Vientiane In One Day

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‘Mistaken’ is the word casted upon the less discovered jewel of Mekong named Laos. Traveling solo in this country is extremely doable, even if you’re a girl; in contrary to the life-threatening image painted to me like it was Philippines. Laos might be poor, but it is only as dangerous as your decided activities. As long as you stay at the heart of the city (most of the attractions are walking distance within the center) and not wander off too far as dark approaches, it’s all good.

If you want to make a trip to the outskirts, try booking via a tour agency and join other travelers. On top of opting for more safety measures, you get to make new friends too! I arranged a taxi to Buddha Park, which is 25km away from the city. From there, get the driver to drop you off at Pha That Luang, another important highlight of Vientiane’s travel itinerary.

Here are the Top 3 Things To Do At Vientiane In One Day.

1. Pha That Luang (The Golden Stupa) 

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First you have Xieng Khuang Buddha Park, but to those who don’t feel like making a trip there because it has little historical value (that’s unfortunately true), you may opt to start your day by making a tour to The Golden Stupa, otherwise known as Pha That Luang amongst the Laotians.

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{Bright and shiny arch}

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{Upon entering . . . }

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Expect people on foot selling you birds looking-like-this to you. What are they for? To be released in return of good luck. Why cage these poor birds just to release, and catch them back in again?

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On finding the stupa’s entrance: As it is a square, it might happen that the taxi driver drops you off at any one of the ‘surface areas’. If that happens, walk around it until you find a small (confusing-looking) entrance.

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P.S. No sleeveless and shorts allowed.

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{5 Cinspirations I found inside the stupa – an eroctic ceramic doll broken in two, a Lao wedding photoshoot, a pair of miniature Buddha statue telling a sad story, and this little kitten}

2. Wat Si Saket 

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I hope by now you trust that I tell my story by telling it as it is. Wat Si Saket in my opinion, is more of a place you visit because the-tour-books-say-so, rather than to be amazed. I put on my Cinspirations googles and still only managed to capture 2 pictures from this place:

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Okay . . .

3. Mekong Sunset

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You might wonder, “What’s the big deal about this whole Mekong sunset?”. I’ve seen many sunsets and this is just not the prettiest, obviously. But from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, it does seem like the Laotians are proud of it.

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The air I breathed in Vientiane reminded me very much of Beijing’s – dry, smokey, polluted. The humidity exists in a hazy manner, perhaps the reason why we have a rather grayish sunset.

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{When the tide is low}

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{I zoomed into the most beautiful part of the sky and captured it as a reminder to FOCUS on the GOOD even when in a bad situation. I hope you got that}

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Be prepared to have your evening stroll ruined, as the music played by these free aerobics classes (you can also join them by the way), is gonna be a far cry from your Spotify playlist.

Bid sore ears goodbye by joining the crowd at their 3-lane night market, located right where the river banks are.

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Vientiane’s pasar malam displays a huge contrariety from Luang Prabang’s. Most things here are from China, whereas the latter focuses on local handmade goods. I can not stress more on this tip: Do NOT wait to do your souvenir shopping in Vientiane, thinking that a bigger city might have more to offer.

The only thing you can buy though, are these amazing cards (below). Big bought a multifold of them to be kept for future celebratory occasions, and I thought that to be a really neat idea.

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{Why not grab a foot massage to end your trip with a sweet note for your hardworking feet? (: }

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{Wind down the night by sipping Lao whiskey (not for the faint of heart) while enjoying Mekong river view at night}

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And that’s how one ends a Laos trip! Read more of my travel stories on Laos here:

 

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