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 Vientiane, Laos travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Vientiane, Laos.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Luang Prabang city guide,
and Vientiane city guide.
Pages (1 of 7):
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| R Kircher |
24 April 2005 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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The sights of Vientiane can really be exhausted in about a day. Spending two there, we found ourselves scratching our heads to figure out how to spend out time. Definitely try a Lao massage -- much better, softer and more relaxing than a Thai massage.
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| A Casey |
28 February 2005 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Go to the 'Cafe Du Maison' on Pangkhan Road, (off Samsenthai Rd) for the absolutely best Lao Mountain Coffee in Vientiane!
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| R Wedderburn |
12 February 2005 |
Stayed at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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I was only there for 1 day but enjoyed it. Vientiane is a fairly sleepy capital on the river. I went to see most of the local tourist attractions which were easily accessible. Budha park is way outside of town and not worth the visit IMHO if you only have 1 day.
I ate dinner at a simple restaurant on the river. The fresh fish and sauce was out of this world. The meal along with beers and an entree for my driver was less than $5. Unfortunately, I don't have the name of the restaurant but there are many places along the river. Don't be afraid to venture out.
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| H Banzhaf |
27 December 2004 |
Stayed at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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One day is enough for Vientiane. I recommend to visit Wat Sisaket in the morning and That Luang in the late afternoon.
Outside of Vientiane Vang Vieng (Two and a half hour by private car) has a beautiful scenery due to its limestone cliffs but it can certainly in no way be compared with the scenery of Yangshuo/Guilin in Southern China.
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| E Brodal |
17 November 2004 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a quiet and laidback city (compared to other asian capitals anyway). I also found it quite friendly. Major attractions are easily available by foot. I particulary liked Wat Si Saket. Other places worth seeing are places like Pha That Luang, Morning Market and the National museum. I spent about three days in Vientiane before moving to Luang Prabang further north.
Luang Prabang was really beautiful. I spend six days there, including daytrips to the caves and waterfalls. The trip to the Pak Ou caves was by slowboat on the Mekong river and included stop in villages like a Hmong village. I just went down to the pier where the boats to the caves started, and hired a boat for the day (we where three persons paying US$10 each). I think the rivertrip to the caves is just as interesting as the caves themselves, because of the beautiful scenery along the river. In Luang Prabang itself I particulary enjoyed the Royal Palace Museum, Phu Si hill and Wat Xieng Thong. Or just strolling the peninsula between Mekong River and river Nam Khan. I would also recommend to rent a bike (several guesthouses have bikes for rent for about US$1.50 per day) to explore the city and its surroundings at least for one day.
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| A Eustace |
24 February 2004 |
Stayed at Novotel Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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Laos is a very poor country but still provides good quality to traveller of all kinds. The quality of service from the area around Vientienne and the fabulous views of the Mekong make it an area well worth visiting. Plus a pair of socks on prime display in a museum is well worth a visit.
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| J Brownjohn |
06 January 2004 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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With wider knowledge of the visa on arrival scheme I expect the place to pace of change to increase. Just remember to pick up the VOA form at Bangkok or wherever and get to the front of the queue at Wattay.
My latest LP guide gave prices that are already out of date: jumbos won't easily budge below $1 (OK they ask $2 but you know they're trying it on) and car+driver is not easy to find for as little as $10 more than LP upper bound figures.
The morning market is being spoilt by busloads of rich US tourists (when they arrived the stallholders immediately ignored my Asian wife). Prices are rather high, almost comparable to Bangkok and bargaining, even by an expert is hard.
Eating out is very cheap and continental food is good; e.g. we were very impressed by Cote d'Azur. We did not risk the roadside stalls and my wife was not too impressed by the Lao food. For me, I could not complain at $1 for a litre of excellent laobeer, while watching sunset over the Mekong. Vientiane is peaceful, people are friendly and easy going and I had a very relaxing stay.
My wife enjoyed visiting the weaving commune (enchanting for me to watch the ladies at work). On the way back from a relaxing day at Nan Ngum lake we stopped at a market selling all kinds of animals and animal components.
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| D Furlong |
21 December 2003 |
Stayed at Settha Palace Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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One of the hotel staff organised a car and driver for us for the day to tour the region (Buddah park, temples, Morning market, friendship bridge, lunch, more temples...) Vientianne is quite primitive and there really isn't that much to do and see (1 or max 2 days will do you). Be careful walking the streets and pavements (where they exist!) as there are a lot of open holes. Everything (over)priced in US$ - generally prices are way way too expensive. Worth the detour: Phaeng Mai Gallery - for handwoven silks. Absolutely fantastic - expensive but definitely high quality. (take a taxi - 5 to 10 minutes from centre).
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| A Leblanc |
10 December 2003 |
Stayed at Asian Pavilion Hotel - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane is a small city and I walked everywhere. My main interests were food, wine, and getting a visa for Thailand, all within easy walking distance. There is a large square with a fountain in the center about 150 meters from the hotel. This square is surrounded with various kinds of European restaurants and delis and there are Laos restaurants and street stalls everywhere, plus seafood restaurants and bars down by the Mekong River.
The Thai consular section is just across the street from the morning market, which is known by everybody, and can be seen by people queueing up for visas. Some locals have set up desks on the street and for a fee which can be negotiated down to 700 baht (in addition to the 1000 baht for the visa), they will take care of everything for you and you don't have to stand in line. This service is in fact reliable. Your hotel or many travel agents could do it for you but it costs 1000 baht or more.
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| A Feinstein |
16 November 2003 |
Stayed at Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane - Vientiane, Laos.
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Vientiane lacks the charm of Luang Prabang--hot and dusty, river less scenic here than other Mekong towns. Prices relatively expensive for the region, too. But, friendly people, beautiful textiles, etc. The National Museum is appalling--one of the worst I've seen in Southeast Asia.
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