Vientiane's monuments

 

Vientiane, the   capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane became the capital in 1563 due to fears of a Burmese invasion, but was later razed and looted to the ground in 1827 by the Siamese / Thai. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule and due to economic growth in recent times, is now the capital of Laos. 

Vientiane has a recorded history that stretches back to around 1,000 AD. The area was originally settled because of the fertility of the surrounding alluvial plains. The total estimated population of the city prefecture is 760,000 (2015). 

 The city contains many temples and Buddhist monuments with Pha That Luang, a Buddhist stupa, one of the most famous in Laos. It is the important national cultural monument and very popular amongst foreign tourists. 

The original was built in 1566 by King Setthathirath, and was restored in 1953. The golden stupa is 45 metres tall and is believed to contain a relic of the Lord Buddha. 10,000 kip Entrance fee (3,000 kip for Laotians). 

Thanon That Luang is two kms east from Patuxai. That Luang is a three-layered gilded stupa. All days 08:00-17:00. Accessing the inner courtyard gives you a slightly closer view of the stupa, and lots of Buddha statues. Vientiane's most important festival, Bun That Luang, is held here in November on the night of the full moon. 

Access to the complex is across a large square – you don’t really realise the size of the square or the complex until you are on the verge of crossing it. Then you feel its immenseness. 
The visitor walks first to this imposing building which I call the Audience Hall. Its vast halls are empty except for a large Buddha statue at one end of a long hall. Each room is ornately painted in red and gold with scenes from Buddha’s life. Next, is the Pha That Luang which looks really pretty in the afternoon sunlight – gold reflecting of its dome and its spires. Being 01 May, a national holiday, it was closed unfortunately. Next to it is another hall which is where the monks eat and this again had many paintings all over the walls and ceiling. Nearby was a small building here I saw many standing Buddha figures and one reclining Buddha. It’s a large area and one takes one’s time enjoying the serenity and beauty of the place.  

Patuxai (Victory Gate), Avenue Lane Xang.  The memorial monument, Patuxai, began construction in 1957 and was completed in 1968. Its unusualness makes it a prominent landmark in the city. A local version of Paris' Arc de Triomphe. 

While the Arc de Triomphe may have inspired the architecture, the design incorporates typical Lao motifs including “Kinnari”, a mythical bird woman. Energetic visitors can climb to the top of the monument, which reveals a panoramic view of the city. It costs 3000 kip to climb to the top of the monument which is equivalent to 7 storeys and you get a good view, so I am told!  

Besides the elaborate Buddhist embellishment, it differs from the original in having four gates instead of two and being just a bit higher - to trump the French. Reasonably impressive from afar, I was shocked to read an official plaque right next to the entry stating it is a "monster of concrete" when seen up close - and the concrete in question was donated by the US, although it was supposed to go towards a new airport instead: hence the nickname "the Vertical Runway".

The monument is not well maintained inside or out. However, the palm tree-lined park around it with a large fountain, donated by China, is quite pleasant though lacking of shade during the day time. 

Hophakaew Museum. This place is spelt differently so initially I was confused. It has an entrance fee 5,000 kip. It is one of the three sights one visits here – the Museum, Si Saket and the Palace are within minutes of each other.  An elegant, and majestic structure, King Setthathirat's former royal temple, which housed the magical Emerald Buddha (pha kaew) after it was taken from Lanna (Chiang Mai). The Siamese took it back in 1779 - the image is now housed in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew - and came back in 1828 to raze the temple for good measure. The present structure is a 1942 reconstruction and not much seems to be known about its fabrication. 

The temple no longer operates and the interior has been turned into a small jumbled museum housing Buddha images. The most popular image is the beautiful tall, lithe, long-armed Buddha in the hands-down "calling for rain" pose. In the room with the various images, at one end there is a counter selling Buddhist religious items and at the opposite end is the shrine. I managed to take a photograph of it as the whole scene was so  unexpected. 

Wat Si Saket is now known as Sisaket Museum – no one knows why. I paid yet another entrance fee of 5,000 kip. This Wat is right opposite the Museum described above. It has a unique ambience. Very silent. Very peaceful. Like the Pindaya caves or Pak Ou caves, there are thousands of images of the Buddha here but all in very good order – laid straight out in perfect lines. There is a small room with a glass locked door where broken images are respectfully preserved. It could be the oldest standing temple in Vientiane and among the most atmospheric.  Built in 1818 by Chao Anou in the Bangkok style and hence left unsacked when much of Vientiane was razed in a Siamese raid in 1828. As you enter, within the cloister walls are hundreds of niches housing Buddha images large and small, made of wood, stone, silver and bronze. In the centre of the courtyard is a five-tier-roofed sim (ordination hall) housing yet more Buddha niches and beautiful but fading murals of the Buddha's past lives. This small building has a large volume near the entrance detailing in German and English most of the murals, how they were preserved and their importance of the hand painted murals in Lao history. Regrettably now the murals are not maintained.

     the roof has intricate carving        

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Vientiane - sights and smells of Laos' capital

The name "Vientiane" is of French origin reflecting the difficulty the French had in pronouncing the hard "ch" sound in Lao. A common English-based spelling is "Viangchan", or occasionally "Wiangchan". Either way, it’s a sort of tongue twister! It’s also not a city on the tourist path as most tourists go to the north – Luang Prabang – or south to Champasak. Some go to the party spot of Vang Vieng, halfway between LP and V. Hence Vientiane has remained semi unknown even though it’s the capital in recent years.

