Wednesday February 27 - Vientiane, Laos

In the morning after breakfast, we head for the Presidential Palace in Vientiane.  The palace is not open to the public, so we view it through the fence before heading for the Wat Sisaket museum. 

Presidential Palace - Vientiane, Laos

Along the walls of a covered walkway at Wat Sisaket are rows of triangular indentations filled with Buddha statues. 



Wat Sisaket

Wat Sisaket detail

We also find a monk surfing the web on his laptop.

Monk keeping in touch with the world

 

The former home of the Emerald Buddha, Ho Phra Keo, is our next stop.  The Emerald Buddha is now in Thailand, but there is a small replica in this former temple.   The grounds around the area have several flowering bushes attracting butterflies.  Ken is able to get some decent pictures.  The butterflies refuse to cooperate for me.
 

 Ken's cooperative butterfly

A stupa built in 1566 is our next destination.  Stupas are monuments housing Buddhist relics.  Our guide explains that walking around the stupa three times in a clockwise direction is said to bring long life.  We walk around it three times.  We’ll let you know about the long life later.

Stupa

 

Now that we have assured ourselves of long life, we go to the Patuxay monument, which is the Laotian version of the Arc de Triomphe.  Ken and I remember it from 1968 by its other nickname, the Vertical Runway.  The nickname derives from the fact that it was built from cement donated by the US to increase the capacity of the Vientiane Airport.  The recipients of the cement had other ideas.

 Patuxay monument aka Verical Runway

There is a large park with a fountain in front of the Patuxay monument.  In the monument itself, there are stairs to the upper levels offering a good view of Vientiane.  On the way up, at various levels, there are souvenir shops. 

 

View from top of monument

 

We go back to our hotel for an afternoon swim before wandering out some more on our own in the late afternoon.  After relaxing we wander downtown for dinner in a restaurant recommended by the hotel staff.  The food is plentiful and delicious.

Hotel in Vientiane, Laos

 

We then go to the Mekong riverfront.  Thailand is visible across the river from Vientiane.  At the riverfront, there is a walk, which is heavily used by the local population.  We hope to find the river market, but never do.  At one point, there are a group of Laotians who are doing some kind of line dancing.  They seem to be having a really good time.

Line Dancing along the Mekong riverfront

in Vientiane, Laos

 

When we get back to the hotel, we ask for a wake-up call at 4:00 AM since we have a 6:30 AM flight to Pakse, Laos.  I also set my travel alarm clock.