Vientiane in 12 Hours

Leaving Luang Prabang was a bit of a sad moment for Mau, Brian, and me (seriously, we loved the place so much we can stay there for months). The only thing that made getting on that tuk-tuk as we head to the South Bus Station easy was the thought of the rest of our adventure that lies ahead, part of it was our next stop – Vientiane.

Getting to Vientiane is a 10 to 11-hour bus ride from LPR. Surprisingly, our sleeper bus was a real decent one. We got our own bunks, with individual (clean, fresh-smelling) blankets, meal for the night (it wasn’t much, but hey it’s free), and a restroom at the rear of the bus. We left at around 6 or 7pm. Having stuffed ourselves with a light dinner, we got on our home for the night and dozed off.

We got to Vientianne before the break of dawn. The whole city still seems asleep, and the only sound we hear were all the racket from unloading people and luggage off the bus. The only logical thing to do was go with the rest of the passengers who hopped on an open air minivan/multi-cab, with a driver yelling “city center, city center!”.

“City center,” it turns out was some corner between two unlit streets. The sun hasn’t shone yet, and the cool morning wind was enough to make our still half-sleepy selves, fully sleepy. The driver dropped us off, and the rest of the passengers went on their own way. We would’ve been scared of being left in the middle of nowhere, but having had the same experience in Luang Prubang, we started strolling down the street like it’s no big deal.

Vientiane's misty welcome. 

And just like that, we found a small 2-storey establishment being opened by a middle aged man. “Vientiane Backpackers Hostel,” the sign says. The man was really friendly and he started inviting us in (even he hasn’t fully opened the hostel yet haha), asking us if we were looking for a place to stay. We were kinda wary of vendors and housekeepers who try to take advantage of tired and hungry tourists. We explained that really, we’re just in the city for 12 hours and if we can crash for a few minutes while we figure out our gameplan for the day, we’d be super thankful.

Our sanctuary. 

The housekeeper, his name was Vi, was as kind as he was spunky. He said we can stay in their guest area/lobby/restaurant as long as we want. They serve breakfast (we we’re pretty hungry by then), and have free WiFi.

But can we leave our packs, too? Yes. And, by any chance can we take showers, too? Yes, yes. How much do we have to pay? No, it’s free.

Jackpot! :)

After a yosi break while Vi shows me around the nearby temple and talk about how nice Filipinos are, we had our breakfast, updated our statuses on social media (really, it was the easiest way to let our families know that we’re still alive), freshened up, and secured our packs. Before leaving, Vi had arranged for us to get our bus tickets to Siem Reap, helped us exchange more Kips, and got a tuk-tuk driver to take us around.

Our hero that morning!

And we were set. There are plenty of “tuk-tuk trips” in Vientiane, which is the cheaper way of going around compared to renting a van and tour guide. Their rates are pretty standard so you won’t have to worry about getting ripped off. The drivers know little English, and when all else fails they have these laminated photos of the tourists spots. Just point and go. :)

With the time we have, we decided we’d go for three stops – the Buddha Park which was 45 minutes drive from the city, the Pha That Luang, and the Patuxay, the latter two were back at the city center.

After a brief introduction with our driver-cum-tour guide (his name was Sang and he looked like Pipo from “Okay ka Fairy Ko” haha), we sat back in the tuk-tuk like a boss, and enjoyed the ride.

Cruising, Vientiane style. 

Vientiane was a whole lot busier than Luang Prubang. A whole lot dustier, too. But there was a kind of beauty in Vientiane that wasn’t in Luang Prabang, like if the latter was paradise, we were brought down to Laos reality while driving the streets of Vientiane. The people were as friendly, except they’re like actual real people who have jobs and get stuck in traffic rather than magical creatures who sell souvenirs, and tours, and Laos massage. There were a lot of buildings and factories, too.

On our way out the city, Sang started calling back at us, getting all excited about an establishment we were about to pass by. We thought it was some kind of temple or important government office. But he was actually pointing to this - the Beerlao factory. Haha. 

Where all the magic happens. | Beerlao factory.

