Vientiane Photos


Vientiane wasn't the prettiest city or the easiest to find a place to stay, but it did have some excellent food. The local food in Laos gets old quickly. The main choice is between streamed rice and sticky rice. Noodle soup is quite good, but I can only have it so many times a day. After a few days of Laotian food I always start craving various western dishes and Vientiane was one place where I was able to find some really good stuff, the best western food I've had in Asia. Lonely Planet says that Vientiane may offer the best dollar for dollar food in the world and I agree.

After walking around town to see all the temples in and around as well as a museum of mostly Buddhist statues, the next day we took a small crowded bus to the Buddha Park. The Buddha Park is a garden of large statues. The result of one man's vision and direction, it contains both Buddhist and Hindu imagery. The yard is dominated by a huge Buddha who is lying down on his side and a large conical statue so large that you can walk and climb up inside it to the top and look down on all the other statues.

We met a guy who said that he planned to stay in Vientiane for a year. When asked what he planned to do during that time, he mumbled something unintelligible. It's certainly not a place I would look forward to spending a year. Two and a half days was enough.