Day 29 - Sightseeing Vientienne Day 2

The Patuxai, mini l'Arc De Triumph in Vientienne

Having seen some of the local, within walking distance sights, today we hired bycycles, yes pedal based, human power driven bicycles from the guest house and after breakfast we headed cycling to see some of the other, further away sights.

We managed to take in the monument to the unknown soldier, the outside of the Laos Military Museun as well as the Patuxai, Vientienne's miniature l'Arc De Triumph. It was built by the French when they occupied Laos and they also put a similar road structure to the Champs Elysee arount it. Well it wasn't quite as big in size and the traffic was nothing like that of Paris but it was a lovely mlnument. We rested here for a while before climbing up the monument to catch a panaromic view of Vientienne.

The view on one side from the top of the Patuxai

After our short break we headed back towards the centre of town, and took in the Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Vientienne. We took a few more Wat type photos and headed back to the guesthouse for a rest. We were drained having cycled about in the 30 degree mid day heat.

Later that evening we got back on our bikes and headed for a cycle along the promenade that ran along the bank of the Meekong. The heat had dissapaited at this stage and the cycle was much more enjoyable. We also took in the Presidential palace before dropping the bikes back to the guesthouse and heading for dinner.

We went back to the restaurant from last night to sample some of the real good food again, where we also had a few more Beer Lao, before heading back to the guesthouse. Tomorrow we were to fly from Vientienne to Hanoi so we decided to get planty of rest.