Vientiane, Laos

1. Tree-lined street, 2. Patouxay afar

Before and after Luang Prabang, we stayed for a few nights in Vientiane. Vientiane, situated on the Mekong with northern Thailand across the river, is the capital of Laos. Here are two maps to get you oriented: Travelfish and Wikimapia

We slept
Lani Guesthouse
We stayed here for one day / two nights when we first arrived in Laos. Lani Guesthouse is located right in town, off the main road on a quiet alleyway, directly across from a small wat and a few meters from the evening hangout of Vientiane's ladyboys. At $35/night, we got a clean, conveniently located, room decorated with charming Lao textiles. But bring mosquito repellant...
Villa Manoly
Coming back from Luang Prabang, we stayed in Vientiane for two days / one night. For a change of pace, we stayed at the Villa Manoly this time. It's located in a French colonial house on a quiet street on the southern edge of town, and there's a swimming pool; not bad for $28/night. The main lobby is decorated with Lao antiques, but our room itself was kind of blah. Bring mosquito repellant...

We saw
Wat Si Saket
A quiet and beautiful crumbling structure that could use some restoration, this Buddhist temple was built sometime between 1819 and 1824 and might be Vientiane's oldest surviving wat. The interior of the surrounding wall has row upon row of little niches, each filled with one or two Buddha figurines.
Lao National Museum
The guidebook says they close at 4:00 but for the record they appear to close when they start THINKING about closing, which is about 3:20. We did make it inside on our final day in Vientiane. The historical and cultural dioramas are a bit dated but its quite interesting to see the photographic account of the American War (known in the States as the Vietnam War) with the museum's captions.
Haw Phra Kaeo
Formerly a temple, built in the 1500s, Haw Phra Kaeo is presently a religious sculpture museum with some very graceful and elegant bronze Buddha statues. I was struck by how each seemed to have a unique face and body type, as if they were all portraits of actual people...
That Dam
That Dam is an early Lan Xang period (mid 1300s - early 1700s) stupa. The Lan Xang was a period of peace and prosperity for Laos, and the time during which Laos included much of northern Thailand.
Pha That Luang
The gilded national stupa monument is a 10 minute tuktuk ride out of town. We felt we should see it since it IS the national monument, but I think it looks a little chunky and... well... not as attractive as the other monuments we've seen.
Patouxay
Vientiane's Patouxay is Laos' very own Arc de Triomphe, built in the 1906s to commemorate Laos' independence from France. It's situated along Lane Xang Boulevard, and with its 3 spires and 4 arches, looks very pretty from afar. On one pillar, there's a funny humbly-written plaque that acknowledges that it's not so beautiful up close. Patouxay has its charms, though. I thought the decoration detail was fascinating and amusing, and there was a great view from the top level. The park at the base of the Patouxay is a lovely people-watching spot.
Nightclubs
The evening before we left Vientiane for Luang Prabang, we checked out two nightclubs in Vientiane. The Future Nightclub was high decibel but filled with lost souls looking for a party. The Marina seemed to be the place for Lao teenagers with money (this isn't really saying much) who like to rock to saccharine Thai pop. Many of Vientiane's nightclubs are located on Thanon Luang Prabang, outside of town along the way to the airport.
Buddha Park
I wish we had had time to go to this fantastic sculpture park. It's filled with cement sculptures based on Buddhist and Hindu stories, and was built in the 1950s by a priest-shaman who was known for promoting a fusion of the two faiths. Here are some photos from Flickr.

We shopped
Talat Sao
Green-roofed Talat Sao is open from about 7 to 4 and containing textiles, silverware, housewares and electronics. We ducked in here on our first day in Vientiane to escape a downpour. The goods here are more diverse and cheaper than those at the Talat Sao Mall next door.
Talat Kua Din
Talat Kua Din is the sprawling wet market next door to Talat Sao. All types of food items -- produce, live poultry, squirming fish, recently slaughtered livestock, sauces and condiments -- and all types of smells can be found here...
Talat Tong Khan Kham
This is possibly the neatest and cleanest wet market I've ever seen. In fact, on the whole, the market scene in Laos seems to be much more low key than those of... well, any other city I've been to in Asia. Business was booming, but people seemed loathe to bargain vigorously and hawkers did not appear compelled to loudly tout their products. The woman at a condiments cart let us have a taste; then we bought a little bag of chili jaew to take home as a souvenir.
Satri Lao
This place is actually nicer than the website would lead you to believe. They have a location in Luang Prabang as well, and they feature contemporary fashion and home decor infused with Lao style.
Carol Cassidy Lao Textiles
Carol Cassidy is an American designer who runs a silk weaving studio in Vientiane. The shop is housed on the first floor of a gorgeous French colonial-era house, and the workshop, filled with the clacking of looms and the chatter of busy weavers, is located in the back. They create original, high quality, designs inspired by traditional Lao patterns and motifs.
Kanchana
A shop of beautiful, high quality Lao silks, with a separate showroom displaying the extra special stuff. Gorgeous wall hangings with intricate and kinetic Lao designs can go for hundreds of dollars...

