Vientiane: Bits and Bites

Choosing a hotel is a complex art. Issues like the stay’s length, the available budget, the daily amount of time to be spent in the room and the required facilities create an ever changing equation demanding a significant fortitude of spirit and some planning. In the mid-range of Vientiane’s hotels, the Chaleunxay is an excellent choice for short stays in town.

The Structure

Inconspicuously standing nearby the Morning Market, the Chaleunxay Hotel building is an almost new keepsake from a different era. It is hard to ignore the resemblance of this blocky structure – unusually big for Vientiane – to the massive rectangular buildings built in Eastern Europe during the Communist Era. A few concessions were done here to the Laotian culture surrounding it, but the message is clear: nowadays Laos is one of the counted Communist countries still left in the world.

The Location

Chaleunxay enjoys a superb location near the Morning Market and thus can be accessed by foot from all the main attractions in Vientiane, as well as from the Mekong River promenade and the main bus terminal. For those suffering of the local heat, tuk-tuks wait at its doors for travelers; it is recommended to bargain and to agree on a price before boarding them.

The Rooms

The wide balconies seen from the street and the cavernous lobby create expectations which are not fulfilled once inside the room. Rather boxy and small, the rooms offer – nonetheless – one of the best deals in Vientiane. The air-conditioning was a must during the hot season and the hot water showers were an indispensable luxury which sometimes can be hard to find in this part of the world. The excessive furniture made it a bit difficult to move around the room, especially the armchair that ignored the room proportions. A telephone with IDD was featured, but the prices were not competitive with those of the VOIP services scattered around the town. A television and a small refrigerator completed the list of facilities.

The Price

We stayed at a double room for fourteen dollars per night. Overall, it was an excellent bargain, especially considering that some nearby guesthouses asked a similar price for a single room.

Additional Services

The hotel offers also a restaurant, room-service, airport transfer, laundry and Lao massage services. Despite its name, the Lao Massage is strikingly similar to the traditional Thai one. The laundry service turned out to be fast and efficient and it was surprisingly given as a complimentary service.

The Restaurant

Located next to the lobby, the Chaleunxay Hotel restaurant serves Laotian and adapted Western dishes. Despite their efforts it would be almost impossible for them to compete against the astonishing restaurants in downtown Vientiane.

The Buddha Park in Vientiane provides an unusual opportunity for seeing the deep cultural connections between the people living on both sides of the Mekong River despite the huge – wider than the river – political gap.

Reaching the Park

The BuddhaPark is on the Mekong River shore, 25km south from downtown Vientiane and roughly in front of the Thai town of Nong Khai. It is possible to reach the park with bus #14 from Vientiane's main bus terminal in front of the Morning Market or with a tuk-tuk from the Morning Market to Thadua. From there take another tuk-tuk or walk for some twenty minutes until the park is reached.

Timing

The park is open daily between 8am and 6pm; the entrance costs 2000 kip.

Luang Po Boun Leua Sourirat

The park was created in the 1950s by a monk called Luang Po Boun Leua Sourirat, who was the disciple of a cave-dwelling Vietnamese Hindu hermit. After returning to Laos, he began constructing sculptures in a garden on a Mekong riverside meadow. Following the Laotian Communist Revolution, the monk was forced to flee to Thailand, where he created a parallel garden across the river, in nearby Nong Khai. The temple across the river was built from 1978, and the monk died there in 1996.

The Sculptures

The sculptures garden is an open book showing its creator’s philosophy of life. It displays a sculptured interpretation of a mixture between Buddhist and Hindu philosophies. The park is dominated by a single reclining Buddha of monstrous dimensions, which is surrounded by a myriad of smaller items. It is useful to bring a book with illustrations of the Hindu-Buddhist pantheon; in such a way the recognition task would be easier. The grayish, heavy ferro-concrete sculptures have very little artistic or aesthetic value but provide a fascinating view into the local culture.

Sala Kaeo Ku or Wat Khaek

Across the river, Sala Kaeo Ku, is a more elaborated version of the Buddha Park. Slightly east from Nong Khai, it is a pleasant walk from the city center to the temple; tuk-tuks span the four kilometers in a few minutes. See the relevant entry in my Touch Point journal for further details. The split park strongly symbolizes the cultural links between these two related people.

Hindu Wheel of Life

The most interesting and complex sculpture is the one representing the Hindu Wheel of Life; however, getting explanation in situ is almost impossible thus studying the topic or bringing a small textbook to the park is recommended.

