Vientiane, Laos:
After meeting Frenchy this morning for coffee and a lengthy chat about love and possibilities, life and people, work and family, we parted ways, not knowing if we were going to cross paths again. She’d offered me a place to stay if I was ever in France, and made the gesture with absolute sincerity. It was something I was definitely keen to take her up on…but first, Vientiane!
With light drizzle gracing the city streets I set off on a challenging walk that would take me all afternoon to complete. Vientiane is the capital of Laos but unlike other capital cities in South East Asia, it seemed small, less busy, less frantic, more chilled; and considering Laos only has a population of around 6million, it was easy to see why.
There were no scooters on the roads to envy the likes of Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi, and the noise levels were quieter too. And for a Monday, I found the traffic to be particularly average. It was great. My little walk took me first round the tiny streets of the Mixay district, and as I wandered I was amazed at the regality and grandness of the buildings and their architecture.
Very much European in style, especially of a French nature, I was reminded of the streets of Paris – the tiny coffee shops and patisseries that graced every corner gave this area of Vientiane a very homely feel. And then there were the Temples. Oh the temples!! And they were everywhere. From the grandiose style of Wat Ong Teu to the beauty and ornamental stature of Wat Chan; I was in complete Buddhism paradise. The colours, the design, the intricacies of the detailed carvings; it was all very flash. And they stood out, boy did they stand out – among the faded colours of the Parisian-esque buildings, the Wats shone in all their complex glory.
Not wanting to spend too much time gawping at their magnificence (for there was more to come later), I found myself wandering into a little silk and crafts shop. Laos has a very colourful history, and not one that’s all smelling of roses either – after the Vietnam war, a war that decimated most of the country (a war in which Laos was bombed the shit out of) the women of Laos began making a living for their families by growing silk. They farmed the silk worms and then harvested their crops in order to finally produce beautifully hand woven scarves and purses. One woman in particular – Mrs Kommaly Chanthavong was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her work and dedication to the production of silk. And the strengthening of women in the workplace in Laos could probably be attributed to her.
The scarves were exquisite. But way out of my price range – I barely had enough money to eat for my last two days in Laos let alone for buying scarves that I didn’t really need and probably wouldn’t even wear. A part of me sighed inside though as I longed to part with just a little of my cash in order to purchase a hand woven purse, or even a bar of soap. Alas, food in my belly (alcohol in and around my mouth) and getting to the airport on Wednesday were my top priorities, so I bid adieu to Camacrafts and continued on my way.
My lack of money was becoming a slight irritant to me. I’d spent far too much in Vietnam (my own stupid fault) and now I was paying the price. And through my own stubbornness I refused to dip into my Cambodian budget too. I was so poor that I couldn’t even bring myself to part with any Lao Kip for a tuk-tuk to take me to my next point of call. Hence the reason for my insistence on walking everywhere – I had no other choice – it was a toss up between being ferried around the city in luxury or putting food (and wine) in my belly. And food won. Every time.
Anyway, I’m digressing; my ‘woe is me’ attitude had no place on this trip (and in fact, after chatting to Frenchy, it had no place in my life), so I carried on my journey. Strolling up Vientiane’s answer to the Champs-Elysees I headed towards a replica Arc De Triomphe, a greying concrete slab of a thing smack bang in the centre of a busy intersection. It was beautiful. Well, I thought it was beautiful at least. The descriptive plaque on its wall suggested otherwise.
I paid my entrance fee – a mere 3000 Kip – and made my way to the top. The view was a little disappointing – there was no replica Eiffel Tower and no Louvre in sight, much to my dismay -but it was nice to survey the city from such a height.
Once back with my feet firmly on the ground I trekked another couple of KMs to my Pièce de résistance! Pha That Luang, the statue of King Sai Setthathirath and Wat That Luang Tai. For the second time that day I was in exquisite, pristine, shining, magical, majestical, ornate Buddhist heaven.
This Wat, this Temple, this place of worship was astounding. Save from the crazy Japanese tourists who’d arrived by the bus load just as I was walking through the gates; and save from their persistence in taking fifteen hours to pose for a photo in front of/on top of/underneath/above every single monument; and save from the fact they kind of, maybe, disrespected the place just a little with their over gregarious mimicking and enthusiastic jeering; I was in gobsmacked awe. Not even in China had I seen anything close to this kind of beauty. Some people will argue that temples are temples and statues of Buddha are statues of Buddha, blah blah blah; but this, this was something else.
Making the looooong journey back to the centre of Vientiane, I couldn’t help but think how completely underrated the city was. I’ve mentioned previously how some people had told me that I could overlook Laos, and Vientiane especially, as a destination. And I’ll reiterate my sentiments once more – aside from Vang Vieng town centre (the surroundings are idyllic), those people who imparted their advice were totally and unequivocally wrong. Vientiane is a melting pot of coffee shops and French eatieries, steak-houses and Italian restaurants, bakeries and wine shops, beer halls and delicatessants; there’s craft stores and ethnic clothing shops, there’s boutique stores and markets; the border of Thailand is just a hop, skip and a jump away over the Mekong river; and for me, Vientiane was exactly the place I wanted to be; the perfect place to end my time in Laos.
Chasing Amy-Lou 