Vientiane: A Quiet Capital City in Southeast Asia
Unlike most capital cities around the Southeast Asian region, Vientiane stands out as the most quiet one. I expected to see busy streets and experience traffic, but of none of these is present in Vientiane.
Armed with my Lonely Planet guidebook, I ventured to the city centre and followed the book's suggested walking path. Patuxai was the first stop. Nice structure and is supposed to be the "Champs Elysees" of the East ... I went to the top and got a view of the capital city.
Walking around the main road of Lane Xang was a "joy" to me because there was no air pollution from vehicles which was a welcome relief for me coming from the busy Metro Manila. And the streets too were relatively clean ... Did not notice any litter in their main streets.
I proceeded to the city market and bought some postcards and a Lao shirt. It was difficult to bargain because the vendor did not speak English ... Using sign language and inputting the bargain price amount in the calculator (and after some mental calculation in terms of pesos), we agreed on a price. It was a bit complicated at first!
From the market, I went to the oldest stupa which is beside the US Embassy. And followed the several temples which I had a hard time remembering their names! I had a overload of Buddhist Temples! Wat Si Saket, Wat Mixay, Wat Ong Teu, Wat Hai Sok, Wat In Paeng, just to name a few.
In Wat Ong Teu, I met Monk Thongsy. He was a very nice Lao monk who showed me around the temple and spoke in broken English to me.
Away from the temples, I went to the riverside of Mekong. There I observed the local people taking afternoon breaks in the promenade area. To me, they are very simple .... enjoying the afternoon spent with friends with the fresh air along the river. It was time to take a break after walking several hours and had a coconut drink in one of the eateries along the river and waited for the sunset.
Before taking any dinner, I decided to go back to Patuxai to have the evening pictures so I "sprinted" and reached the place in a little over 30minutes. Glad I went back because this time the fountain was operational in front of Patuxai and it looked so nice at night.
Everywhere I go, I did not notice any loud music or sound ... a quiet capital city ...
It is located a few kilometers from the centre but it is just a short tuk-tuk ride. The staff are friendly too and accommodating.
For the price of $20 per night, to me it was worth it.
