Top Menu

5 Things To Do in Vientiane

Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane, Laos’ very relaxed capital city, has changed in many ways since my last trip in 2008. Though still a very chilled and somewhat slow-moving place, the center is now bustling with a new well-off middle class, driving expensive cars and enjoying themselves in trendy restaurants. Looking at their menu it could be any place in Europe. A few years back it was mostly NGOs and government officials that frequented such places…

Tourism changed a lot as well. Of course you will find throngs of (young) Backpackers, who all congregate in the same area (around Th. Nokekoummane). But surprisingly, you now see a significant number of elder independent travelers (in their fifties or even sixties), as well as large groups going around in AC-buses, rushing from one tourist attraction to the other on their “Southeast Asia Highlights Two Week Tours”.

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan, Vientiane

Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan, Vientiane

No matter what, Vientiane is full of highlights and well worth spending a few days discovering the city:

  • Visit spectacular Wats – Do not expect to see them all: at every corner there is a magnificent Wat. Most of them can be visited free of charge. The most stunning ones to me were:
    • Pha That Luang, Vientiane’s iconic Great Stupa

      Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

      Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

    • Wat Si Saket, Vientiane’s oldest Wat, with its 1.000 small Bhuddas

      Wat Si Saket, Vientiane, Laos

      Wat Si Saket, Vientiane, Laos

    • Wat Si Muang and its Emerald Bhudda

      Monk using a Gong during the prayer, Wat Si Muang, Vientiane, Laos

      Monk using a Gong during the prayer, Wat Si Muang, Vientiane, Laos

    • Wat In Paeng and its artistic carvings.

      Wat In Paeng, Vientiane

      Wat In Paeng, Vientiane

  • Pay your tribute to Kaysone Phomvihane, Laos First President, at his Memorial, a dive in the most pristine Communist Propaganda – very well researched and presented, though!
Keysone Phomvihane Memorial, Vientiane, Laos

Keysone Phomvihane Memorial, Vientiane, Laos

  • Discover the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prothetic Enterprise) Visitor Center, and learn more about the horrible long term consequences of a war that never existed: during the Vietnam War, the USA relied on carpet bombing to cut the supply line of the Ho Chí Minh Trail that ran along the eastern part of the country bordering Vietnam. This made Laos the most heavily bombed country on this planet. With the many documentaries shown there, you can easily spend half a day.
  • Enjoy great food, no matter what budget is… For cheap, great Lao food in a very pleasant outdoor setting, head to the Mekong River, upstream from the City Center. There, you find a mile of food stalls selling Lao specialties, from Grilled Mekong Fish to Lao Noodle Soups. If you want to splurge a little, you find a great number of excellent Lao Restaurants in the center, like the outstanding “Lao Kitchen” or the new “iPho” (amongst many others). And of course you have a large choice of (expensive) International Cuisine…
Vientiane-113

Food Stalls along the Mekong, Vientiane, Laos

  • Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the city… Vientiane is still a very quiet and relaxed capital city, reminding more of a large village … Even Tuk Tuk drivers are not (too) pushy!
Vientiane-105

Wedding Pictures, Lao Style – Haw Pha Kaeo Temple, Vientiane, Laos

, ,

2 Responses to 5 Things To Do in Vientiane

  1. Christina 25. November 2014 at 9:16 #

    Thanks for reading our blog post about The Top Things To Do In Vientiane. I was so curious when you mentioned you wrote a similar one so I had to hop over reading your post too. Really enjoyed it and it´s interesting how different the pictures are even if we were at (some of) the same spots.

    Happy travels,
    Christina

    • Gilles Barbier 26. November 2014 at 2:36 #

      Hi Christina,
      Isn’t it what is really fascinating about travel? Each of us has in each specific place a different experience, and hence shoots different pictures… I for instance had my “Dragon Time” and had a fantastic time looking for different Dragons protecting entrances and Bhuddas. Great pictures (but not so easy to take)!
      Cheers & Happy Travels!
      Gilles

Leave a Reply