Laos is a pretty small land-locked country, sitting quietly next to bigger neighbours including Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and China. Vientiane is not exactly a tourism magnet, especially compared with its sister city – Luang Prabang, which is more famous for its natural attractions.
The airport in Vientiane is smallish, with access to international flights to mainly Thailand’s Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Even then, the flights are not 2x or 3x weekly, rather than daily. En-route on the plane, you can see the view of brownish plain land from the window seat. On the day of arrival, it is quite strange to see many men on the flight, lugging around their golf sets. It was later we found out that there are some golf courses in the city, which are frequented by foreigners from SEA countries.
With the bullet train operating from China all the way to Vientiane (stops from Boten at the north, going down south towards Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and finally Vientiane. The bullet train was officially launched since end 2021. At the beginning, ridership is slightly low as transport is only slowly picking up since Covid. However, as at 2024 to 2025, the train is usually quite packed and getting tickets in advance would be suggested.
City centre is compact, with some attractions within walking distance to each other. We stayed nearby the night market, walking distance from the hotel. Night market is quite big, smaller areas for food stalls while really rows and rows of stalls for all sorts of daily necessity. Interestingly, most of the items sold in the market are imported from China. Did not really find anything locally made.
The city actually has a lot of French influence due to its history. The centre of the city is easily found by locating the monument of Patuxay. Reminiscent of the French, the monument carries local flavour with the walls painting depicting local beliefs. There is an entrance fees to go up the monument, while locals are happy roaming the gardens dotting the monument.
As the country’s main religion is Buddhism, expect lots of temples dotting the city centres. One famous one is Pha That Luang, magnificent in its golden hues especially during day time. It is a fully functional temple, whereby locals frequent with offerings of fruits & flowers. When we were there in late afternoon, very few people which lends a bit of peace and quiet to the place.
Surprisingly, the scene for food & beverages is lively with many choices although also at a steep premium price. Patrons are both foreigners and locals. Beerlao is almost a country fanatical drink, almost everywhere you will see you an offer. And local beer seems to be way cheaper than imported ones. Consumption of alcohol is high even amongst local residents, and drink-driving is actually common in the city. There are also interesting local drinking outlet that produces their own alcohol. Some are run by foreigners who have fallen in love with the city and stays for good.
In recent years, Laotian has encountered high inflationary rates, making life difficult for locals. Being hardy survivors, life goes on at the pace set by themselves. Vientiane offers a laid-back option to visit, perhaps extending the days to get out of town to Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng.
Cheng's Musings 