Vientiane

After the quiet market towns of southern Laos Vientiane felt every bit like the capital city.  On the road in on a tuk tuk, shared with an old Buddhist monk, there were many more cars and people. Compared though with other capitals in South East Asia, like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, Vientiane with a population of only a quarter of a million is still incredibly laid back and a nice place to be in.  Our route down the main dual carriageway took as past the Patuxai, a very grand monument reminiscent of the Arc de Triumphe in Paris.

The national museum of religious art is housed in a beautiful old pagoda, built originally in 1565, that was once the personal chapel for the Royal Family. We spent several hours admiring the impressive collection of bronze Buddhas and appreciating the air of serenity and sense of reverence maintained within the museum. Nearby we chatted with a young monk as we visited Wat Si Saket.  The interesting feature of this pagoda is that there are hundreds of small niches in the interior walls displaying over two thousand silver and ceramic Buddhas, some more than 400 years old.

Although Vientiane is rich in history with many significant Buddhist Pagodas it is also a modern city with broadband internet cafés, really nice bakeries and a wide range of modern apartment blocks and good restaurants. Like all the Lao people we had met so far, the inhabitants of Vientiane were friendly and helpful. Needing a spare part for our laptop we were directed to the main Dell stockist in town.    

As the sun sank lower in the sky over the Mekong and the sky slowly transformed from blue to a delicate pink we strolled toward Pha That Luang.  This huge golden stupa, the most important national monument in Laos, resembled a large golden pyramid surrounded by a congregation of golden spires. It is said that Indian adherents first built a stupa here in the third century BC to house a piece of Buddha’s breast bone and that there have been religious buildings here since then.    

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