I wanted to drive from Luang Prabang to Vientiane to see the countryside but found that I had to take an overnight halt and the cost was prohibitive. So, I thought I’d go via Phonsovan after seeing the Plain of Jars. But here again, my detour, via the Eastern part, did not reduce the journey. Either way, its 7 hours per stretch. If I took a cab (travelling in public transport or general taxis was a strict No as one can’t stop when one wants to and bus drivers are reckless), I’d have to pay for the return fare and overnight. So, the answer was drive to Phonsovan and then fly from there to Vientiane – cost was US$ 260 by land/air vs. US$ 700+ by land only!!  So arrived from the airport to my cute B&B – Lani’s. 

The name of the city is derived from Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism. Although the original meaning of the name is "city of sandalwood", as shown by ancient Lao inscription which wrote according to etymology, unlike modern Lao which is written phonetically; in modern Lao, the meaning of the name Vientiane is ambiguous. Lao claim that the city's name means "city of the moon", while many also claim correctly that the city's name means "city of sandalwood" because the words for "moon" and "sandalwood" are written and pronounced identically as "chan" in modern Lao. Most academic and historic Lao sources claim that the city's name does in fact mean "city of sandalwood", reinforced by the city's Thai and Khmer names both retain the etymological spelling, which indicates "city of sandalwood".

Food seller on promenade preparing her order

It’s a well spread out city with broad streets and avenues. The square outside the famous Phat That Luang is humungously vast. Reminded me of Red Square, a bit smaller but on the same concept for parades etc. Getting around Vientiane is easy, as the traffic is far less dangerous than in other Asian cities like Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh. The city map given to tourists is very clear and all monuments / sights are pictorially given. Street signage is lacking generally but in the centre more and more signs are displaying street names which are bilingual Lao and French. The Lao word "thanon" on these signs is translated by "rue", "avenue" or "boulevard". 

On 2 December 1975, the communist party of the Pathet Lao took over Vientiane, defeated the Kingdom of Laos, and renamed the country the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which ended the Laotian Civil War. Laos remains communist even today. 

Having given you the history lesson, the first thing I did was to go and see the River and the Promenade. It was just 5 minutes from my hotel. Amazing. It was around 5.00 pm, the sun was still up and it was slightly warm. The first thing you see is the night market which starts at 5.00 pm and stays on till 10.30 pm ?? Anyway, then comes the road and across that is this huge promenade stretching either side of me – I think I was at the centre point as that’s where there is an amphitheatre built downwards. Hordes of people. Tons of kids. Lao love children and babies – I think they are making up for the war years and loss of lives!!  I stood and inhaled the fresh air.   

Then I walked up and down just absorbing the ambience. It was fun. Seeing people from a different culture – especially the love they have for their kids and families and food. Then coming across the lovers and further up, the exercisers doing aerobics. Evening was coming along so naturally the food stalls were being set up along the road. You name the local food and it was there but essentially it was the fast food type. Many varieties of ice-cream were on offer.  I saw 3 or 4 guys on these parachutes with huge fans as I saw in the airboats in the Everglades except here they were powering the parachutes into various fancy aerial displays.                                      

The setting sun in fiery orange with a para glider above and exercisers below made an interesting sight. I walked thru the night market which was the most organised I have ever seen – lights, well laid out, tents and no overcrowding. Items well displayed. Orderly crowds. Impressive.                                                     

Having a list of good restaurants does not mean that it’s easy to find them. I was totally angry and hungry as most seemed to be away from where I was. So I started walking back towards my hotel and found, just by the main road, right next door to me, and this bar with four Koreans drinking, I walked in. Cautiously I ordered a beer and luckily for me, I was given complimentary snacks which I just loved –hummus on brioche and something with olives. If these were good, the starters should be as good?

After perusing the menu, which had some really interesting dishes, I ordered a Camembert starter. I was hooked. This place became my main restaurant for the 36 hours I was in Vientiane!  Read the menu and enjoy the pics.  It was only because I had to try out something new that I went to a nearby pizza place which was quite good. But I-Beam – its good is outstanding. If in Vientiane, go there.                                                     

When you get hungry try the nation’s signature dish, tam mak-hung (spicy green papaya salad).  laap (spicy minced meat salad) and ping kai (fried chicken). For its size, Vientiane is surprisingly multicultural and has excellent French, Indian, Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants that serve both Lao and specialty dishes. Quench your thirst with a refreshing Beer Lao or fresh fruit shake from one of the many small restaurants found along almost every street in town. At dusk, find a spot along the Mekong promenade to enjoy an amazing view of the sunset over the river.

Walking down my street, I suddenly saw something so familiar – a sight from the past. Just look at these electrical connections. My God, high tension cable wires stretched quite happily across the streets. What happens in a rain storm if they fall?

There are many wats in Laos and I rather liked this small wat nearby. As you see the novice monks do all sorts of labour. We had already seen them building a new structure in LP and here they were tearing down a building. 

As an artist in my retirement i always appreciate a struggling fellow artist. 

The sad part is that there were no longer any tourists for this person to sell his artwork  

Relying on the fickle tourist who today has his iPhone or iPad and is selfie obsessed, the public photographer’s business is running at a low point.

I saw many of these guys touting for business without much luck. What fascinated me was that they had their processing lab in the trunks of their cars!!  

Good coffee is essential for a good day. That’s one of my weaknesses. I love Vietnamese coffee and here I tried out pre-packed Lao coffee for the first time – with milk and sugar. Not bad at all. You can get coffee in its various permutations – highland, lowland, powdered / beans, roasted / non roasted, Arabica / Italian  etc etc. I would have preferred it without sugar but decided that I’d buy a few of these packets for future use.  It was a fitting farewell to Laos.

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com