Back to Laos

Just after 1pm on the Sunday afternoon  after graduation, a small AirAsia Airbus jet touched down at Wattay International Airport in the Laotioan Capital, Vientiane. It had been a short flight - under an hour - and as soon as we had reached altitude, it seemed, we had begun our descent. Compared to Bangkok with its traffic and skyscrapers, Vientiane feels much more like a provincial town than the capital of a country. With a population of just around 200,000, it's one of the smallest capitals in the world.

$35 USD got me a visa-on-arrival, and $20 got me two nights in a private fan room at a cheap backpackers hotel near the city center. I'm just here for a few days to get my new Thai visa, but I might as well make the most of it.

On the flight over, I looked through my Lonely Planet guidebook. It turns out that I've actually done every single thing they mentioned last time I was in Vientiane. Like I said, it's a very small town. I'll spend tomorrow visiting a few historic temples, and maybe walk down by the river. My only real goal is to enjoy a few cups of good Laotian coffee! Laos was, after all, once a part of French Indochina, and a bit of that coffee culture can still be found in the abundance of cafes and bakeries on every corner in Vientiane.

Laos is a Communist country, but you would hardly know it if it wasn't for the hammer and sickle flags that hang from government buildings and banks here and there. The government may be a party state, but the economy is definitely capitalist, with iPhone shops on the street corner, and mini-marts full of Oreos, Pringles, and even Almond Breeze almond milk.

It's a very, very quiet place. Quite rural and incredibly peaceful. There's almost no traffic at all, and many of the roads aren't even paved. I'll enjoy a few quiet days in this sleepy little town, relaxing and soaking in the Indochinese atmosphere, before heading back to the hubbub of the Big Mango on Tuesday.

 
After I checked in to my hotel, a small private room at a backpacker's hostel with a fan, rock-hard bed, and shared bathroom (but hey, it's just $10 per night), I took a walk. I'm right in the city center, near the Patuxai, the Gate of Victory.

I also stumbled upon the That Dam, the "Black Stupa", an ancient and overgrown stone chedi in the middle of a quiet roundabout. It reminds me a lot of some of the ruins in Ayutthaya.

Finally, I paid a visit to the JOMA Bakery Cafe, one of my favorite spots in the city. I ordered a signature Lao iced coffee and a croissant, and leafed through the Vientiane Times for a while. I'm taking it slow this weekend, and it sure is nice! On my second visit to Laos, I'm really enjoying Vientiane! It's a lovely, quiet, distinctly French-Indochinese city with a ton of history, a laid-back atmosphere, and no traffic to speak of. Really a nice place to visit for a few days away from Bangkok.