Vientiane

Vientiane is the least frantic capital in Southeast Asia, a low-rise city along a bend of the Mekong where the traffic thins by mid-evening and the riverfront fills with joggers and food stalls. Pha That Luang, a gilded stupa rebuilt after destruction in the nineteenth century, is the national symbol and appears on the currency. Patuxai, the arch on the main avenue, was built in the 1960s with cement that had been supplied for an airport runway, a fact the monument's own plaque acknowledges with unusual candour. Wat Si Saket survived the 1828 sacking and holds thousands of small Buddha images in wall niches. The COPE visitor centre documents the country's unexploded ordnance legacy and the prosthetics programme that responds to it.

History

The name is the French spelling of the Lao Viangchan, from viang, a walled city, and chan, which may mean either sandalwood or the moon, so the "walled city of sandalwood" or "of the moon" (Wikipedia, Vientiane).

The main sights

• Pha That Luang - the gilded national stupa, best in late afternoon light.
• Wat Si Saket - cloister walls lined with thousands of Buddha images.
• Patuxai - the arch on the avenue, climbable for a view over the city.
• COPE visitor centre - an exhibition on unexploded ordnance and prosthetics.

When to go

November to February is cool and dry and by far the most comfortable. March to May is extremely hot. The That Luang festival in November and Boun Bang Fai rocket festivals in May are the big events.

Practical notes

Vientiane is quiet to the point of sleepy and many travellers pass through in a day, which is a fair judgement of the sights but misses the riverfront in the evening. The Mekong recedes a long way in the dry season, leaving sandbanks rather than a river view. COPE is confronting and worth the visit precisely because it is.

Nearby

Vang Vieng is three hours north; the Thai border at Nong Khai is half an hour away.