So this is the capital of Laos?

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Day 368: Thursday 2nd July - Growing to like Vientiane’s French charm

When I arrived in Vientiane last night it didn’t make a good first impression. The Tuk-Tuk mafia didn’t help, waiting at every street corner to ask if you want a ride or illegal drugs when you decline the ride. This is more Thailand than Laos. My room is a cramped affair with no window to allow any outside light in, but I was warned not to expect great things on the accommodation front of the capital. From bad first impressions, slowly Vientiane grows on me......

Before I start sightseeing today I have a number of chores to take care of; book a bus ticket to Pakse, make sure my travel insurance is renewed as it has lapsed, find an ATM and get a haircut. I manage to get all the above sorted in super quick time as all the places are within a few doors of each other. The last item I need is a new pair of earphones which I find it perhaps Vientiane’s only shopping centre. It is a two storey affair and almost every shop is given over to selling mobile phones which must be the latest craze to hit Laos.

My sightseeing starts off at Wat Si Saket, Vientiane’s oldest temple which is slightly disappointing. Opposite the temple is the presidential palace, and a long avenue runs run the palace up to Patuxai, a concrete replica of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, which looks more grand and impressive from distance. Vientiane has more than a little bit of a feel of France, from the street signs to some of its architecture and now this. From Patuxai is a half hour walk to Pha That Luang, the most important national monument in Laos, a symbol of both the Buddhist religion and Loa sovereignty. Its golden colour offers a great contrast to the overcast skies, but otherwise it like most of the temples I’ve seen in Laos are second-rate in comparison to the best Thailand has to offer. The car park in front of the monument is huge. I don’t know how many people the authorities are expecting to visit but only a handful of cars are parked in the car-park which must be the size of three football fields. Mum, I reckon this is a car-park you would like!!!!

I walk back into central Vientiane, making my last stop of the day at the Lao national history museum. Not everything is labelled in English, making it difficult to follow in parts and the ancient history exhibits on the ground floor are modest and the final post-revolutionary rooms uninspiring. In between the exhibits on the early Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang, which dates back 500 years, and those on the revolutionary era which ended in 1975 when the Lao PDR was declared are interesting, although after going to eastern Laos I’ve already learnt much of this and so it is a bit repetitive. As I leave the museum it starts pouring down which makes my decision for me - today’s sightseeing is over.

Vientiane’s main attractions can be seen in half a day - there just isn’t that much to see. Despite this, its charms are growing on me. It hasn’t the same obvious charm and sophistication of Luang Prabang but the longer you stay here the relaxed charm of the capital gets to you. For one, it doesn’t have the hectic bustle of most Southeast Asian capitals. Rather it is an overgrown riverside town and it is pleasant to just wander around its centre which has a small town feel to it (there are virtually no skyscrapers) with a sprinkle of French elegance. I enjoy some of that French elegance in the evening by having a splurge and enjoying Steak au Poivre in the gardens of a nice restaurant. I say splurge, but for the steak, dessert and a drink it was only the equivalent of 7 pounds - expensive for local standards but a steal compared to what it would be in France or back home. After dinner, I finally finish Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield - 3 months to finish, that was hard going!!!

Day 369: Friday 3 July - Visiting some organisations dealing with the country’s UXO problem

Having seeing pretty much all of Vientiane’s major attractions in my first day in the capital I have a free day ahead of my bus to Pakse. After a lazy morning, I use the afternoon to visit a couple of the organisations dealing with the UXO problem in Laos. At the first, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) I get the opportunity to talk to the country director, a chap originally from the UK. I ask him if there are any volunteer projects to get involved in, but he says that the policy is to hire local people wherever they can. This isn’t a brush off though and he gives me a few address of other NGO’s based in Laos to contact. I still want to do some volunteer work at some part of my trip, and this could be a possibility. He continues to chat how improved technology - metal detectors designed to search for bombs rather than mines has greatly improved the productivity of the clearance teams in the country. He also tells me how MAG are working with other organisations to help relieve poverty in areas which were heavily bombed. We talk about how western society could learn a thing or two Southeast Asia where the emphasis is on family and community. He tells me how much Vientiane has changed in the last 5 years, how it is opening up to tourism and foreign investment which is improving the standard of living. He’s a really interesting guy to talk to for about half an hour, and when I get chance I’ll look into the leads he gave me. I don’t feel it’s the right time to make a donation, but he tells me it is easy to do online, so that too can wait.

From MAG, I walk across Vientiane to COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise). COPE fit artificial limbs, often for victims of people injured by UXO. Like the display’s in MAG, those in COPE are informative, but don’t tell me much I didn’t already know. They do talk about the reasons behind there being so many UXO casualties which presents a new and interesting angle. 80% of Laos’ population is engaged in subsistence farming and the scrap metal industry is a lucrative opportunity to earn an income which could feed a family for weeks or months. Victims are often those attempting to increase family income from scrap metal. I would have liked the chance to meet a victim and learn their story but this is no longer offered as the organisation feels it gets in the way of treatment and can be intrusive which I totally understand. What it does deny is that connection with victims, and again I feel that a donation isn’t the right thing to do. Had I had direct contact with a victim, I’m sure I would have felt differently. I do sit and have a drink and an ice cream at their cafe, the proceeds from which do go to support victims, so I felt I did my bit, however small. I finish my visit off watching a film documentary on UXO - ‘Bomb Harvest’, which follows a MAG team in the field, clearing bombs and training local people, which is very interesting.

I have a couple of hours left before I am getting picked up to go to Pakse, which I envisage spending enjoying a nice meal next to Nam Phu, a fountain which is one of the focal points of the city. However, none of the restaurants open for another hour which is a shame. Nevertheless, I reflect on a pleasant couple of days spent in the capital of Laos. It is far from being one of the regions great cities, there is not enough to do for that, nor does it really have the size. However, it is a nice place to wander the streets in a calm riverside town with a relaxed atmosphere enjoying the cuisine as you go.

The bus to Pakse is something new. I have a bed, rather than a seat. I should say we have a bed as I have to share it with Harry, from Liverpool. The bed is no bigger than a single bed, there is one line of bunk beds on either side of the bus. Despite being a touch cramped, it isn’t as uncomfortable as it looks and I manage to get a decent night’s sleep before we arrive in Pakse at 6am. The bus was well worth the extra money, and there were only four tourists on the bus, so the locals who can afford it, obviously view it as the better option. At Pakse, I buy a ticket for another non-government bus to Champasak for convenience rather than price. It means I only have an hour to wait in the bus station and I don’t have to get a sawngthaew to another bus station.

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