Halfway through the ride, Sang called out at us again. We thought he’s gonna show us some local cigarette factory or something this time.  Instead he pulled over at the side of the road, and pointed through the fence, where the Laos-Thai Friendship Bridge which runs across the great Mehkong River can be seen.

Laos-Thailand Friendship Bridge.

With our friend, Sang, under the Friendship bridge. 

After a long, bumpy, dusty ride we arrived at Buddha Park.

Buddha Park is a “sculpture garden”, as people put it. It’s an open park with giant rock statues of Buddhist and some Hindu gods. It’s not a temple per se, more of a tourist attraction really, but a lot of people still come here to pay their respects.

There were no inscriptions on the statues. I've been Googling who this big guy is, but couldn't be quite sure. Anyone?

The place is indeed a sight to see. I kinda wish I knew more than the basics about Buddhist and Hindu myths and legends. I left a mental note to myself to do my homework for the my next travels.

If I'm correct this is the Hindu god Vishnu, described to have four arms and holding lotus flowers.

Bri and Mau a la tomb raider inside one of the giant statues. Pretty creepy to statues within statues.

The scorching sun didn’t stop us from making it through the labyrinth of giant rocks, and jumping from one statue to the next.

View from top.

Did I say jump from one statue to the next? :p

We spent the rest of the morning there, offered a prayer in the small altar, and wiped off as much dust and grime as we can (we’re starting to remember by then that we haven’t taken a shower yet haha).

The trip back to the city seemed a lot faster, maybe because we slept through most of the ride. We got to the city center just in time for lunch, asking Sang to join us despite his initial hesitations. We told him that in the Philippines, people always eat together. Eat and talk. Which was a we did for the next hour, before heading to the temple complex.

The Pha That Luang from afar. 

The Pha That Luang is a gold-covered Buddhist stuppa found right at the city center. It’s one of the largest temples in Vientiane. It’s only open during worship service, so be sure to check the schedule (which we obviously didn’t, so sue us) if you want to get inside.

There are several other temples that are open for public worship in the complex.  We braved the scorching heat exploring the temples in this concrete park.

One of the temples open throughout the day. 

Found these students praying after their class.

Inside out

Statue of the Reclining Buddha, said to represent Buddha during his illness, right before he reached parinirvana.

After visiting the temples, we headed to our next stop- the Patuxay or Gate of Victory/Gate of Triumph. It was built in 1960’s in memory of the Lao people who fought in the war.

The Patuxay is completely identical to famous French structure, but kept it's Lao identity in the intricate Buddhist design. 

If you dream of going to France (but don't have the moolah yet), this can be your first taste of French architecture as it’s made after the iconic French monument, Arc de Triomphe, built in 1800’s also in remembrance of the war.

The Patuxay is seven stories high (which I climbed, oh yeah), from where you can get a great view of the city. But I had great view right down here, too. :)

Found these adorable Lao kids under the Patuxay.

We also dropped by the National Museum. It was interesting but it sort of reminded me of the states of museums back home, if you know what I mean.

The Lao National Museum.

We were done exploring I guess by 4pm. We had enough time to stop by the Vientiane shopping center so Mau can buy a wide lens for her Nikon (she left hers in Manila and would rather jump off Patuxay than go to Angkor Wat without the proper lens haha).

Around five in the afternoon, we were back at the hotel. Took our shower (thanks again, Vi!), had a quick snack, and had time to shop at the market by the river which was a few blocks from our hostel.

Tip: it’s better to do your Lao shopping in Vientiane, compared to other touristy cities (like Luang Prabang, and as I’ve read, Vang Vieng). Prices can go as low as half the price for souvenirs.

By six pm, we were at the street corner waiting for the van that would bring us to the Vientiane bus station. It was the same corner we got dropped off 12 hours ago. Things come in full circle so they say. :)

That concludes the Lao leg of our journey. We were headed to Siem Reap, excited and all set to explore the magnificent structures of the Khmer Empire. What we weren’t all set for was a nine-leg transit just to get there. Read about another sleeper bus misadventure, in this post!:)

Note: All photos were from my old Samsung phone. Excuse the low-res. :)