Colonial heritage
Laos, with its approximately 6,5 million citizens, has no ocean and is tucked in between its neighbors Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
Being a former French colony (independent in 1954), the country has lots of French influences, particularly visible in some of the colonial buildings still remaining in Vientiane.
French is also used as the diplomatic and commercial language.
During our stay the majority of the tourists that we met were from France. So the French connection is even now very much noticeable.
Close to Bangkok
Vientiane, the capital, was only a 1 hour 15 minutes flight away from Bangkok. A quick and easy flight, even for the children.
Julia fell asleep just before takeoff and woke up right after landing when people got up from their seats.
I would love to be able to sleep like that.
Unfortunately I hardly get any sleep while flying.
Praise the lord that there is something called IFE*!
Visit Lao Year
This year, 2018, was “Visit Laos Year”.
Which, it turned out, had its positive effects, especially for us as Swedish citizens.
It meant that we got a free 15-day Visa on arrival.
Certainly a very positive surprise as the normal Visa fee is between 30-42 USD/person, depending on what country you are from.
Fixed prices
After we had collected all our luggage and the inescapable baby stroller we walked out into the arrivals hall to get a taxi to our hotel.
The taxi counter was right next to the exit doors so it was quite easy to spot.
If you buy your tickets from counter you save yourself the trouble of haggling as the taxi prices here are fixed. It cost us 60,000 Kip (240 Thai Baht) to get to our hotel in the city center.
Surprisingly enough, this was actually cheaper than going the opposite way.
When we booked through the hotel a week later the price was 70,000 Kip.
Waving down a cab outside on the street could have gotten the fare down a bit of course. Either way, it was nice to not be ripped off for once.
First time in Laos
As this was our first visit in Laos, and our pre-travel reconnaissance had been rather inadequate to say the least, we had no idea of what to expect.
We had heard a lot of positive things about the laid back atmosphere in Laos the last time that we were backpacking in Southeast Asia. Given the fact that this was almost ten years ago, things tend to change.
Our taxi driver was a young guy who spoke perfectly good English. He also drove a brand new Kia Optima. My obtuse prejudices of Laos being a rather undeveloped country slowly started to vanish.
I think we had expected something else, something much more basic. Stupid and narrow-minded thought of course but it was a pleasant surprise to be wrong.
Slowly slowly
Ok, let´s be honest, Laos is not Hong Kong or Singapore, or Bangkok or KL for that matter. And it still has its cosmetic flaws.
The tourism industry in Laos is still far away from Thailand or Cambodia, and most people actually do not speak English as well as our taxi driver did.
But that is not necessarily a bad thing as it felt like Laos had managed to preserve its own style. Without having been influenced too much of the outside world.
The Laotian people are very polite and there are friendly faces everywhere. Like in most other Asian countries.
The thing is – Laotians have a certain mindset which is hard to explain in writing. The closest term I can come up with is “Reserved kindness”. At least it is close enough.
Maybe some people like the more open Thai style better, but we liked them both. Just in different kind of ways.
New cars everywhere
Ken, the driver, explained that there had been a big change in the ability for people in Laos to buy cars in the past three years.
Before, you always had to pay your car in cash, no loans.
Then Hyundai and Kia wanted to take over the market and started selling cars that required only a 10% cash payment. The rest you could lend.
This made it much easier for ordinary people to get a new car.
Besides from the cars, Vientiane looked like pretty much any descent sized Asian city.
An exotic mix of rough/worn down and modern, combined with streets full of tuk-tuks and motorbikes and the characteristic black web of electrical wires hanging over your head.
Visa run
The main purpose of our trip was to make a Visa run, as we had to renew our Thai Visas after 60 days.
We could have gone to any of the countries bordering Thailand but as we had never been in Laos before we thought it would be an excellent reason to go.
The Visa processing itself is normally a two-day procedure.
On the first day you arrange and submit your application at the embassy. The next day (all being well) you go back to pick up your new Visa.
The Thai Embassy is a ten minute tuk-tuk drive from the city center. Their opening hours are 8.30-11.30 a.m. and 1.30-4.00 p.m.
You leave your application in the morning and get it back in the afternoon the following day.
Pretty fast for an official matter
We read beforehand that the queues would quickly grow long as there would be 600-700 persons applying for a Visa every day. Remembering the long wait in Kuala Lumpur meant that we had to make sure to get there as early as possible.
We arrived just before the opening at 08.30 am and there were maybe 100 people waiting in line in front of us.
The queue system was simple and there was no need to take a number.
Just sit down next to the person in line on the benches. (You will get it when you get there).
You will then move along and change seats as the people in front of you will get their applications handled. Sooner than you think you will get to a table where two persons will check that you have all the required documents.
