We arrived in Vientiane straight from Pakse with our "sleeper bus" which dropped us at 6am at the Southern Bus Station (6km from the town centre). As soon as we got off the bus we had already a guy following us, he offered to take us in his songthaew to the town for 15.000 Kips each. Not well awake, we thought that the price was too high but could not be bothered to negotiate, so we refused his offer and walked to the other side of the bus station where all the tuk-tuks were parked. After negotiations we paid 8.000 Kips each for a Tuk-Tuk to get to the centre.
Arriving in town we were very surprised, first by the sleepy atmosphere of the town and also by the cost of the accommodations. Most of the guesthouses listed in our guide book were full and quite expensive (we could not find a room for less than 80.000 Kips). After a long look around, we must have visited around 10 guesthouses, we got a double room with fan and shared bathroom for 60.000 Kips in Syrai 2 Guesthouse. However later in the day we had to move to another guesthouse as our room (with no closing window) got flooded after it rained heavily. We ended up in Chindamay Guesthouse and for the same price we had a much better room (double room with a very nice and clean bathroom inside).
Vientiane does not look like a capital at all, this town is so quiet that it feels more like a sleepy provincial town. There is not much to do in Vientiane but we have to admit that there are a lot of options to have a good meal. We have been very surprised by the high number of trendy coffee places and good restaurants in this small town.
Even if Vientiane has less to offer compare to other capitals in South East Asia, there are still a few nice things to discover. We really liked visiting the Buddha Park located 24km out of town. The bus n14 departing from the Talat Sao Bus station drops you in front of the park (1h, 4.000 Kips). The trip was an adventure on itself as the bus was very, very crowded! The park created by a monk and its followers is very small but contains a lot of weird statues (entrance fee 5.000 Kips + 2.000 Kips for the camera). The visit was fun and at the end it was very enjoyable to have a drink at the bar which offers nice views on the Mekong. We also did the "walking tour" advised by the Lonely Planet to discover the main attractions of Vientiane. We did not do it fully but enjoyed the part we have done! We particularly liked the visit of the Wat Si Saket and the Haw Pha Kaeo as they are very nice old temples.
Arriving in town we were very surprised, first by the sleepy atmosphere of the town and also by the cost of the accommodations. Most of the guesthouses listed in our guide book were full and quite expensive (we could not find a room for less than 80.000 Kips). After a long look around, we must have visited around 10 guesthouses, we got a double room with fan and shared bathroom for 60.000 Kips in Syrai 2 Guesthouse. However later in the day we had to move to another guesthouse as our room (with no closing window) got flooded after it rained heavily. We ended up in Chindamay Guesthouse and for the same price we had a much better room (double room with a very nice and clean bathroom inside).
Vientiane does not look like a capital at all, this town is so quiet that it feels more like a sleepy provincial town. There is not much to do in Vientiane but we have to admit that there are a lot of options to have a good meal. We have been very surprised by the high number of trendy coffee places and good restaurants in this small town.
Even if Vientiane has less to offer compare to other capitals in South East Asia, there are still a few nice things to discover. We really liked visiting the Buddha Park located 24km out of town. The bus n14 departing from the Talat Sao Bus station drops you in front of the park (1h, 4.000 Kips). The trip was an adventure on itself as the bus was very, very crowded! The park created by a monk and its followers is very small but contains a lot of weird statues (entrance fee 5.000 Kips + 2.000 Kips for the camera). The visit was fun and at the end it was very enjoyable to have a drink at the bar which offers nice views on the Mekong. We also did the "walking tour" advised by the Lonely Planet to discover the main attractions of Vientiane. We did not do it fully but enjoyed the part we have done! We particularly liked the visit of the Wat Si Saket and the Haw Pha Kaeo as they are very nice old temples.