Having lived a big part of my life next to a beautiful promenade along the Mediterranean Sea, I am automatically attracted to them; in Vientiane, the promenade is one of the main city’s attractions. Few places exerting such a pull on people remain laid-back for long, but this one unexpectedly managed to do that, increasing thus its considerable magnetic pull.

Enlightened Environment

The promenade is lined with large trees which provide the much needed shade and give the place a countrified look unfit of such a central location in a capital town. The most cherished ones by the locals are the banyans or bhodis, the tree under which Buddha gained enlightenment.

Sunrise

The geometrical setup of the area prevents seeing sunrises here. However, on the Laos-Cambodia border, the Mekong provides awesome sunrises with shy sunrays filtering through the lush rainforest.

Sunrise Fishing

Xiengieun is the name of the promenade’s southern area; despite being the closest one to the city center, it is the most relaxed one. A large park with huge eucalyptus trees leads there to a series of meadows along the riverside. During the early mornings it is possible to watch fishermen using circular nets – older than the Lao culture – for catching tiny fish from the lazy flowing river.

Sunset

Around sunset time, people gather at a sports court in Xiengieun and exercise to the sound of modern music in an organized fashion fit of Chinese mass-parades at Tiananmen Square. However, at this hour the best place to be on is the central part of the promenade, just in front of Wat Chan, where most of Vientiane’s denizens apparently are at the time. The main street fills up with stalls providing quick Laotian snacks while the riverside offers improvised al-fresco restaurants. Sitting by the riverside and watching the incredible Mekong sunsets renders the food irrelevant; few places in the world offer better sunsets. The air humidity scatters the light into a myriad of reds and oranges while twisted roots growing on the fences separating the tables from the river provide an awesome ornament to the event.

Across the River

On the Thai side of the Mekong River, a village can be seen. Its name is Srichiangmai and it is famous in Thailand for preparing circular rice wrappers. While visiting it, the wrappers can be seen sun-drying on slanted bamboo surfaces.

Vientiane’s denizens seem to survive on snacks. The Morning and Night Market take care of the first and last meals, but an overwhelming number of stalls scattered all around – but especially on the Mekong River Promenade - offer tasty snacks between the extremes. In this entry are described some of the most popular ones.

Kalapao

Similar to steamed Chinese dumplings, the Kalapao is substantially bigger than them and usually filled with pork meat or a cooked egg. It is served very fresh, straight out of the steaming bowls.

Som Tam

The best known – and maybe most popular – salad in South East Asia, som tam is a spicy salad made of green papaya’s long slices with peanuts, chili peppers, lime juice and fish sauce. It is fiercely hot and thus should be consumed with care.

Laap

Laap is an exceptionally refreshing salad prepared of cooked minced meat (duck, chicken, water buffalo or pork), mint leaves, lime juice, garlic, and sliced chili peppers.

The Main Condiment

Naam plaa (literally water-fish) is a ubiquitous sauce prepared from fermented fish; it may contain parasites so it is better to avoid it (that’s even before mentioning its smell, which is not very appetizing).

The Main Staple

Khao niaw is the local name for sticky rice. It accompanies most Laotian meals; it is rolled into a ball with the hand, covered up with sauces and small bits of meat or insects and then eaten.

Grilled Chicken

Ping kai are half chickens skewed on sticks and grilled; they are a popular dinner and can be found all along the Night Market and the Promenade. Being grown in organic conditions, the chickens in Laos are rather small; they should be compared with a quarter chicken served in Western countries.

Meat and Curries

Khao laat kaeng is the generic name for meat curries served on khao jao (long rice); it is usually accompanied by boiled vegetables and is a meal by itself.

Vietnamese Snacks

Vietnamese noodle soup (pho) and Vietnamese deep-fried spring rolls (yaw jeun) can be easily found and enjoyed in the markets.

Bamboo Sticks

One of the strangest snacks is the ubiquitous burned bamboo sticks. They are filled with sticky rice and coconut cream and cooked on coals. The burned bamboo is peeled off and the sweet interior can then be eaten. A variant prepared with beans is also available.

Flattened Squids

Grilled and press flattened squids are a popular – and salty - snack. The squids – as the crabs and all fish served in the area – are of the fresh water type.

Fried Insects

Fried insects are a popular snack consumed alone or with sticky rice; they are especially grown in dedicated farms and thus they are clean and safe to consume. See the Eating Insects entry in my journal Vientiane: The First Bite.

Pork Skin

Curled, fried bits of pork skin are as crispy as the freshest French fries and are a popular snack while contemplating the colorful sunset over the Mekong River.

Baguette Sandwiches

A reminder that Laos was a French colony, baguette sandwiches are available at all hours; they are served with ham, pate and vegetables, or with fried eggs. The tasty bread appears in several sizes and is called here khao jii. It is a life-saver every time the nostalgia for Western bread becomes insupportable.

