Vientiane & Vang Vieng, Laos Vacation
After we got back from Vietnam, I was looking at Google maps and noticed that Laos was right next to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. When I first made the suggestion that we should go visit Laos, it was met with some resistance. But, then it became a reality. We flew into Vientiane and as soon as we got off the plane our tour guide Chansay was there and we were off enjoying the country. Matt found Chansay on Viator, and then on Facebook as well. He was friendly and knowledgeable. His English isn’t perfect, but we were able to communicate and have a wonderful 2.5 days in Laos.
Day 1
Directly from the airport we went to a night market in Vientiane that was next to the Mekong Delta…then we went to Dhavara hotel for a night’s stay
Ho Pra Keo in Vientiane was originally constructed in 1565 as the Lao royal family’s personal chapel, and as a home for the Emerald Buddha after it was snatched from northern Siam (Thailand). This sacred jade statue was reclaimed by the Siamese in 1778 and now sits in Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok which we saw in 2013.
Cool carvings out of tree trunks at Ho Pra Keo
Wat Si Saket located in Vientiane is famous for its cloister wall housing thousands of tiny Buddha images and rows with hundreds of seated Buddhas. These images mainly date from the 16th and 19th centuries and come in all sizes and are made from wood, stone and bronze – more than 6,800 Buddhas in total.
Laying Buddha at Pha That Luang reminded us of Thailand since they have one of these too.
One form of the local transportation in Laos
Inside an indoor market/swap meet type place. Almost every country in Asia has something like this
The Patuxai is dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France…and is very similar to the Arch de Triomphe in France, although this one in Laos has shops inside.
View of Vientiane from the Patuxai
Day 2
We drove 3 hours from Vientiane to Vang Vieng and stayed at the Riverside Boutique Resort
They day started out cloudy and rainy, but we still had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery
First stop was to Tham Chang Cave and we had to climb a bunch of stairs to get there.
Inside Tham Chang Cave
Mason praying inside the “Elephant Cave”
A Laoation tractor, also used as a means of transportation on the road for locals
Outside of the Tham Nam Water cave the kids had a great time playing with the inner tubes…inside the cave was pitch black expect for the headlights that we wore
We had a “Sunset Boat Ride” although we really couldn’t see the sunset. Still we all had a good time and saw a lot of foreigners looking like they were enjoying spring break as well.
All the food that we ate in Laos was DELICIOUS!
We are big fans of family massages when they are cheap
The Farley Family enjoyed Laos and all that we were able to see and do there
And thanks to our wonderful tour guide Chansay…and if he is booked, his fiance is also a tour guide!
More photos of our Laos vacation here.
