Sights & Sounds of Vientiane, Laos Part 2 of 2

Here is the continuation from the previous post on the place I’ve visited in Vientiane, this place I visited was located on Lane Xang Avenue with it’s entrance facing Ho Phra Keo, it’s the only temple to survive the Siamese invasion and popularly known as Vat Sisaket to both locals and tourist. The Vat or Temple holds several thousand statuettes of Buddha of various sizes while funeral urns was placed along its walls.

The inside of Vat Sisaket, no photography was allowed in the sacred hall so I consider myself lucky to be able to capture the following photo. And like all place of Worship that has historical value, you have to pay in order to step foot into the temple compound.

From Vat Sisaket, I made my way further down to Vat Si Muang, a place of worship that is popular among the Lao people and is said to hold the ‘pillar’ of the town. It is considered as the centre of the Ancient Spirit of Vientiane. Talk to the locals and they will tell you of a legend that would left you guessing whether it’s true or not.

This Vat is built on the ruins of a Khmer Hindu shrine, the remains of which can still be seen behind the ordination hall.

Some 3km from Patuxay is the location of the biggest and most beautiful stupa, a national pride and the pride of Vientiane, the That Luang Stupa can be seen glowing in the evening sun (and that’s the best time to visit it) as we approach it from Patuxay. Said to contain a hair from the Buddha, That Luang was erected in 1566 but was left in ruins due to looting and war but was later rebuilt by the French at the beginning of the last century.

To enter the compound is free but to enter into the Stupa, you’d have to pay a fee. If you go there early in the morning, you can see a lot of the locals conduct their morning work-out within the compound and the vast parking space outside. In the late evening, stalls start to appear which was mainly targeted towards tourists. Most of the items on sale are religious items from statue of Buddha to prayer beads. Prices of course are negotiable and the stall operators are not pushy in making you buy the items. But do remember, if you don’t see anything that is of interest to you, do say thank you to them before walking off. It’s always nice to be polite.

From the That Luang Stupa, I decide to head back towards the Mekong river to look at some of the evening activities that happens around the place as well as to get some souvenirs for the family. This lady is just an example of how most of the traders transport their goods out to the respective spots along the Mekong river to sell. She might make it look like an easy thing to do but you can always ask them to give you a try and you’re bound to lose your balance the first few times you try it.

If you are looking at artwork to buy, you can also check out the line-up of paintaings on display along the Mekong river, this particular stall is located just opposite the hospital away about 1km away from the main tourist spot. Prices are like usual, is negotiable and think what you want of the quality but do go and take a look, you might just find a hidden gem at a very good value.

Fishermen can also be spotted in the Mekong river hoping to get some last minute catch before calling it a day, how he could balance himself at the edge of the ‘sampan’ and work was just amazing. I gave it a try and almost toppled over as the lightweight sampan with it’s semi flat base is constantly rocking from side to side at the slightest movement of the people in it.

The night market along the Mekong river comes alive at around 6pm onwards when patrons start to head towards their favorite food stalls and tourists can be seen haggling for prices on the items they want to add to their collection of things purchased in Vientiane. It would be the best if you can get a local to go with you as the prices quoted to foreigners and to locals are very different. Don’t worry about not knowing a word of Lao when you are along this stretch as these stall owners can converse with you in simple english. If all else fails, the calculator work as a great communication tool.

This and the previous set of photos are just some of the photos I’ve shot from my trip, to see the rest of the album, you can log on to my Flickr album here. Finally, another video of the Cultural performance at Chanthapanya Hotel where we dine with a series of traditional Lao dishes while being entertained by cultural performers.

The previous video showcase a man who by using the power of his vocal, imitates sounds of animals, here we have the performance by a group of young girls performing with candles.

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