Food
With fewer temples and colonial architecture, Vientiane is not as pretty as Luang Prabang, but I do think it's tastier. We subsisted here almost entirely by eating food from street carts, and nearly every meal was a revelation for the taste buds. An overview of food in Vientiane is on Wikitravel. And here's a glossary of some of the food we had in Laos.

We ate Lao food at
Street carts:
All over the city, there are streetcarts. Starting from late afternoon, more carts -- or in some cases, makeshift card tables -- sprout up. Some offer roast chicken, others dim sum, grilled bananas, crepes, or juice.
Ban Anou night market
The night market starts setting up at sundown, near the intersection of Chao Anou Road and Khun Bulom Road. It's a small street, but there's a seemingly endless array of food. Everything we tried -- pho with chili jaew, miang, barbequed meat on sticks, steamed egg in bowls, and super crispy fried chicken -- we loved.
By the river
When the sun goes down, the riverside restaurants light up. Most seem to offer barbeque and grilled things to savor with Beer Lao (which is really good, by the way). Attracted by the tubs of fat, live frogs and fish out front, Gavin and I patronized the restaurant directly across from the Intercity Hotel, but whose name I forget.The first time, grilled fish, papaya salad and sticky rice hit the spot. The second time, the (raw) sour sausage salad surprised us with how good it tasted. Bring your mosquito repellent though.
Makphet
Run by Friends International, Makphet is a training restaurant to help street kids prepare for jobs in the hospitality industry. The service is impeccable, the food is artfully prepared, but the flavor was a bit tame, perhaps all the better to suit foreign tastebuds... But it's a great project, and to further support them we bought a few souvenirs from their shop of local handmade craft upstairs.
Talat Sao Mall Food Court
The pouring rain forced us to duck into the Talat Sao Mall, which is unremarkable except for their food court on the top floor. We savored bahn mi (a Vietnamese style sandwich on a French baguette) and an assortment of spring and summer rolls with savory toppings.
Talat Kua Din
Visiting a wet market during wet weather is... wet. Talat Kua Din's "ceiling" is made of tarp and patched fabric, so of course we were drenched. When we went back on a drier day, we enjoyed a bowl of pho, a super tasty grilled sticky rice, and steamed egg.

We had French food at
Vins de France
For drinks and snacks, we stopped in at this little bar, where a vast array of wines line the walls. For two plates of charcuterie and paté, a glass of house wine and some flavored seltzer water, our bill only came out to about $10. If you want to spend more, they did offer select bottles of rare wines for more than the Lao PDR yearly per-capita income (about $450).
Le Central
It was late evening when we passed Le Central and, since we had already eaten dinner, we decided to indulge in dessert: a strong and hearty cheese plate and a sweet chocolate + coffee combo.

We had coffee at
Swedish Pizza and Baking House
It rained a bit while we were in Vientiane, so we were frequently stopping in at coffee places to dry off our sneakers. A dark roast served with a little pitcher of steamed milk on the side, the coffee at the Swedish Pizza and Baking House was the best we had in Vientiane. The pizzas looked tempting but we were too full from eating local street snacks to sample them.
Scandinavian Cafe
Located right at the Nam Phu fountain rotary, this is a good place to sip coffee and people-watch on a nice day.

We got around
By foot
Vientiane is flat and paved, so easily walkable.
By tuktuk
Some of the sights in Vientiane, such as the Pha That Luang or Buddha Park, are a little far flung and will require a tuktuk. Remember to settle a price with the driver before you set off. If you're catching a tuktuk from the vicinity of a tourist attraction, the prices are likely to be higher than if you flag one down on the street further away from the action.