We missed that we needed a copy of our Lao Visa and were directed to the building next door were they had a copy machine. Cost, 1000 Kip per copy.
Five minutes later all our papers were approved, we got an application number and that was it. We were done for the day!
Compared to the Visa process in KL, this was nothing.
Day two
The next day when we went back to get our new Visas.
The procedure was just as effective as on the previous day. We waited 30 minutes for our application number to be called out, payed the 1000 baht Visa fee, and went back home.
Suddenly it happens – reversed bureaucracy!
Cash only
One additional thing worth mentioning regarding the second day is that you should be there at 1.30 p.m. This is because your queue number is the same as your application number.
I have no idea what will happen if you miss your turn, but I am sure they will sort it out in some smooth way.
When it is your turn, head over to the right counter. Get your passport and new Visa and pay 1000 baht. That´s it!
Remember to bring cash though, as credit cards will not be accepted!
The whole process during two days took us less than 1,5 hours, while it was at least the double in Kuala Lumpur.
How much to get there?
The cost of getting to Thai Embassy from the city center should not be more than 40-50,000 Kip if you go with a tuk-tuk.
The official currency in Laos is called Kip, but in reality there are three currencies accepted nationwide – Kip, U.S. dollars and Thai baht. At the time of our travels 1 USD equals about 8,500 Kip and 1 THB gives you roughly 260 Kip. Be aware that the Laotian Kip is a so called soft currency, which means that it is pretty much worthless outside Laos as no banks or exchange will buy them.
What to do in and around Vientiane
Most of the top attractions in Vientiane are either temples or monuments and as mentioned in some of our earlier travel stories we are no big architectural fans.
It is not like we hate old buildings, not at all. They are just not on top of our travel priority list.
Most of the time we just enjoy watching people doing whatever they are doing. Observing everyday life passing by is an attraction on its own.
Lost
One day we went out on a long walk to try and find the newly built Vientiane Center Mall. We also wanted to activate the two little gangsters that nowadays are our travel compadres.
Of course we failed.
Instead we ended up in the Morning Market which really was not that spectacular. It looked like most Asian markets do, crowded and full of life.
Next to the Morning Market there was a really “tired” looking mall. It had definitely seen better days.
The second floor of the mall was somewhat fascinating though as it was absolutely packed with gold jewelry stores.
Why? I have no idea. But there has got to be a more lucrative location in town to put up your gold shop in than that.
Morning Market or Night Market?
One could think that the Vientiane Morning Market and Night Market are somewhat similar, with the only difference being the opening hours.
Not so.
The Morning Market is more of a local thing with local stuff.
The Night Market is much more tourist oriented and much more fun, in our opinion.
Patuxai monument
The reason that we went astray in the first place was not entirely our own fault as we asked a guard for directions.
He probably misunderstood me or only heard me mumbling the word “mall”.
He then pointed us in the direction of the main boulevard, leading from the Presidential Palace towards the Patuxai Victory Monument. The Patuxai is a big concrete arch that looks a bit like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
(Somewhere in between these landmarks you will find the glorious Morning Market and the old gold mall mentioned above.)
Ungrateful visitors
Oh, and yes, sorry. The reason why I wrote the above was to say that we skipped the new mall that day and went to see the nearby Patuxai war monument instead, as we unexpectedly got the chance.
The arch itself was nice and all, and if you paid a small fee you could even climb up to an observation deck on top of it.
We choose not to go up. Instead we stayed for ten minutes for some photos and then took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel.
A short visit, Still a check on the Laos top 10 attraction list.
Why did I just get the feeling that we once again are terrible and ungrateful tourists that do not appreciate culture and history?
Well, we do appreciate it, a lot actually. Sometimes you just have other greater priorities. (Like getting the hell out of that scorching sun and back to the AC in the hotel room…)
Good place to activate the kids
So how about the new mall, Vientiane Center. Was it any good?
Well, it was ok-ish.
Nothing like the modern shopping malls you will find in KL and Bangkok. Or in Hua Hin for that matter.
You can tell that they have tried their best, but they still have some way to go before they get up to the same level as shopping malls in Thailand and Malaysia.
Still, it was light years from the “old mall”.
They even have a nice playground on the 3rd floor that kept Leo busy for a good hour or so. The entry fee was unbelievably low as we only paid 30,000 Kip, and then he could stay as long as he (or we) wanted.
Easy to walk
Most of the city sights in Vientiane are easily accessible by foot which suited us fine as we usually walk a lot.
There were a number of beautiful temples right in the city center, and a short 10-minute walk from our hotel got us to the Vientiane Night Market.
The Night Market is located next to the Mekong River. If you take a swim over to the other side you will suddenly be in Thailand!
