Sightseeing in Vientiane

Laos is really starting to grow on me. It has loads of potential long term and it’s also a really beautiful country, well worth visiting.. It’s really opened up to tourists in the last 10 years and fingers crossed we don’t all F*&K it up (in the process of trying enjoying it) like we have with most of the other hot spots around the world already!
Vientiane is the capital of Laos and like all capitals in Asia it has all the usual things to do and see. Good food, loads of museums, all types of accommodation and about a million motor bikes running around the streets! I was only there for two nights and three days buts that’s enough to see all the main stuff and get a feel for it. Most people I talked to didn’t even stay that long, it seems to be kind of a transitional town in the land of backpackers. The only reason you go there is because its on the way to somewhere else.

My personal highlight in Vientiane was the food! Yes, I know this sounds a little strange but those guys know how to do western food extremely well! After three
Monk Dog
Monk Dog
months of living on rice and noodles it was simply awesome to tuck into too some familiar favourites. In fact I’m going to go as far as saying that the ‘BEST’ eggs benedict I have ever had (and I’ve had a lot!) was in Vientiane. At a place called ‘Sticky Fingers’. They only do it on weekends as it’s a special (and it’s a little expensive compared to the other food) but it was simply brilliant! Put it this was if it wasn’t just a special dish on weekends, I would have had it every day I was there. If I ever go back, I’m definitely going to have it again!

Vientiane also has a lot of temples or as they call them “Wat’s. We ( my travel buddy Carla and I) found a good way to see most of them in one afternoon. We simply hired a tuk tuk for a fixed price ( I think it was about 80,000 kip, that’s about AUD$14) for a couple of hours and he took us to all the main sites.

The other thing that’s really good about Vientiane is the tuk tuk’s (which is our version of a taxi)
more temples
more temples
as they all operate on a fixed price rate for all the main attractions around town. Each tuk tuk has this little A4 laminated sheet in it with all the main attractions around town listed on it. They all have to operate of those fixed prices (but you can still negotiate it you want to) which is really good as you know you’re not getting totally ripped like seems to happen everywhere else. I wish more towns in Asia would do this!

Other than that there’s not much else to report about Vientiane. Its definitely worth a visit, but not for too long. Stop off there on the way through if your even in the , but don’t plan to be there for weeks!