Last views of Vientiane

The government is preparing for the Lao lunar new year and part of the preparations is making a beach area suitable for the festivities.

The pots of shrubs and trees will be used for decoration around the edges.

Pretend wild animals made of wood and straw.

Another colourful temple.

And the monks in their colourful robes going about their early morning rituals.

My last pho for breakfast.  I loved this comforting bowl of soup to start the day with.

Eggs Bendict, as a special treat.

The dumplings wagon always produced a delicious tit bit.  I am afraid breakfast back in OZ will just not be the same after this tour experience.  At every hotel the breakfasts were, without fail, a highlight.

Looking around Vientiane

Vientiane is an ancient city.  Scholars know that King Setthathirat decided to relocate his capital here in the early 1560s and it took him four years to build the city.  It remained intact until 1827 when it was ransacked by the Siamese and much has been rebuilt since.

The Wat Sisaket is one of the most important buildings in the capital and it houses over 7000 Buddha images.  It was built in 1818 during the reign of King Anou as a traditional Lao monastery.  It was the only temple that survived the Thai sacking of the town in 1827-28.  It is one of the oldest buildings in the city and sadly in need of repairs.

The 45m high Luang Stupa or Pha That Luang was originally built during the ancient Khmer civilisation when Vientiane was inhabited by people known as the Cham.  The stupa is a symbol of Laos and the holiest monument in the country.  The golden spire dominates the city's skyline.  It is a prototype for the distinctive Lao style angular building which can be seen in northeastern Thailand as well as across Laos.

The Patuxai Monument or the Victory Monument which is rather resembles the Arc de Triomphe is a war monument in the centre of the city.  It was built by the French during 1957 to 1968 and is now dedicated to those who died in the wars before the Communist takeover.  The cement ran out before completion of the monument but refusing to be beaten, the French regime diverted hundreds of tonnes of cement, part of a US aid package to help with the construction of runways of Wattay airport, to finish the Patuxai Monument.

The view of the ceiling of the monument.

The view from the top of the city below.

We next visited Buddha Park or sometimes referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan, about 30 kms from the city centre, close to the Mekong which is here the Thai border.  The garden contains reinforced concrete images of Buddhist and Hindu deities and near deities including Vishnu, Siva, Buddha and others.

We spent our last night at the night market which is very near our hotel.

Giant prawns which are just so photogenic.

The night lights at the markets.

The last supper.  It was a very nice one to end with.  They made a mistake with Andrew's dish and we had to wait an age for the replacement dish to arrive.  But when it did, we all agreed it was the nicest one of them all.   Crispy fried chicken with a batter to die for.  Colonel Sanders, eat your heart out.

On the road to Vientiane

We left Vang Vieng for the capital city of Laos.  Not all that far in distance but it took about 3 1/2 hours due to the awful condition of the road.  As it is flat countryside, the monsoon rains plus the heavy toll the large trucks driving up and down take on that road means it gets washed out regularly and no matter how much maintenance takes place, the potholes will persist.  It was a slow and bumpy ride village after village.

We stopped at a nice place called Pond of Elephants where centuries ago elephants came to bathe - now only the water buffaloes.

These large docile creatures wallowing in the water are endlessly fascinating to me and I keep snapping them.

The buddhas carved into the rock of the hillside are also interesting.

Arrived in Vientiane.

The Presidential Palace.

The back of the Presidential Palace.

Wat Si Muang temple.  It is rather beautiful and symmetrical.

The entrance to the temple.

In among all that beauty is an ugly power pole.  Talk about spaghetti junction.

The beautiful entrance to the Ong Tu temple.  This temple houses one of the biggest collections of Buddhas in Vientiane, weighing several tonnes. The largest Buddha in Vientiane sits at the back of the sim (prayer room) and gives the monastery its name Temple of the Heavy Buddha.

Some of our outings in Vang Vieng

Our outings were much more staid than those the backpackers would be planning here.  First we visited a lovely riverside spot called the Blue Lagoon.  It is a very pretty and perennially popular swimming hole.

The Korean contingent was out there in full force enjoying the water activities.  They jumped from ropes and the braver ones from a platform higher up a tree.

We were not jumping just swimming.

We saw some balloons floating by too.

We then drove a little further out to the Tham Jang caves which were used as a bunker in the early nineteenth century during the Chinese invasion of Laos.

We climbed 149 steep steps to get to the caves.

We ended today's tour with a quiet lunch at a riverside restaurant.

Vang Vieng, Laos

After a very bumpy and potholey six hour ride from Luang Prabang, we have arrived at the small town of Vang Vieng.  It is a delightful small city north of the capital Vientiane, on the banks of the Nam Song River.  The town is surrounded by limestone rocks and caves.  The craggy karst limestone scenery defines this town best.

In the last few years it has become a mecca for young backpackers looking for adventure.  They do kayaking on the river, rubber tubing, hot air ballooning and they hire scooters and buggies in which to travel around.

Travel books tend to regard the town and its surrounding scenery as one of the most stunning and easily accessible parts of Laos.

After checking in at our beautiful Riverside Boutique Resort on the riverbank, we went for a boat ride in a small motorised long boat.

The beautiful hills as backdrop to the river.

Janet in her boat taking a photo of us in our boat.

The outlook from our balcony overlooking the swimming pool and gardens.  The river is beyond the garden at the end of the pool.

The view of the river lit up at night.  You can still see the surrounding peaks.

Enjoying the half price cocktails at happy hour.

Dinner was pancakes done by a little street vendor.  I think the fact that this town has become the haunt of young impecunious backpackers is responsible for the plethora of pancake vendors selling this very popular and reasonably priced food item.  Banana and honey pancakes are the go but I prefer savory.  Mine was tuna, onion, bacon and cheese while the other two had a sweet one each.  All delicious and very cheap.  So good, we think we will return tomorrow to have more of the same.