After five days in Luang Prabang, I flew down to the Lao capital, Vientiane. There's not so much to see here so a day in town was sufficient. The first thing which stood out was the weather - there was actually a blue sky again after so many days of cloud and rain! Of course this meant it was really REALLY hot and humid though! (I know, I know - some people are never happy!).
There were a few sights I wanted to see here. The first was Patuxai, the Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. Apparently it was built with money that the US had given Laos to build a new airport! A plaque under the arch reads "... from the inside it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete". It's the first time I've seen a self-deprecating sign on a national monument!
Next up was Pha That Luang - a Buddhist stupa which is regarded as one of the most important monuments in Laos, and a national symbol.
Finally, Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Laos. This one was really beautiful, particularly as there were thousands of small Buddhas placed in niches around the outer corridor and some really nice murals inside the main temple.
I also ate at Makphet, another restaurant managed by the Friends International org, which runs the Friends Restaurant training up street kids in Phnom Penh. And finally I experienced the rainy season people had described to me: after a beautiful sunny day, the skies suddenly opened... but just for a couple of hours. Of course it was just at the moment when I wanted to walk back from dinner, and of course I'd let my guard down and hadn't bothered to take an umbrella with me, so I literally had to ring my clothes out when I got back to the hotel. Just as I ended my time in Vietnam and Cambodia appropriately, this seemed a fitting end to my time in Laos!
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| Look! A blue sky! (And the Presidential Palace) |
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| Patuxai: shouldn't be so hard on itself! |
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| Pha That Luang: a national symbol of Laos |
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| Wat Si Saket |
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| Buddhas! |
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| The grounds of Si Saket |
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