The hammock of South East Asia

Columns and buddha at Hophrakeo
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Lonely Planet describes Laos as like getting into a hammock compared to the rest of South East Asia, and as we arrived in Vientianne we could see their point.  The capital city of Laos is small with a laid back feel, like a larger version of Napier but with much more road works.  This laid back feel was helped by the fact we decided to fly in from Hanoi, $NZ200 compared to a 22 hour bus ride on buses that also include various fruit and vegetables under each chair (onions from talking to one person, a nice smell for the trip) and even some live animals.  Call us lazy but dont call us stupid..... (this time).

The gold stupa (it does have a proper name I just dont have it at the moment)
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We spent one day hanging out, and the next seeing the sites of Vientianne, and were favourably impressed.  We started off by walking to see a Wat close by, but ended up seeing something completely different that wasnt in the Lonely Planet but still really cool (what else are we missing out on?).  According to the sign outside it was a temple called Hophrakeo - built in 1565 for the housing of the Emerald Buddha but since stolen by foriegn invaders (which I think we saw in Bangkok) but now used as a place to hold historical items.  The building was really beautiful, carved stone work and buddhas surrounding the building and lots of intricate carved wooden doors and windows.

we really like the Laos temples and pagodas, especially in comparison with the strange pastel ones of Vietnam

Rachael lounging with her Beer Lao ($1 for 640mls)
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Up the road was the Wat we were originally after, very interesting as well.  It is surrounded by a corridor housing hundreds of small buddha in niches, and larger ones.  The central temple is painted with murals that are badly decaying, due to a lack of money to restore them sadly.  Next we saw the Laos national monument, a giant gold stupa brightly reflecting the sun in contrast to the blue sky.  We really like the Laos temples and pagodas, especially in comparison with the strange pastel ones of Vietnam.

Sunset at a rakish angle
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That night we had a few (too many as it turned out) beers beside the river lounging on cushions as the sun set, lovely.