Vientiane

You Have No Excuse (unless you're on a moto)
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March 2, 2006

Back across the Mekong and north to Vientiane, the capital, stopping only in Pakse to get off the local bus and onto the VIP night bus that took us the rest of the way.

Quaint Capital

Vientiane is the cutest capital "city" we have ever seen.  There were far fewer cars and car horns here than in even most of the smallest towns we have visited to date.  The clean, wide roads betray the more populous nature of this city, however, but this extra space is generally used by the light pedestrian traffic.  The Friendship Bridge crosses the Mekong here and connects Laos to Thailand, though there are almost none of the seedy and exaggerated effects, which often plague border cities.  The great river runs along the southwest side and is a completely different incarnation than the one we had just come from in Si Phan Don.  As with the rest of the waterways in this region of the world, the Mekong is subject to drastic change along with the seasonal shifts.  Our visit coincided with the end of the dry season, and this was very evident in the kilometers of dry river bed, which resembled an expanse of deserted beach without the shore.

A Historic Stupa
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A very pleasant city to walk around, Vientiane offers an interesting mixture of French colonial and traditional Asian architecture, especially in the impressive and numerous governmental offices and foreign embassies.  The European influence is still a major part of this city in the form of a large expat community.  The most noticeable influence to us was the availability of delicious French, Italian, and Scandinavian foods.  We spent most of our short time in Vientiane strolling leisurely from one eatery to another, via the longest route possible.  On one of these strolls we visited the Pautaxay, literally translated as "Victory Arch", a smaller Laos version of the Arc de Triomph.  The locals are quick to admit (even the plaques on the walls state the same) that the monument is little more than a huge concrete block with some weak attempt at sculptural intricacy.  We enjoyed the surrounding park ambiance, however, which boasted a large, central fountain and a number of quiet benches.