Our our last trip to Cambodia, we stopped by the Golden Triangle area and stepped foot into Laos for just long enough to say we were in Laos and to get our passports stamped. On this trip, we decided to learned more about one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Our first stop was Vientiane, a relatively small capital city that pleasantly surprised us for its level of development, its cleanliness, its friendly and helpful people, and its relatively sophisticated restaurants for such a poor area. The central city is small however, and has very few notable sights. This worked for us since we had less than a full day in the city, however, we wouldn’t have missed much if we had skipped going there. Our whirlwind tour included:

Pha That Luang

Pha That Luang is a huge, beautifully rebuilt complex built around a 100-foot golden stupa that serves as a national symbol. The reconstructed stupa, which now includes a museum, is surrounded by a number of ornate buildings (including a brightly colored ordination hall) and sculptures, including one of a large gold reclining Buddha.

Patuxai Monument

The victory gate is loosely modeled on the Arc de Triumph, but is adorned with pagoda-like turrets and traditional Laotian designs and images. It leads into a pretty park with fountains and formal gardens.

Talad Sao Morning Market

The market is half shopping mall (with glassed-in stores shared by multiple small merchants) and half outdoor stalls under a common roof. The shops are generally jumbled together in no discernible order. They sell tourist tchotchkes, shoes, home appliances, clothes or anything else that comes to mind.

That Dam

The a black brick dome stupa was built in the 15th century. It is the oldest monument in the city.

Wat Sisaket

The oldest surviving temple in the city was built in 1818. It contains barely discernible murals depicting the life of Buddha, a collection of thousands of Buddha images, and important Buddhist manuscripts.

Haw Pha Kaeo

The totally rebuilt version of an historic temple is now a museum with a modest religious art collection.

Presidential Palace

The Beaux Arts creation initially housed French governors and then the Lao monarchy before the president.

Brunei Embassy Complex

The complex is one of the largest, most beautiful buildings in the city. It was so grand that we (along with other tourists) initially confused it with the Presidential Palace.

Nam Ou Fountain

The fountain is in a small, city-center park that is surrounded by restaurants. It is supposed to be a major city gathering place but was rather deserted on on the morning we visited.

Impeng Temple

The modest-sized but brightly and ornately painted temple complex is located a few blocks from the city center.

Seem like pretty limited sights for a capital city? We thought so. But try as we may, we couldn’t come up with much else to see or do in the in the city (other than the Pha That Luang Museum which was closed for lunch when we arrived). Other than the long walk from this temple to the other sites (which is best done by tuk tuk), the city highlights can be is easily see in 3-4 hours.

Vientiane Restaurants

With time for only two meals in the city, we had to choose carefully.

Makphet

The a highly regarded and very popular restaurant employs and trains disadvantaged street children to work under a professional staff in the preparation and serving of “innovative Lao cuisine”.  We began with grilled water buffalo fillet rolls with daikon and ginger in a tamarind dipping sauce. It was pretty good except that water buffalo, as we discovered, is quite tough. Our entrees consisted of a modestly spicy “ancient” fish with green papaya salad, a contemporary take on a traditional dish with lightly fried fish with a slightly sweet, slightly tangy tamarind-based sauce and a very mild chicken curry with pumpkin and mushrooms. Both were very good. So good, in fact, that we had to try a dessert. Crispy red rice with mango and pandan sauce with coconut ice cream was a another winner, with its interesting combination of textures and tastes.

Khop Chai Deu

We had two dishes at another popular Laotian restaurant. The shrimp, melon, and pineapple salad had a delicious vanilla lemon sauce that is very similar to a sauce on our favorite San Francisco dim sum dish (sauteed prawns with candied walnuts). Needless to say, we loved it. Our other dish, a traditional northern Lao dish called Laab Pork, was less compelling. It insisted of stir-fried pork scraps with fish sauce, lime juice, ginger, basil and a little chili. The taste was not offensive, but not interesting. The grizzle, however, was a turnoff.

Vientiane Hotel

The Salana Boutique Hotel was clean, comfortable and conveniently located with accommodating staff. We didn’t have any complaints, but it was nothing special. Still, if we ever return to Vientiane (which we seriously doubt), we would choose this hotel again due to comfort and location.