Why visiting Vientiane is worth it

A personal blog from one of the owners (Sander) of Don Som Riverside Guesthouse about Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR.

Many times I read on the internet that Vientiane is not worth a visit. It's boring, ugly and/ or it has nothing to see. Of course personal experiences differ and what is nice for one is a nightmare for the other.... But (and after 'but' something always follows) I think Vientiane is worth some time. Even if it is just one day, it might be worth considering I think.... I've lived in Vientiane for about one year and know the city a bit (visited the city for the first time in 2007). Why do I have to visit Vientiane Sander, why?

First of all, you don't have to and it's not Rome, Paris, Den Bosch (worth a visit if you are in the Netherlands, like food and drinks, canals, old buildings, nice people and want to see a small city without a milion other tourists and signs in English everywhere), New York or Eindhoven (mostly ugly but worth a visit, I will tell you another time) but it is the capital of the country you are visiting. Yes, capitals are not always the nicest cities but many times they are an important part of the country and they do have a history and something to show the visitors... Vientiane as well!

Other reasons to visit: COPE, food, temples, That Luang, Patuxay, Museums and COPE (yes again, just to make sure you don't forget that one).

Food: Yes, you can find food everywhere in Laos (although a high percentage of young children is still undernourished unfortunately....) but Vientiane has something special for Lao standards. Vientiane has restaurants with food from all over the world (Laos, yes really, South Korea, China, France, America, Italy, Ireland, Pakistan, Turkey, England, North Korea, India, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to name a few countries). The nice thing about eating in most international restaurants in Vientiane is that you don't have to dig deep into your wallets to get the last money to pay for it... No, it's cheap by international standards. So it makes Vientiane an excellent place to experience both Lao and 'international' food and to drink a Lashi in the morning tohgether with a French style 'baguette', eat laap (a very Lao dish) with sticky rice (also very Lao) in the afternoon and try one of the great pizzas made in the city as diner.... Visit my friend Seamus in his Irish Pub (O'Grady's) if you're up for a pint of Guinness and some Irish atmosphere (with a Lao touch) in the middle of Southeast Asia.

Temples: Yes, I know, you probably came from the north and saw many great temples in Luang Prabang. That's good and some of them are very nice and well worth a visit. But.... Vientiane has a few temples well worth a visit as well. Wat Sisaket (with thousands of Buddha images) is sometimes crowded (if a bus full of Chinese tourists just stopped at the gate it might be worth waiting for 30 minutes when they are in the bus again to finish their 4 day 'all included' Lao trip...) but many times not. A pleasant place to walk and see more of the Buddhist devotion. Just on the other side of the road you can visit Wat Hor Phakea (they've made it easy for you!) you can find another nice temple and one with a long history and a nice little garden. There are several other 'wats' in Vientiane (some very interesting as well) but the two mentioned here are well worth a visit.

That Luang: This is the 'national symbol' (but you will see Beerlao signs more often in Laos...) and also well worth a visit. It's an important symbol for Buddhism in Laos and every year there is a Pha That Luang (the full name) festival here.

Patuxai: The 'Arc de Triomphe' of Vientiane... A landmark in the middle of the city and you can also go to the top (3.000 Kip or something in that price range) to have a nice view. Interesting also just to sit in the park and look at the different kind of people our planet has to offer.

Museums: The National Museum is not exactly a museum that will win many prices for being the best one, but I think it offers a nice (and colored...) view on Lao history and has some very interesting things to show you. When it's raining it's also a nice place to get shelter and spend some time inside. There is also a museum dedicated to former President of the Lao PDR, Mr. Kaysone Phomvihan. Not a lot of visitors there but absolutely interesting to see. His old house (before it was part of the CIA compound) is close to it and you can visit it together with a guide. Closer to the centre is a more or less hidden (not on purpose I guess) museum dedicated to Mr. Souphanouvong, another old president and important person during the Lao revolution. His house serves as museum and is very modest and shows mainly photos of him.  Some other museums in the city as well.

COPE: Last but not least visiting the COPE Visitors Centre is already a reason alone not to classify Vientiane as 'not worth a visit'. COPE shows how this organisation helps Lao people who got (still, even in this time people get killed and injured by the leftover bombs and bombies from this period) injured by bombs of the Americans during the not so secret (here in Laos...) Secret War in the 1960s and 1970s and people who got injured in traffic accidents etc. They are doing a great job and the visitors centre (not big but very well kept and informing) was even visited (yes there is irony in it I think) by former President Mr. Obama in 2017 and Mss. Clinton a while before that. You can also buy things in the small shop there (money for COPE) and donate.      

From Vientiane you can take a nightbus to Pakse by the way and from Pakse visiting us on the 4000 Islands is easy.... See you soon?!