Vientiane - Laos Capital

February 14, 2017

Roads under construction brought us in to the capital of Laos 'Vientiane'.

Arrived kinda late so went for a drink to welcome us to the city and then had an amazing Indian at 'Namaste', honestly probably the best Indian we've ever had...including India in that!!

We had 5 full days here, which is probably too long, theres not much to do here but we have to wait here till the 15th, then we fly to Hanoi (Vietnam).

Our first day we took a stroll around the city and got our bearings.

The Irish girls we had met way back on the slow boat were here so they invited us to sunset on a rooftop bar and dinner in a place called 'Sputnik'.

We watched the sunset over the Mekong river and witnessed an outdoor Zumba class, all welcome, was great! Sputnik was full with a whole load of kids so an American guy eating there advised us to eat in a place called 'Rays Grille', its actually right beside our hostel! Well, he certainly did us a favour. The grub was great, Daniel had a Philly cheese steak baguette and the rest of us had Burgers, seriously good quality meat and ingredients.

Our days in Vientiane literally revolved around food. Rooting out all the good spots, and even talking about food while eating food.

We visited the Arch (I cant remember its formal name!) was lovely! Looks exactly like the 'Arc de Triumph'. You can climb to the top of it though and the views are lovely.

On the way down rushing to meet the girls for 'Sputnik' (thought wed give it another try!!!)

we were asked in a real Dub voice 'Dya know where the city centre is'. Three lads 2 from Dublin and one from Birminghan, have been travelling around on bikes. Had a chat with them and discussed maybe going to see the Ireland Rugby game later!

We headed off and when we arrived for lunch, there they were sitting beside the girls. One of the things I love about travelling! Ive also noticed us Irish love to stick together!

So that evening we made our way to O'Gradys Irish bar with a highly intelligent, interesting American called 'Alicia' wed met at dinner. Was a lovely pub but and we pretty much took over the whole place! Craic was mighty and it felt like we were back home in the local!

Buddha Park is pretty much the only visitor attraction in Vientiane so we made our way there. Took a public bus out to it. The park is full of statues of all the Hindu gods, threw some creepy monster like ones too for good measure!

Vientiane hosts the most amazing cinema! We went to see Hacksaw Ridge and it was such a treat! Its only new I reckon.

Hacksaw Ridge, enjoyable movie but felt like advertising for Religion and War!

Had a lovely few chilled days here, going to the park with a book and a fruit shake, spending hours in coffee shops, finally getting a good cup of tea (one of the Irish girls gave me a few Barrys tea bags, I literally choked up!!!) eating lovely food! (rays grille, Namaste, Scandinavian bakery). Daniel played a few games of football down in the local park and I did some yoga and went for a run. Very valuable time spent. We had been pretty tired from the last few weeks so it was a luxury to not have much to do!

Interesting thing we witnessed when we were on the public bus. As the monks got off and were due to pay, they placed the money onto the step of the bus as they cannot directly hand something to a woman!!

Another observation was how different the city is to the rest of the country. As we came down the Mekong on the slow boat, the banks seemed to house all the residents in bamboo huts. The river was their source of food, where they washed themselves, their clothes and they were mostly self sufficient. Even Luang Prabang which seemed more established and contained a French feel was still modest. Vientiane is a lot different. Ridiculously lavish buildings dotted around the city makred as (for example); 'Dept of Cinema', 'Dept of Computer Games', 'Dept of Roadworks', 'Embassy of Brunei', 'Dept of Extravagent Buildings' etc. Incredible 5 star hotels, the cinema (and adoining mall). Feel like theirs a lot of money in this city but we cant figure out how/why? Maybe its simply tourism having an impact on the economy and the money is going into the capital and will ultimately spread out.

Or, we have a conspiracy, that this country has gathered a load of secrets about certain countries and theyre keeping them flush with cash to keep them quiet.

Our last night in Laos. Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow.

Chilling in Café Nomade