Reclining Buddha at the Buddha park.

I have to remind myself that I have been in Laos for less than 36 hours. It feels like a very long time. Everything and everyone is so incredibly welcoming and simple. No traffic, no noise, no cell phones, no crowds, no garish modernisms. The pace quieter, the days longer, the moments richer.

The most frequently used word to describe Laos is 'forgotten' due to its isolation from the world political scene for two decades. From 1975, when the Pathet Lao communist government seized power, to the 1990s the country was cut off completely from the west insulating it from the negative effects of rapid modernisation and imbuing the whole country and its people with a touching innocence. The concept of begging is non existent, with even the poorest of the poor preferring to earn a living rather than beg for it.

Vientiane is small. And because of Laos's segregation from the world, present development has not been at the price of its people's culture or pace of life. DJs are not allowed, there is a curfew after 11:30 pm, women are encouraged to wear the national dress, the sinh, and all radio stations have to play a certain percentage of local music. Brightly coloured tuk tuks plough the tree lined boulevards whilst children play hopscotch on the sidewalks. English is rarely spoken, even less understood, but a smile hovers on everyone's face turning into an instant beam in response to your sabaidee (hello).

Much of yesterday was taken up with a visit to the Garden of Thousand Buddhas, just outside Vientiane, where heavily symbolic and exotic Buddhist and Hindu images crowd together in a park. It was a nice afternoon. A cup of Lao coffee, a gentle breeze and gorgeous views of the Mekong and golden sandbanks, with Thailand stretched out lazily in a long green belt across the shimmering waters.

Today was my official sightseeing day. Most of the sights in Vientiane are of religious significance with Wat Sisaket and Wat Phra Keo being Vientiane's two national museums. Built in 1818, Wat Sisaket is home to the head of the Buddhist community in Laos. It is one of the most important buildings in the capital and houses over 7,000 Buddha images. Wat Phra Keo, across the road from Wat Sisaket, was never a monastery but was used instead for royal worship. It was built in 1565 by King Setthathirat to house the Emerald Buddha, which was removed by the Thais in 1779 and is now in Bangkok.

Vientiane's most important site and the holiest Buddhist monument in the country is the That Luang. According to legend, a stupa was originally built here in the 3rd Century AD by emissaries of the Indian emperor Asoka and was said to contain the breast bone of the Buddha. Excavations at the site however defy the legend. The present monument was built by King Setthathirat in 1566 whose statue stands outside.

On the city's main thoroughfare is Vientiane's answer to Paris's Arc de Triomphe and the country's best known landmark, the Victory Monument or Patuxai. It is also known as the vertical runway. The nickname refers to the fact that it was built in the 1960s from funds the US government had given to the Lao government for the expressed purpose of extending the runway at the airport.

Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple in Vientiane, has over 7,000 images of Buddha.

Wat Phra Keo, built for royal worship, housed the Emerald Buddha from 1565-1779.

That Luang serves as a national symbol and is the most revered Buddhist monument in the whole country.

Glimpses of Vientiane... Victory Monument, the main thoroughfare, child selling savouries.

vientiane : last impressions
23-24 December 2006

I am back in Vientiane, after having travelled this past week to Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and Phonsavan... Back full circle to where my journey had began.

My last impressions of Vientiane as I leave are of dusk kissed wats surrounded with swaying palm trees and golden images of Buddha blessing mortal souls. I spent my time wat hopping. There are so many of them, with each one having its own unique character. Wat Mixay, Wat Chan, Wat Ong Teu. You think you've seen it all and then a little alley opens into a wat so incredibly beautiful and ethereal that it takes your breath away. Slowly the sun sets, darkness fills the streets, and yellow lights light up the sleepy town as traffic starts to buzz and French restaurants open their menus for travellers and locals alike. It is time for me to say good bye.

The aeroplane to Angkor Wat, my next stop, turns out to have a damaged propeller which stops working mid air. We are forced to fly back to Vientiane and make an emergency landing. Many hours later we finally leave. Was I scared faced with the possibility of near death? Not at all. Laos teaches you to take life with a pinch of salt, a bit of naiveté, and infinite faith:)

Last impressions - ethereal wats dotting a French colonial city.

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