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November 2001

Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic

Jeremy Koh
2005-11-05 11:36:01

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Day 1- Journey to Vientiane

After crossing the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge border at Nong Khai, Thailand, we finally set foot in Laos. However, it did take a bit of time for our on-the-spot 15 day tourist visas to be processed (The visa costs US$30 and you need a passport size photo). There was nothing much of interest at the checkpoint except for a couple of duty-free shops. After clearing customs, towards the left of the checkpoint, there were tuk-tuks waiting to bring us into Vientiane which is around 20km away. By the way, Vientiane is pronounced as 'Wieng Chan'.

Vientiane is a capital city that doesn't look like one and is quaintly evocative of a past era. For one, there are no fast food restaurants, and the other thing is, it doesn't have high-rise office buildings, which is a major hallmark of urban cities. But then as the Lonely Planet book, South-East Asia on a Shoestring says, it is one of the least developed and most enigmatic countries in Asia. It was precisely this reason which drew me to this country.

I asked the tuk-tuk driver to drive us on to Thanon Samsenthai, which is the main shopping area. He drove us straight to Phonepaseuth Guesthouse (E-mail: dayinn@laotel.com Tel: (856-21) 212263 ) at Pangkham Road near Thanon Samsenthai instead. I suppose he receives a commission for every customer he brings to this guesthouse. Nonetheless, eager for a place to rest after a long train journey, we decided to check the place out. For US$17 per day, we had a clean, air-conditioned room with hot water showers. For sure there are better deals around but we decided to stay at this guesthouse.

Day 1- National University of Laos

After a long bath and a short rest, we decided to go to the National University of Laos to look for my friend Kongchay, an exchange student for one semester at my faculty. ...