Sightseeing in Vientiane

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Geo: 17.97, 102.61

Up at 07:00 for breakfast at the guest house before setting out for the morning. A number of people had compained about the breakfast here on TripAdvisor etc but we found it to be fine. Not a help yourself from a buffet type of breakfast but a choice of 2 dishes from a small menu. Between us had croissant, cereal, eggs, bread, fruit, and a couple of coffees and enjoyed it. No complaints.
Leaving guest house we pass the Presidential Palace again and head south east. Further along the main road we reach Haw Pha Kaeo, an earlier home of the Emerald Buddha that now takes pride of place in Wat Phra Kaeo, Royal Palace complex, Bangkok. The temple was built in 1565 and used as the royal temple in town till the Thais came to visit in 1779 when they stole the Buddha as war booty. The Thais had such a good time here that they returned in 1828 and pretty much levelled and depopulated the entire city. Sounds like a good weekend away and I bet alcohol was involved !! The current temple was rebuilt by the French in the 1930s with the only (possibly) original feature that still remains being the large southern wooden door. It is no longer used as a temple but is the National Museum of Religious Art. Also has a beautiful garden that includes an example of a stone jar from the Plain of Jars at Phonsavan. Unfortunately today the building was covered in scaffoding and, apart from the garden, was not open. Did get to see the stone jar from Phonsavan but I want to see them in situ one day.
Continuing south east on foot we eventually reach Wat Si Muang and the city pillar shrine. This temple was also destroyed by the Thais in 1828 and rebuilt in 1915 - nothing in Vientiane is very old. The main hall here is unusually divided into two rooms. In the first a monk sits to give out blessings to the visitors. We avail ourselves of this and Jai says that the monk gave her a lucky number for the new yearslottery ... didnt give me one ? The second room contains the temple altar. Lots of Buddha images surround the laterite column that is home to the guardian spirit of Vientiane. The room has a lovely decorated copper coloured ceiling. The column is believed to be in excess of 1000 years old (perhaps Vientaine deoes have a few old things !) and is now wrapped in sacred cloth so you cant actually see it at all. It is believed to have come from some old Khmer ruins now found to the rear of the temple. Amongst the Buddha images is one much damaged example that is believed to have survived the visit from Thailand. As a result of its good fortune it is now believed to grant wishes ... ?! A really nice feel to the whole pace.
Next to the temple is small park that contains a large statue of King Sisavang Vong who ruled Laos under the French between 1904-1959.
We return towards town on a slightly different route and make a brief stop at the Catholic Sacred Heart church. Next door was a school sponsored by the church where we watched some youngsters pratising traditional dancing, shy of our presence.
Continuing back we reach Wat Si Muang which actually wasnt damaged too much by the visiting Thais as they used it as their headquarters. It is a lovely place with lots of old, if fading, features. The central courtyard is surrounded by a collonade which as niches cut into its walls and contains 7000 Buddha images - we lost count at 6543 so we will have to take the word of the guidebook ! Inside the sim the walls are covered with old murals telling stories from the Jataka - Jatarka wasnt an otter ! The murals are believed to date from the 1820s and are much in need of some restoration work. A large group of Chinese tourists arrive just as we are leaving ... they are everywhere in huge numbers now it seems.
We are both in need of a sit down and some refreshment now so we buy some croissants at the Lao equivalent of a 7/11 and sit down at a small shop opposite with a strong and sweet (condensed milk) coffee.
My planned activities for the morning are now completed and it is only 10:30 so we make our way along the road a bit to visit the Laos National Museum. Originally built as the police commissioners office in the 1920s it becme the Lao Revolutionary Museum in 1990s. It still contains many displays and artifacts from the Pathet Lao days but has now developed into a more general museum of Lao heritage. This place has also had some bad reviews on TripAdvisor but we both enjoyed it and would recommend it. It does all look a bit rundown but has plenty of interesting displays, most detailed in English. It is a bit anti imperialist America which may explain some of the bad feeling about the place but ...
Opposite the museum is the Lao National Culture Hall. A gift to the Lao people from the Chinese in the 1990s I am sure they needn't have bothered. Unfortunately it is not one of those presents that you can put away in a cupboard and forget about. It is enormous but ugly and adds nothing to the city in terms of its appearance. It apparently now stages occasional 'cultural' events ?
I spot a signpost to the National Stadium and see that just a few 100m along the side road is a large gateway headed 'Anouvong Stadium' so we go for a look. We thought about running a lap of the track but thinking about it was as far as we got.
We started to make our way back to the guest house and stopped for a bowl of noodles at a street stall on the way. A bottle of water and a postcard then back to the room for a rest.
Head back out in the early afternoon to walk to the Talat Sao or morning market that is actually open between 07:00-16:00, so an all day market then ? This used to be mainly a collection of street stalls. When we were here in 2009 they were pulling them down and clearing the eara and now it is more like a shopping mall. Personally I preferred the ramshackle approach of the street stalls. We spend some time looking for places that sell Lao patu skirts as Jai wants a couple whilst we are here. The only ones we can find are either extremely expensive or cheap and we want something in the middle. We walk back to the guest house with a 2016 calendar our only purchase.
There are 3 computers in reception which offer free internet connection to guests. I should have been suspicious that I had never seen anyone using one since we arrived but ... I take some stuff down with me and about 15mins later I have given up. Can see why they are free and unused, they are dreadful, and thats being kind !
We are both hungry by 17:00 so we walk towads the riverside where we enjoy a large BBQed fish. I am not a fan of fish usually hating havig to mess picking out the small bones but when the fish is a decent size things are different. Very nice and washed down with a bottle of Beer Lao made it even better.
Go for a walk through the night market in the park by the river and find an older lady selling patu - medium priced patu ! Better tan that Jai actually finds a couple from her stock of 100s that she likes so that is Christmas present taken care of.
Walk back to the restaurant where we ate for another beer before caling it a night.
It is very windy tonight and a bit fresh, well nice temperature, but the locals are wearing coats, hats, scarves, etc and are shivering.
It feels quite late when we get back to our room so are surprised to see that it is only 20:00 !!

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