The capital of Laos-Vientiane
【Vientiane History】
Vientiane is a city that has experienced vicissitudes. It was inhabited as early as the 9th century. From the 9th century to the present, Vientiane has experienced 3 massacres and 3 glories. It has undergone colonial rule by Vietnamese, Burmese, Siamese (that is, Thais), Qing Dynasty, French, and Lao communism until the 1990s. It gradually returned to normal and the economy began to pick up. It is now heading for the fourth boom.
It may have been destroyed too many times. In the buildings including the many temples, we cannot find the traces of weather-beaten. It is like a small town that has just risen, the buildings are not very high, the economy is not very developed, and the people are abnormal. Simple... the tears of war have been eliminated, and this city is on its way lightly.
[The present in Vientiane]
There is no need to worry about the security problems in Laos or Vientiane. No matter what industry they are in, Vientiane people are working hard to make money, and the crime rate is extremely low. The people in Vientiane who are engaged in the service industry deeply regard tourists as gods who bring them wealth rather than enemies. Therefore, whether you are a tuk-tuk owner or a small vendor, you can bargain boldly without worrying about hostile eyes from the other party.
However, as the capital, Vientiane's urban rhythm is still relatively fast after all. In terms of travel experience, Vientiane is far less comfortable than Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
traffic
From the airport to the city
According to the strategy, you can walk 500 meters out of the airport gate and cross a street to get a cheap tuk tuk (60,000 Kip, about 50 yuan, carpooling is cheaper), but in reality it is not very reliable. First of all, when arriving in Laos by plane with luggage, it is really unwise to walk nearly one kilometer in the extreme heat. Secondly, if you arrive in Vientiane at night, don't have the illusion that there will be a large line of tuk-tuk waiting to take you out of the airport. It depends on your luck whether you can stop the tuk-tuk.
It is recommended to choose an official taxi, which costs 10 dollars to the city. If you live in an urban area, it's probably more than 10 kilometers away. You can choose to carpool with other tourists. Our hotel is on the outskirts of the city in the other direction, more than 20 kilometers away from the airport, which is quite cost-effective.
【Rent a motorcycle】
There are many rental shops, and the rent is between 70,000 and 80,000 kip. We rented it from a shop in the middle of Th Francois Ngin Street for 9 USD/day (74000 Kip/day). Because it only rented for one day and the price was reasonable, there was no bargaining.
The overall traffic situation in Vientiane is rather chaotic, a bit like the densely populated urban-rural fringe in the country, so when you ride in the city center, you should pay more attention to pedestrians passing through and cars suddenly passing by. However, the Lao people strictly abide by the traffic lights and have never seen rushing or running a red light.
[Motorcycle Tip]: Vientiane is very sunny. If you plan to ride a motorcycle and worry about tanning, in addition to sunscreen, it is recommended to bring a long-sleeved jacket. No matter how high the temperature is, Lao cyclists are dressed like the picture below.
[Bribery of Lao Police]
There are a lot of one-way streets in Vientiane. You must be careful if you do not wear a helmet or go retrograde on one-way streets. Traffic police usually "ambush law enforcement."
Once we accidentally entered a retrograde one-way street, we were tragically stopped and taken to the police station nearby. The policeman sitting at the police station can't speak English (don't know if it's pretending), and keep shouting "passport". I even made a gesture and told him that my passport was held at the car rental agency. He pointed to my girlfriend and asked about the passport, and we both pretended not to understand. Later, I found that it was not a solution, so I gave him the international driving license.
I thought that if I lost my international driver’s license, I could do a new one at any time when I returned to my country. It turned out that the policeman seemed quite experienced. Even the gestures in Laotian + old-fashioned English told me to the effect that the driver’s license and the car must be deducted, and the order he issued must be taken to a certain place to pay a fine.
Now we are dumbfounded. But I found that the policeman gave me a meaningful look, and then stopped talking and lowered his head to read the newspaper. In an instant, Daigo gave him an initiation and hurriedly turned around looking for a three to five dollars to come out to him, but accidentally turned out only 10 dollars. The policeman's eyes lit up when he saw 10 dollars. At this time, the girlfriend shouted that she found her, and took out five dollars from her bag. Brother's eyes dimmed instantly. I put 5 dollars on the table in a low-key manner, he swiftly pressed under the newspaper, and then gave us the driver's license...
This incident has four inspirations for friends who plan to come to Laos for self-driving:
- Pay attention to road signs, obey traffic regulations, and don't give the police a chance.
- In any case, don't give a passport, give an unimportant document, such as a student ID or an international driver's license, and there is still room for maneuver. Given the passport, the initiative is completely lost.
- You need to have three or five dollars in change, if you don’t have it, you can only give more than 10 dollars. After all, there is no change in bribery.
- The most efficient way is to kill him directly for 3 dollars without trying to understand the police’s old-fashioned English, and without having to take out his ID. He will like it!
presidential palace
Sitting south facing north, Th Lan Xang Street in front of the door is the main road and central axis of Vientiane. You can see the Triumphal Arch from the front of the Presidential Palace. The Presidential Palace is not open, you can take pictures outside. The Presidential Palace, Sisage Temple, and Jade Buddha Temple are closely adjacent to each other and can be visited together on foot.
Sisag Temple
Opposite the Presidential Palace, the temple is not big. It takes only 15 minutes to go around. Tickets are 10,000 Kip (over 7 yuan). It was built around 1820 and is said to be the oldest temple in Vientiane. When you walk in, you will find that this temple deserves to be the "oldest" temple. Nearly a thousand Buddha statues are fragmented, the roof is barely supported, and many structures have signs of reinforcement. The whole Sisak Temple seems to be as weak as you crying about the dynasty changes and the baptism of wind and rain they have experienced.
Jade Buddha Temple
The entrance is 100 meters from the southeast diagonally opposite the entrance of Xisag Temple, and it is a 2-minute walk. The overall architectural style is not much different from other temples, it is all gorgeous. It is now the National Museum of Religious Art. It is said to be a museum, but the interior is more like a large warehouse. It is worth mentioning that the Jade Buddha Temple is famous for its dedicated jade Buddha. It is very spiritual, and my wish has been fulfilled. The Jade Buddha is enshrined in the southeast corner of the "big warehouse". If you can't find it, just look at where the locals bow and worship. Photography is prohibited inside the museum.
Simeng Temple
In the temple where the incense is the most prosperous, the ticket seller at the door will collect tickets when he sees foreigners. Entering the temple, you can see many believers, kneeling in twos and threes around the monks chanting. The stone Buddha in the innermost hall that looked like it was about to melt escaped the Siamese massacre in 1828, and the locals regarded it as the city's patron saint.
Behind the temple is a dilapidated red clay pagoda (on the left side of the picture below). The devotees pile up broken statues and pottery in front of the pagoda, praying to the gods to forgive them for breaking the statues and avoid incurring bad luck.
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