The market is divided into two parts. One part on each side of the Sithane Road.
Closed road
During the day this road is rather busy. But as soon as the sun starts to set the road is closed to traffic and instead opened to pedestrians, cyclists and joggers.
The whole are comes bustling to life. It is an amazing transformation.
Red-roofed stalls pops up everywhere as the street vendors start to show their goods.
Besides from food and drinks you will find plenty of souvenirs, electronics, rice lamps, clothes and other tourist “jumble”.
Incredibly cheap
The prices for clothes in particular were crazy low.
Fariba bought some kids socks and a dress to Julia and did not even bother to bargain.
It would not have made any difference to us at all if she got the dress for 10,000 or 8,000 Kip.
(1,000 Kip is equivalent to 1 Swedish Krona. Which in return is almost the same as a dime/10 cents).
Haggling at that point had been just ridiculous.
Aerobics by the Mekong River
If you cross the Sithane Road you might unexpectedly find yourself in the middle of an aerobics class!
As the sun sets, several outdoor aerobics classes starts along the river bank. This was easily one of the highlights of our Laos trip.
The classes are free and open for anyone to join in on.
Leo, Fariba and Julia just had to shake loose to the music and it is pretty clear that they have inherited their dance moves from their mother and not from me…
It is hard to find a more beautiful spot to do your evening workout in.
The background is simply stunning, with the Mekong river reflecting the red sun as it slowly sinks down into the distance.
Buddha Park
Another one of the more popular Vientiane attractions you will find outside the city.
Buddha Park, situated by the Mekong river 25 km (15,5 miles) from downtown Vientiane, is a nice half-day excursion that suits all ages.
The park itself is not large, but there is plenty to see.
And the entrance fee was extremely low, only 5,000 kip.
Do it on your own
First we planned doing on a whole-day tour around Vientiane.
Those plans were soon adjusted as spending a day on the road with the kids was going to be a bit tough for them. Having too much of a tight schedule would not benefit neither them nor us.
The price for the whole-day tour would be around 60-75 USD per person.
By arranging everything on our own instead, and cutting it down to a half day, we spent 250,000 Kip for a taxi round trip.
Adding another 10,000 in total for the entrance, made a total of 260,000 Kip (30 USD). Quite a big difference.
Our taxi driver waited for us in the parking lot and gave us all the time we needed in the park.
If you want to save even some more money you could probably get a tuk-tuk for around 150-200,000 Kip. Just bare in mind that it is quite a long ride. About 40 minutes one way, on very dusty roads.
Inside the park
The park itself is as mentioned not a very big one. Even so, it houses around 200 statues of different sizes.
It was built in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, a monk that studied both Buddhism and Hinduism. That is why the park has both Buddhist and Hindu sculptures.
One thing we thought was missing was information about the sculptures. They are beautifully crafted, but it would have been nice to get some more facts about each sculpture. How old they are and what they represent, etc. etc.
Kids will enjoy it too
If you get tired or need a brake there are toilets and some smaller shops/restaurants where you can buy food and something to drink.
They even have a tiny playground with some swings that will keep the little ones occupied for a while.
Through the mouth of the demon
On the right hand side when entering the park there is a huge, round, statue picturing a demon.
By entering the gigantic demons mouth you get inside the statue.
Through the inside you can then climb all the way to the top via three different floors. The floors represents Hell, Eart and Heaven.
On each floor there are a number of small sculptures depicting that specific level.
Climbing the statue was actually fun and quite an adventure. Especially for the little ones.
Leo enjoyed it so much he climbed it three times…..
Be careful
First you have to walk in circles to find the steep stone steps that leads up to the floor above. They are a bit slippery because of the all the sand and dust so watch were you place your feet.
On the third and upper floor there is a hole that you have to squeeze through to get outside onto the “roof”.
Well worth the effort though as you will have a beautiful view over the park from here. A perfect place for that social media shot. 😊
Going early in the morning or later in the afternoon is advisable as the sun can be very intense during midday.
We will return one day
It will probably be a couple of years before we come back to Laos, even though there is still so much more that we would like to see. We loved Laos and its relaxed lifestyle.
We want to return and visit places like Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and parts of Northern Laos.
But right now it might not be the perfect time as this would include some rather exhausting overland journeys that most likely will not be very child friendly.
Nyinditonhab?
Laotian and Thai languages are in many ways similar. So Thais and Laotians understand each other rather easily.
Here are some basic Laotian words that can help you out during your visit.
Hello – “Sabaidee”
Thank you – “Khop Chai or Khop Jai”
Yes – “Jao”
No – “Baw”
Have a nice day! – “Mu thidi!”
Welcome – “Nyinditonhab”
* IFE – In Flight Entertainment
