Vientiane, LAOS
Airing Date: Mar 12th, 2002
It is a city with red earthen roads, very few high-rise buildings and where tuk tuks and bikes are more common than cars.
Buddhist monks are ubiquitous and hundreds of temples dot the landscape.
Every morning at sunrise you can see the monks collecting alms, or gifts of food, from the locals.
After this morning ritual you can head to the markets that are brimming with an array of cheap silks, bric-a-brac and traditional Lao foods.
The many temples are one of the real highlights of Vientiane. Two of the more popular are That Louang and Wat Sisaket.
That Louang was once covered in 500kgs of gold leaf, while Wat Sisaket is the city's oldest temple and home to more than 1000 Buddha statues.
Some are thousands of years old.
Entry to most temples is about 50 cents and modest dress is required, which means long shorts/skirt and covered shoulders.
Two hours by boat along the Mekong you'll find the Buddha Park.
It is a surreal sculpture garden built in the 1950s by a priest who believed in both Buddhist and Hindu philosophies.
It has 227 towering statues and is one of the city's most popular day trips.
If all this is not enough then you can always indulge in some of Vientiane's finest cuisine.
Laos was once part of French Indochina and Vientiane still has a distinctive French flavour.
The colonial architecture is also distinctly French.
The facts
Thai Airways International flies to Vientiane, via Bangkok daily. Prices start at $1110 from the east coast and $1090 from Perth.
Intrepid Travel runs nine to 21 day tours through Laos - the perfect introduction to this amazing country.
Prices start from $990 per person, which includes accommodation, transport and most meals.
Intrepid travel
Tel: 1300 360 667
Website: www.intrepidtravel.com
Thai Airways
Tel: 1300 651 960
www.thaiairways.com.au
Suggested Reading Material
Lonely Planet
Website: www.lonelyplanet.com
Rough Guides
Website: www.roughguides.com
