Vientiane: beautiful capital of Laos

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Vientiane is the smallest capital in South East Asia and one of the two that rest on the mighty Mekong river (the other one being Phnom Penh). It lies on the only plain in the northern part of Laos, just across Thailand from where it’s easily accessible by train or bus. Despite the fact that there are no railroads in Laos, there is a train that crosses the Friendship Bridge that unites Laos with Thailand and ends its journey a few kilometers before Vientiane. Just like the whole country, Vientiane is a pretty quiet and slow-paced city, especially when compared to the other metropolis in the region.

Urbanism

Vientiane’s urban grid was traced during the French rule in the beginning of the 20^th century and follows the characteristics of the terrain. The dominant direction is semicircular, parallel to the Mekong, whilst the secondary one goes perpendicular to it. Most of the hotels, bars and restaurants are located between three main streets parallel to the river: rue Samsenthai, rue Setthathhilath and rue Fa Ngum. Considering the size of the city combined with the economical power of its residents and the reasonable width of the main avenues, traffic jams are relatively rare.

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