Sandalwood City

Friday 15 October 1999 – Tuesday 19 October 1999

We flew out of Bangkok on a direct flight to Vientiane, political capital of Laos, and arrived to bright blue skies and tropical heat.  Neither of us knew what to expect in Vientiane and so headed straight into the centre of town to find ourselves a hotel.  We were amused to find that the dirt road from the airport actually continued into the town centre, and even more intrigued to realise that this capital 'city' had almost no paved roads.  It was in part this lack of modern infrastructure which lent Vientiane an air of quaintness, coupled with the obvious French influences left over from the days of colonial rule.

Spending time simply soaking up the cultural diversity of this country was the biggest  highlight of travelling in Laos.  That, coupled with breathtaking scenery and a growing but not yet well-established infrastructure means that there were ample opportunities to get off the beaten track and explore remote areas, although, as we were to find, not speaking the language could prove a major disadvantage!

We spent two days exploring the sights of Vientiane, primarily temples, temples and more temples, although there are many other architectural attractions, ranging from Mosques to hotels and former French colonial homes.  Given how deeply rooted Buddhism is in this country, it is perhaps not surprising how many temples and images there are to explore, some of which are truly awe-inspiring.  In between the sightseeing, however one of the great highlights was the amazing selection of restaurants:  everything from Lao specialties to Italian pastas and pizzas, French nouvelle cuisine and even a Scandinavian bakery serving mouth watering delights for breakfast!

Our first stop outside of Vientiane was the village of Vang Vieng, famous for its karst (limestone pinnacle) topography.  These cliffs come complete with tunnels and caves to explore, many of which are said to be inhabited by spirits.  Some were even used as defense against the Chinese marauders in Laos during the early 19th century.

Our transportation to Vang Vieng was “local” in the truest sense of the word.  The only tourists in sight, we were packed into a converted cattle truck with over 20 others, surrounded by bags of rice, produce of all descriptions (including chickens) and with even more of the same stacked up above us on the roof.  We wondered how it all stayed attached as we worked our way up hills and round hairpin bends, and eventually discovered the answer:  it didn’t.

Our stay in Vang Vieng was to be considerably shorter than we had at first planned, as it proved to be the ultimate back-packer paradise complete with banana pancake stands and adverts for cheap” accommodation every few yards.  It had certainly lost the dreamy charm described in the guidebooks and so, after only 24 hours, we headed out on a bus (tourist style this time, with actual seats) to Luang Prabang.