Vientiane

The bus ride from Vang Vieng to Vientiane was pleasant compared to previous tortures. So we were still pretty refreshed to go out and explore the vicinity of our hostel. It's a pretty small city for being a capital with just around 200.000 inhabitants. Consequently it has a really laid back and relaxed atmosphere making it perfect for a stroll. We visited the Victory arch in the middle of the center which is the major landmark. Afterwards we took a detour to a Wat which is named the "Black Stupa". Nothing too impressive to see...
The next day we took a bus to the outskirts to the city next to the Mekong River and the border to Thailand. There is the so-called Buddha Park, a seemingly random area with all kinds of statues of gods and goddesses. A rather impressive sight even though the composition is pretty random and there's absolutely no information on the history or the statues itself 😅 We took the bus back, had a quick lunch and then hired bikes to go to "Lao's most important cultural landmark" - a golden stupa located within beautifully renovated temples. Even though I didn't like the massive fake golden shiny stupa it was still nice to look at from a distance. Vientiane is a nice city but it lacks the natural features other parts of Laos has to offer.
An evening stroll along the Mekong river and the night markets with a traditional Laotian barbecue concluded our journey to Indochina. It was an amazing experience and we enjoyed all three countries that have similarities and yet are so different.Read more