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.