A tale of one city

Vientiane is nestled on a bend of the Mekong River. It is the capital city of Laos and yet doesn't feels like one. I was so used to associate a city with the bustling population and rapid development that the very absence of them here would make it unacceptable that Vientiane is indeed a city. In contrast, the capital seemed like a place out of the 70s with signs of modernisation only beginning. There were even less vehicles on the road than we would normally find in other countries. I had come to a conclusion that to the Lao people, when compared to the rest of the country which was mainly involved in agricultural and foresting, Vientiane is as best as it gets to a capital city. The pace of life over here is slow that it earns the city and the rest of the country the nickname of Laos: Please Don't Rush (PDR). And here I am, at the least visited country in South East Asia.

After a short complimentary American style breakfast at the Riverland Cafe, I bumped into the Australian couple. Turned out that Mr Tuha is originally a Laotian who has migrated to the Land of Oz while Mrs Tuha is a Vietnamese who lived in Vientiane in the 1970s. When we were conversing, a mere mention of the Xieng Khuan (Buddha's Park) sparked them to visit the place with me tagging along. They were there a long time ago and it was time for a revisit, this time with a camera. The shuttle van which were supposed to bring us to Nam Phu was changed to a lush Toyota car for the 24km journey there.

At first thought, the Buddha's Park seemed to be an archeological site turned tourist spot but the Buddhist and Hindu inspired sculptures found in the park were actually designed and built only 60 years ago. Apart from the giant reclining Buddha statue which dominate the scene there were numerous sculptures of various characters straight from the text of Buddhism and Hinduism. Each of the statues tells a different story but the main theme I observed is the endless battle between good and evil. Lara Croft would feel happy fighting with the animated version of these statues. With the help of Mr and Mrs Tuha, I managed to pose some battle scenes as well. There was a huge 3-level pumpkin lookalike structure which presented a panoramic view of the park from the top.

After parting ways with the Tuhas at Nam Phu, I continued the self-tour of Vientiane. With noon approaching, there is not much place I could go so I walked to the That Luang. This golden colour stupa is the most important Laos national monument. It is believed that one of the Buddha's relic were kept here. A short detour away was the National Assembly, the Laotian version of the Parliament and the Unknown Soldiers Monument, capped with the Soviet star. After having my lunch at one of the restaurant I came across, I made my way back to DCP on foot with the help of the map through streets lined with the shophouses of French-influence architecture.

The whole evening was spent within the hotel. After enjoying the jacuzzi in the hotel's fitness centre, it was relaxing lying on the couch beside the swimming pool while overlooking the not-so-impressive sunset over the Mekong. Right after the dinner at Riverland Cafe, the rest of the night was spent at the hotel lobby to wait for the return of the Tuha couple so I could return my share of the hotel car fare to Buddha's Park. They would be going south tomorrow so this was the last chance I would ever get. Time passed really slow when there's nothing much to do. Apart from spending time on the sofa writing, also observed that the hotel cater more to customers on business trip and important-looking delegates more than to backpackers. There is not much night life here except for karaoke and a bar but managed to catch sight of lone girls going up to the hotel rooms and came back down before the hour is up. No assumptions made... but after a few hours, managed to return the money to Mr Tuha and retired to bed to put an end to the day.