Wednesday, January 21, 2009

City Destinations – Vientiane


Once, called the Land of a Million Elephants, Laos is Southeast Asia’s last frontier – as elusive and mysterious as any enchanting mountain hideaway. The charm of the capital city Vientiane, lies in an architectural mix of French colonial villas, traditional wooden Lao buildings and Chinese shophouses, and temples.

The Arch de Triumph, on the Parisian-like boulevard, is a combination of French design and oriental ornamentation. Vientiane is an easy town to walk around with many sights in close proximity. The Buddha Park is an awesome collection of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. Check out the Wat Sisaket which has 6840 Buddha images.

Another site worth viewing is the Friendship Bridge linking Vientiane and Nong Khai in Thailand. At dusk, the discos come alive and if you are hungry, head down Sethathirath Street where there are a cluster of restaurants that serve delicious local and continental cuisine.

Luang Prabang, 40 minutes by air, is worth exploring: the Pak Ou limestone cave has hundreds of Buddha images and the Tat She waterfalls is breath-taking.



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