A very short stop in Vientiane

---

We arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, after a 5 hour journey in a mini van but it wasn't as bad as it sounds as it was quite a new one so was fairly comfy. After finding a nice hotel for our one nights' stay and having some lunch we went out in the sunshine to explore the small town, and after seeing some temples, a famous statue and the Mekong river joining on the other side with Thailand, we had pretty much seen everything on offer...everyone says this is the most boring capital city in the world, as there isn't much to see or do, and they are not wrong, although it is a nice place.

After showering and having a rest at our hotel we went out to find somewhere for dinner, and like at lunch time, although still cheap by western standards, we noticed that this town is the most expensive for food in Laos, maybe because its the capital. Still we found an Indian and had a huge meal for less than £10 between us, so not bad at all! We then got the lap top and went to a cool bar we had seen earlier which had a live singer, used the internet on our laptop in there and relaxed for a while before going back to the hotel for an early night as we had an early flight the next morning to Pnhom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, which we were excited for.

So after spending a week in Laos in 3 very different towns, our thoughts are that this country is super laid back to the point of frustration at times, but we enjoyed it and it grew on us more and more. We enjoyed Vang Vieng for tubing although its not a place you could spend too long, Luang Prabang was very nice although didn't wow us, and Vientiane was fine to spend a day but as a capital it still has a lot of work to do to make its mark on the Asian city scale. Despite this we did have a really good time in Laos and are glad we visited this country, which no doubt will build itself up over the years and become, if its not already, a key destination in South East Asia. . .

---