to get to the top, you'll see bare concrete and unfinished walls. For a small fee, you can climb up the staircase to the top of the building where you'll get to see a panoramic view of Vientiane as there aren't many high-rise buildings to block the view. Halfway up the building, there are some shops where you can purchase some souvenirs at a rather low price. The Patuxai is open daily from 8am to 5pm and is a definite must-see on any trip to Vientiane.

From the Patuxai, we decided to make our way back to our guesthouse and have lunch around that area. However, it was no easy task as the streets were unmarked. We headed down Thanon Lan Xang but made a wrong turn into Thanon Bartholomie. However it wasn't too bad as we saw the That Dam (Black Stupa). According to an old legend, a seven-headed dragon protected the people of Vientiane from Siamese invaders during the 1828 war. This dragon is said to be hidden under That Dam, or the Black Stupa, and continues to protect the city to this day. After making many wrong turns, we finally found the Nam Phu (Fountain Circle) which is near our guesthouse. So we settled upon the task of finding food to eat. However, as it was around 4pm, most eateries were closed. Luckily, we chanced upon the affable tuk-tuk driver who drove us to the university earlier. He very generously offered to drive us to a Thai food restaurant (Phikun Restaurant) for free. After a late lunch, we decided to head for a cybercafe to check our e-mails and take a short break before meeting Kongchay for dinner. The cybercafe wasn't expensive but the server is relatively slow.

At around 7pm, Kongchay arrived with her group of friends Wan Peng, Mon, Nun (This is how i think it's spelt) to bring us out for dinner. Dinner was steamboat and barbecue at a restaurant by the Mekong River along Thanon Fa Ngum. It was a delicious meal, the restaurant had a great ambience and we spent a leisurely time having a tête-à-tête. After dinner, Kongchay brought us to an eatery to sample Lao food. We had ping kai (grilled chicken), tam maak hung (spicy papaya salad) and glutinous rice. Thereafter, we went back to our guesthouse as the rest had a test the next day. At our guesthouse, we decided to take a stroll around our neighbourhood. It was around 10pm but most shops were closed save for a beer garden opposite the Vientiane Times. Thus, we decided to retire for the night and get up early the next day to visit the morning markets of Vientiane.

Early the next day, we woke up to visit the Talaat Sao (Morning Market). Before that, we had a popular street breakfast, khao jti pa-teh, a split French baguette stuffed with Lao-style pate. This Lao style pate contained various meat and vegetables with dressing. It was a nice meal to start the day with. From there, we proceeded to walk to Talaat Sao. The Talaat Sao is comprised of three large pavilions, each with its own Lao style green-tiled roof. It offers everything from silk and fine jewelry to toiletries, electronic equipment and hardware. There was also a bus terminal for transport into Vietnam next to the Talaat Sao. From the Talaat Sao, we walked around Central Vientiane and passed by the Presidential Palace en route to Thanon Fa Ngum along the Mekong River. The Presidential Palace was a rather small, nondescript building and closed to the Public. Next we headed for the Lao Revolutionary Museum along Thanon Samsenthai. There is a small entry fee of 200 kip and this museum mainly consists of a small collection of artifacts, paintings, photographs depicting the history of Laos ( I think because the captions were mostly written in French). However there was also a jar from the famous Plain of Jars in Xieng Khuang and dinosaur bones excavated from Savannakhet Province. However, i am unable to judge the authenticity of the bones. From here, we decided to head back to our guesthouse to prepare to checkout.

Haw Pha Kaew

After meeting Kongchay and her friends at 11am at the Nam Phu, they brought us to Haw Pha Kaew which is a former royal temple of the Lao monarchy converted into a museum and is no longer a place of worship (op. cit.). There are some ornate carvings with intricate details as well as various statues. There is even a room at the back of the temple in which photography is forbidden. To showcase this point, there are even some exposed reels of film placed at the entrance. Inside this room, there are even more statues of Buddha and even a holy book. However, the captions are again written in French.

Buddha Park

From here, we proceed for lunch and after that headed to Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park). By gesturing to us to keep quiet, Kongchay managed to obtain the cheaper local admission price for us. This park by the Mekong River lies 24km south of the city centre off Thanon Tha Deua. This park consists of a collection of slightly bizarre Buddhist and Hindu cement sculpture (op. cit.). There is a  pumpkin shaped building with a strange, concrete, leafless tree at the top. This building with it's 3 levels supposedly represents the levels of hell, earth and heaven correspondingly. Through a 'mouth', one climbs into the level representing hell. From there, there are staircases leading all the way to 'heaven' from which it is possible to get a bird's eye view of the Buddha Park. Within this building, there is even an inner chamber where there are some muddy coloured sculptures. Outside of this building, we wandered around the park. There is a large sculpture of a reclining Buddha and this park supposedly contains over 200 sculptures, many with snakes, though nobody knows how many exactly. I suggest that visitors to Vientiane not give this Buddha Park a miss as it is rather fascinating.

Model of Lao Theung Clan House in National Ethnic Cultural Park

After the Buddha Park, Kongchay drove us to Suan Vathanatham (National Ethnic Cultural Park), which is near the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. The following passage is supposed to describe it: It offers the visitor a taste of Lao PDR's cultural and natural heritage. Shady paths wind past traditional Lao architecture, a small zoo (featuring alligators, bears, monkey, snakes, hawks, civets, and jungle cats), textile and handicraft shops, food and drink stands, towering dinosaurs, and sculptures of Lao literacy characters including Sinxai and the Four Eared Elephant. However, when we were there, the zoo or rather the cages were empty, there were no textile and handicraft shops open, and worse of all, it looks as if it's been deserted for a long time. It should have never been open to the public in its current state. After taking a short rest in this 'ghost town', Kongchay sent us to the border where we had to catch a night train back to Bangkok.