Highlights:
Itinerary:
Located on the Mekong River and with a population of 600,000, Vientiane is Laos’ capital and largest city. Despite recent new developments, Vientiane retains an ‘old world’ feel unlike other Asian cities.
Starting at 8:30am, First visit ‘Talat Sao’, the capital’s main market. Here, see silk and cotton textiles, gold and silver jewellery, and wooden carvings. This is a good place for souvenir shopping, or just browsing. Next, visit exquisite Wat Sisaket, Vientiane’s oldest original temple; built in 1818 “all other temples in Vientiane were re-built after the Siamese invasion of 1828”. Across the street, Haw Pha Kaew, the former royal temple of the Lao Monarchy. After a break for lunch (to allow for choice, lunch is on your own), continue to the COPE Visitor’s Centre, an inspiring organization which provides prosthetic limbs to victims of exploded ordinance and vehicle accidents. This center gives you both an informative and interactive experience into some of the issues still plaguing Laos from the Indochina war era.
Travel towards the Thai/ Lao Friendship Bridge to ‘Buddha Park.’ Located on the banks of the Mekong, this eclectic venue is full of larger-than-life concrete statues lifted from Buddhist and Hindu epics. The creator of these statues was rumoured to have been eccentric, so a visit here is interesting and makes for great photos. Finally, finish your day with stops at Phra That Luang (the most important national monument in Laos and symbolic of both the monarchy and the Buddhist religion) and the Patuxai Monument, reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. At the end of the day, be dropped-off at your hotel.
