nearby reclining buddha

Vientiane

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August 17th 2013
The French, in my opinion, really messed up the spelling of these Laos city names with their annoying phonics. In fact, they even messed up the spelling of the country itself as the “s”, in French, is silent. Thus, it took me the duration of our stay in Vientiane to finally almost learn how to pronounce it – more like “Viang Chang” or maybe “Wien Chan”. I’m not sure exactly, but ei ... read more

Asia » Laos » West » Vientiane

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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... ... read more