Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, situated on the Mekong River near the border with Thailand. Despite being the largest city in Laos, Vientiane is still very laid back and it really did not have a city feel to it. The French influence is unmistakable... wide boulevards with roundabouts, numerous street side cafes, and colonial architecture everywhere you turn.
We picked up some free maps form a travel agent and explored Vientiane by foot which was pretty easy do do but was a good 12K round walk. We started out by the river to get our bearings and saw a Large bronze statue. My main reason for visiting Laos was the see the statue of King Sisavangvong Vong which is at The Royal Palace in Luang Prabang. Jodie wondred if the statues would be similar and with that we saw on the map that there was also a statue of King Sisavangvong Vong in Vientiane... So we went to find it. The picture above is that of me standing in front of the statue. We then stumbled across Patuxai which is Vientianes very own Arc de Triomphe. Patuxai in Lao means Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph. It is a war monument in the centre of Vientiane, Laos which was built between 1957 and 1968. The Patuxai is dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. It is also called Patuxai Arch or the Arc de Triomphe of Vientiane as it resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
We then went on to find the most important national monument in Laos And a national symbol... Pha That Luang. It is on all the money!! It is a gold covered large Buddhist Stupa. Although Vientiane was just a stop over before reaching Luang Prabang. I really liked this city and all it had to offer and I learnt a lot about the history of Laos. Peace and Love Zoe xxx