Coffee and fried-dough

The early morning is the best time for a coffee and pah thawng ko (deep-fried Chinese dough sticks) served in the Morning Market; for more details see the entry A Coffee in the Morning Market in my journal Vientiane: Love from First Sip. Healthy Chinese green-tea is given free at the end of an extra strong cup of Laotian coffee.

Cooled Fruits

Many stalls sell little bags of ice cooled fruits, accompanied by a mix of chili and sugar for spicing them up. The variety is amazing and depends on the season. The most characteristic fruits are rarmood, mangosteen, custard apple, rose apple (green and red), rambutan, longan, durian and Jack fruit. However, more standard choices – like papayas, mangos (several varieties), pineapples, watermelons, bananas, guavas and coconuts - are also available. Sugar cane juice with fresh lime is a surprisingly tasty and refreshing option.

Vang Vieng is the perfect countryside resort: it is near the capital, it offers spectacular views, it is along the way to other main attractions and it is tourists’ friendly.

The Way

The resort is about 160km north of Vientiane and can be reached with any means of transport heading for Luang Prabang – a town recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage place. Buses leave from Vientiane’s bus terminal next to the Morning Market and from the northern terminal as well. Moreover, all the travel agencies in Vientiane offer private cars for the four hours trip.

The Rationale of Stopping Here

Vang Vieng practically sits where the road leading to the northern parts of Laos from Vientiane – called Highway 13 - splits. Luang Prabang – the old capital of the northern Laotian kingdom – is to the north and Phonsavan – the main town along the Ho Chi Minh Trail – is to the northeast. Both trips are long, thus Vang Vieng offers the perfect stop for a break – regardless the direction to be followed.

The Resort

Vang Vieng is a small village located amidst a limestone karst valley and next to the Nam Xong River. The shallow river is spanned by rustic bridges – some of them are slightly below the water surface – and is surrounded by colorful caves.

The Sunsets

The town being on the eastern riverside assures clear views of the sunset. The broken karst landscape creates unforgettable sunsets amidst incredibly green hills of irregular shape. The air humidity and the clouds guarantee the sun light would be scattered into a myriad of reddish hues on a daily base.

The Town

Roughly following the riverside, the curved main street is short and hosts most of the guesthouses and restaurants in town. The Morning Market is nearby the single curve along it, nearby the street’s center.

The Runway

Nearby Highway 13 and the bus terminal is a now abandoned – but clearly shaped and paved – runway. It was used during the Vietnam War and provides some historical angle to the visit.

The Hotels

Vang Vieng offers only rustic accommodations. Most guesthouses are rather basic and are arranged in a kind of cartel, thus recommending a specific one would be useless. Basic, spacious rooms with a fan, an attached bathroom and a rustic water heater can be rented for around $2.5 per day. South of town is a bungalow place which often changes ownership and is sporadically closed – it is worth checking it before signing into another place since it offers huts attractive and is far from the other establishments and tourists.

The Restaurants

Many establishments offer slightly overpriced hybrids between Laotian and Western meals. However, if arriving from Vientiane, the Xayoh restaurant branch would immediately caught the attention. This one is less sophisticated than the one in the capital and specializes in grilled meats and pizzas. The other place worth mentioning is the Shore Sunset - I have no other name for this improvised restaurant - which is located just south of the market, after the road elbow. From the main street there is a long staircase leading to the river and the restaurant. Some grass was planted by the shore, a few benches were placed there and a very basic kitchen was constructed in two simple huts. At this spot, the river is shallow and shaky wood bridges at water level can be seen just to the south; they do not follow the shortest trajectory, but make zigzags, connecting in such a fashion some tiny islands and creating a colorful point where the local denizens can be watched. One of the segments is slightly sunken into the water and people crossing it look as if they were walking on water. The shore across the river is shaded by impressive vertical cliffs covered with greenery. It is the best place for watching the wonderful local sunsets.

The Activities

The main activity offered to visitors is floating along the river. Huge tractor inner tubes can be rented (less than a dollar per day) and used for the task from Pakpok (4km north of Vang Viang) through rapids and tiny islands, back to Vang Vieng. The adventurous can choose a longer trip from Ban Pha Thao which is off Route 13, this route longs ten kilometers. Bicycles can be rented for less than a dollar a day and complete the basic transport methods at the service of visitors. Motorcycles are available for seven dollars a day, but the wet nature of the local attractions renders them almost useless. Cave tours can be combined with tube trips; the combined option requests a local guide and is organized by all the local travel agencies.