Blogs from Vientiane, West, Laos, Asia - page 8

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane June 9th 2014

Morning everyone, well it is here I thought I would update you on what has been happening here before I move on to my next location and more travel stories. A couple of days ago a few of us decided to head out to the Buddha park. Buddha Park, also known as Xieng Khuan (as well as other variations of the spelling), is a sculpture park located 25 km southeast from Vientiane, Laos in a meadow by the Mekong River.Although it is not a temple (Wat), the park may be referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan since it contains numerous religious images. The name Xieng Khuan means Spirit City. The park contain... read more

Vientiane

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane June 7th 2014

image

Joolzrockchick

Hi everyone Well it's been a few days since my last blog update so I thought I would share what's been going on. I made a last minute decision to head to Vientiane from vang Vieng. I was just going to hop on the bus and emailed the office to let them know. I got to the meeting point and found Laura on the way. However the bus did not show. She had been confirmed on the bus so one should have showed. So after wandering around for a while in the heat we headed back to her hostel to use the wifi. Lucky for Laura that we did as she had left her passport behind - things happen for a reason. When we has wifi connection I checked my emails it appears the bus had ... read more

City slickers - Vientiane and Luang Prabang

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane April 23rd 2014

Arc de Triomphe (Patuxai)

BEG

When we arrived in Vientiane at 7am we decided it was time to treat ourselves to some luxury, so we splurged on a $40 per night hotel with AC and a pool! Heaven! It was a pretty slow day after the night on the sleeper bus, and we enjoyed a lazy lunch, swim and walk through the night markets beside the river. Vientiane is a pretty chilled capital, but we really liked it. Ben remembers it being much quieter, now with the markets and streets of restaurants and bars its very easy to spend a couple of days! Day 2 saw the return of some energy so we took a tuk-tuk to the Victory Monument, modeled on the Arc de Triomphe. The locals don't seem to be too fussed about it, calling it a 'concrete monster' ... read more

View from top of Patuxai, Champs-Elysees-like?

Seafood BBQs line the main street of Vientiane, yum!!

View from bus to Luang Prabang of the spectacular karst landscape.

Mar 17, 2014

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane March 17th 2014

lukibali

Geo: 17.97, 102.61... read more

Jewels of The Mekong For Sale

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane March 17th 2014

BN Travels

The Kid that works at the Guesthouse took me out to watch a Manchester United game. It was fun. The Kid, as I shall refer to him, was a curious looking one. He had the look of amazement as he saw my American passport. His eyes widened like I'd came from the sky. In this part of the world Westerners are like celebrities and Americans are rockstars. No wonder why so many men love coming to this part of the world. It strokes our ego. Soccer is as much an escape as it is an opportunity to escape poverty for the people of Laos. Soccer or futball as the people of Laos refer to it, is big in Laos. The Kid told me his dream was to come to America. I drew a blank. Should I ... read more

Mar 15, 2014

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane March 15th 2014

lukibali

Geo: 17.97, 102.61... read more

Vientiane (Viang Chan)

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane March 15th 2014

Patuxai

BN Travels

View from Patuxai. Vientiane was the capital of Laos during French rule. It is now the economic center of Laos. The Mekong and Thailand in the backdrop. "The night bus dropped me off in Vientiane instead of Vang Vieng...These bus rides are not for the weak of heart. Feeling tired and lost.... I'll just wait for a bit and then proceed. Yesterday was a nice day with Alex. It was just dragged out a bit too long. My high expectations for things and events caused me to become upset when things are not up to par.... read more

Huay Xai to Vientiane

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane February 4th 2014

Slow Boats

kevandcarly

Hello from Laos, Sorry for the delay in updating the blog but the internet hasn't been the best in Laos! After crossing the border into Laos and paying the $35 visa fee each then an additional $1 each "overtime" fee to 3 guys sat at a table to be allowed into the Country we then had to wait for the taxi to fill up before we could leave to head into Huay Xai. Eventually we arrived in the town of Huay Xai which sits on the banks of the Mekong river on the Laos side facing Chiang Khong on the Thai side of the border. We were only here for one night and quickly found a hotel/guesthouse/room with a bed and found some food. Now one thing we've noticed about eating out in Laos is that ... read more

Vientiane

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane December 27th 2013

Les Champs Elysées de Vientiane

VivreSesReves

Bonjour à tous. Aujourd'hui, visite de la capitale. Que voir? Quelques musées et quelques temples pour ne pas changer... Également quelques places et parcs sympas et les Champs-Élysées locaux avec leur Arc de Triomphe, le Patuxai. Mes compagnons de voyage décident de louer un vélo, quant à moi je parcourrai la ville à pied, tranquillement. Pas trop envie de passer la journée à visiter des temples même si je prévois d'en faire 1 ou 2, les plus intéressants, dont le Vat Sisaket, le plus ancien de la ville. Je me promène donc dans la ville. Première déception, les fontaines que je croise ne sont pas en eaux. Visite du Vat Sisaket. Effectivement, très ancien et malheureusement mal conservé. À proximité, le musée Phakao et le Palais présidentiel, j'essaye de me faire payer un café mais le ... read more

Vientiane, la ville des retrouvailles

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane December 26th 2013

VivreSesReves

Sabaidee. Ce matin, lever matinal. Nous prenons le bus à 8h30. Direction Vientiane, la capitale du Laos, située sur la rive est du Mékong. De l'autre côté, la Thaïlande. Mais rien à voir avec Bangkok où il y a plus d'habitants que dans tout le Laos. Certains parleront de ville tranquille tandis que les autres parleront de ville en pleine mutation. Certains vous diront qu'il n'y a rien à faire à Vientiane et que 1 ou 2 jours suffisent pour la visiter tandis que les autres vous diront que cette ville mérite qu'on s'y attarde plusieurs jours. Je cite le guide du routard : "L'atmosphère paisible, presque endormie de Vientiane tranche radicalement avec la frénésie des autres capitales régionales. Et pourtant! La ville a bien changé ces dernières années, son développement économique file bras dessus bras ... read more

Brief history of Laos

Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathe...more history

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