Laos Life.

Before my 14 hour bus ride between capital cites and before being turned away by countless cabs at 5am in Bangkok, I walked around my hotel in Vientiane one last time. These are my photos.

Where I Rested: Night Bus From Vientiane to Bangkok

Xieng Khuan.

During my 52 km Tuk-Tuk ride today I had a lot of time to enjoy all that is Vientiane and the more I see the more I like. Laos has been really growing on my since the moment I walked across the border…

The reason for my long Tuk-Tuk ride was to visit Buddha Park, also known as Xieng Khuan, a park that contains over 200 Hindu and Buddhist statues that was built in 1958. The statues are made of cement and are ornate, and sometimes bizarre, in design. The statues appear to be centuries old, though they are not. There are numerous sculptures of Buddha and characters of Hindu lore. There are also sculptures of humans, gods, animals, and demons. One notable sculpture resembles a giant pumpkin (above image). It has three stories representing three levels – Hell, Earth and Heaven. You enter through an opening which is a mouth of a 10 ft tall demon head and climb staircases from hell to heaven, not an easy task… At the top you have a vantage point of the entire park which also gives you a great look an enormous 40 m high reclining Buddha.

This by far was tops the list places visited in the past few months. Granted it only lasted 20 minutes, but there was something about this park that reminded me of Angkor Wat mixed with a Picasso painting at the National Museum Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Just beautiful.

I invite you to check out all the images below, as everyone is unique in its own way.

Where I Rested: Avalon Hotel, Vientiane

The French.

The French still play a big role Vietnam and Laos today, from food, to signs, to monuments… It’s pretty interesting to see even after years of these countries being free from France that they still adopt some of what the French brought over.

Yesterday (before the illness) I went on a walk about town. First I visited “The Patuxay” which is a monument in the center of Vientiane on Lan Xang Boulevard (meaning Grand Avenue) and often referred to as the”Champs Elysées of the East”. The monument was dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France and was built in 1960′s. Although bearing a general resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, it is typically Laotian, decorated with many kinnari figures. And get this, it was built using American funds. The US had given Laos money to build a new airport, however the Laotian government of the day used the money to build the monument instead.

And in the pics below you will see the “That Dam” which is a large stupa. Many Laotians believe it is inhabited by a seven headed dragon who tried to protect them from the armies of Siam, who invaded in 1827. You can’t make this stuff up.

Where I Rested: Avalon Hotel, Vientiane

Vientiane.

Welcome to Laos. After another long day of travel I’ve made it to the capital city of Laos, Vientiane. I am now a traveling party of one and this is actually the first time I’ve gone off on my own…and what an experience it is. Just knowing that I’m now responsible for everything, everyday was a bit hard to swallow at first, but sometimes you’ve just got to press on. Tomorrow I’ll get out in city more but since there are a few of you that like to see what the places we stay at look like, check the photos in the gallery below. $14 USD a day with free breakfast and wifi…

Where I Rested: Avalon Hotel, Vientiane