VIENTIANE

In its 1,000-year history, Vientiane has come under Khmer, Vietnamese, Thai, and French colonial influence. It was capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom in the 16th century and later a vassal of Ayutthaya. The Thais sacked Vientiane in 1828. In 1893 the French annexed Laos and made Vientiane its capital. Laos gained independence in 1953; in 1975 it became a Socialist Republic. A day trip from Nong Khai, today Vientiane shows a side of Southeast Asia that is fast disappearing.

  • Vientiane province, Laos.

  • 6 million.

  • 4 km (2.5 miles) W of center.

  • off Khu Vieng Rd.

  • from Nong Khai.

  • corner of Setthathirat Rd and Pang Kham Rd.

  • daily.

  • Bun That Lung Festival (mid-Nov).

  • Currency : kip, Thai baht, US dollar.
  • Visas and permits:  A visa is issued on arrival at Wattay Airport in Vientiane for a fee of US$35. A passport photo is required. Visitors to Vientiane can also enter via the Friendship Bridge, just outside Nong Khai in Thailand, crossing by bus. A visa is issued on arrival here too. Visas are valid for one month and allow you to travel freely throughout Laos.
EXPLORING VIENTIANE

Vientiane has been isolated from change for generations. However, recent years have seen some radical changes thanks to cross-border trade with Thailand, encouraged by the Friendship Bridge, and investment from China and Japan. Vientiane is beginning to shake off its sleepy image, but so far it has also remained blissfully free from mass commercialism and uncontrolled development.

Vientiane was one of three important French Indochinese cities; the others were Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) and Phnom Penh. French colonial influence can still be felt in the city, with its broad, tree-lined boulevards and shuttered villas.


HAW PHA KAEW

 



  • Setthathirat Rd.

  • Tue–Sun.

  • public hols.

This temple was once home to the Phra Kaeo or Emerald Buddha, which was taken by the Thais in 1778 and placed in Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok. (Phra Kaeo is the preferred transliteration in Thai; Pha Kaew in Lao.) A replica, a symbol of renewed friendship, was given to Laos by Thailand in 1994. The sack of 1828 left the temple in ruins. Restored in the 20th century, it is now a museum. The beautifully carved main door is all that remains of the original wat .



WAT SISAKET

 



  • Lane Xang Rd.

  • Tue–Sun.

  • public hols.

This wat , built in 1818, was one of the few buildings to survive the sack of 1828. It is now the oldest wat  in Vientiane and one of the most interesting to visit. Its most memorable feature is the 2,052 tiny Buddha images made of terra-cotta, bronze, and wood that fill niches in the walls of the cloister. Over 300 Buddha images also rest on a long shelf below the niches.



LAO REVOLUTIONARY MUSEUM

 



  • Samsenthai Rd.

  • daily.

  • public hols.

Artifacts and photographs here detail the period of French colonialism, independence in the 1940s and ’50s, and the rise of the Pathet Lao.



WAT MIXAI

 



  • Setthathirat Rd.

  • daily.

Its gates flanked by two nyaks  or guardian giants, parts of this wat  complex were built in 19th-century Rattanakosin style.



WAT ONG THEU

 



  • Setthathirat Rd.

  • daily.

One of the most important wat  complexes in all Laos, Wat Ong Theu was originally founded in the early 16th century. Destroyed in 1828, it was rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. The wat  houses a large, 16th-century bronze Buddha image, with two standing Buddhas either side of it. The wat  also houses a school for monks.



WAT HAI SOK

 



  • Setthathirat Rd.

  • daily.

Like other wats  in Vientiane, Wat Hai Sok recently underwent restoration. Its most distinctive feature is an impressive five-tiered roof.


ENVIRONS

The Pha That Luang , which perches, somewhat out of the way, half-way up a hill on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, is the most important national and Buddhist monument in Laos. According to legend a chedi  was built here in the 3rd century BC to house a breastbone of the Lord Buddha. More tangible evidence suggests this was the site of a Khmer prasat . The present structure was built in 1566, when Vientiane became the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom. It was damaged in the 18th and 19th centuries and restored, albeit badly, by the French in 1900. A better restoration of the site was undertaken in the 1930s.

Wat Si Muang , to the southeast of the city center, is the most popular place of worship in Vientiane. According to legend, the site was chosen by Lao sages in 1563.

Wat Sok Pa Luang  is known for its instruction in vipassana , a type of Buddhist meditation.



Pha That Luang Stupa, Vientiane, Laos

THE PATHET LAO

The Lao Patriotic Front was formed after World War II and, with ties to Ho Chi Minh’s Communist Party in Vietnam, opposed French rule. In 1953 Laos was declared a constitutional monarchy, backed by France and the US. The LPF’s armed wing, the Pathet Lao, mounted an armed struggle against the government in the 1960s. During the Vietnam War the US repeatedly bombed Laos in order to stamp out Pathet Lao support for the North Vietnamese. With the withdrawal of American forces from the region in 1975, the Pathet Lao staged a bloodless coup and declared Laos the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Related DK Guides