Loving Laos (Part 3 - Vientiane)

Last instalment of our Lao trip. We flew from LP back to Vientiane via Lao Airlines. The service was decent and the plane new. Mind you, Lao Airlines is not a budget airline - we were served water and a packet of fruit chips for a 40 min flight! To us, the flight was worth every penny. The same journey done by bus would have taken 10 hours!!

We arrived back at AV hotel in the afternoon and strolled along Lang Xang Avenue to see the Patuxai monument, the most prominent landmark in Vientiane. Patuxai is also known as the Victory Gate, and it resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. We had fun doing jumping shots right in front of the Patuxai.

The next day, we took a local bus to visit Buddha park, with its eclectic collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures. The local bus was old and rickety and packed to the brim with locals and goods. We squeezed on board quickly and managed to secure seats at the back of the bus. The ride took 1 hour and traversed a dirt road with sporadic potholes!

A striking sculpture in Buddha Park is that of a giant pumpkin with a tree at the top (bottom right picture). It has three stories representing three levels - hell, earth and heaven. Visitors can enter through the mouth of a demon head and climb steep staircases from hell to heaven.

Our tragic faces as we made our way down from heaven to hell.

These village kids are so adorable. We asked them to pose and they readily obliged.

There are many wats (temples) scattered about Vientiane but one of the oldest (and nicest) is Ho Phra Kaew. As we were inappropriately clad in shorts, we were made to wear the Lao skirt before entering! The temple used to house an emerald buddha statue which is now sitting somewhere in Thailand.

As Laos used to be a French colony, it is no wonder that some French influences are still present till today. Road names start with "rue" and "avenue" and French restaurants serving delicious French fare are plentiful. We managed to visit 3 French and 1 Italian restaurants while we were there - L'Adresse de Tinay, La Scala, Le Silapa and Le Central. In order of preference, I loved Le Silapa best, followed by L'Adresse and Central. The chef at Le Silapa was very creative - we had scallops with fried riverweed drizzled over with creamy tom yum sauce and grilled fish with butter sauce and some fried veg crispies at the top. La Scala was somewhat disappointing and not worth the 1 hour walk to get to it! Prices are in the range of US$10 to US$20 for a 3-course meal, which is very decent.

As there wasn't much to do in Vientiane, we repeatedly visited a beauty salon called "Holiday", which was recommended in wikitravel, for various treatments. The prices are ridiculously cheap - an oil massage costs US$5, hair treatment US$7.50 and foot spa (which includes pedicure) US$9. While prices are cheap, I encountered the worst masseur ever here! The other services were OK though. Check out our grimy feet (Vientiane is a dusty town) before and our clean and healthy feet after.

At the end of our trip, we were sad to leave AV Hotel. I highly recommend this hotel...it is run by a Singapore guy who chats to you every morning over breakfast. He is assisted by a Lao manager, who is one of the most sincere and attentive hotel staff that I've ever met! He never failed to pick us up at the airport and greet us with his shy smile. Other perks include free wifi and the best fried beehoon for breakfast!

Some of my favourite (and parting) shots of Vientiane.