Destination Laos: Part 4 Pha That Luang

Went walking down Thanon Francoise Ngim after a late breakfast at Sticky Fingers Bar and Cafe (over-rated in my opinion), turned past the Nam Phu (fountain), a pleasant spot itself and soon found myself on Thanon Lane Xang, the broad street where the majority of Vientiane's tourist attractions are located, like the Morning Market, Talat Sao, the Pha That Luang (the English translation is really a mouthful), the tourism office that is rather helpful, and of course, the unmisteakable Patuxai, a replica of France's Arc de Triomphe.

The street also passes through some old French colonial mansions, monuments to past colonial splendour and grandeur. Apparently the Vientiane/Luang Phabang post was one particularly cherished and desired by French civil servants back in those days, and really it wasn't hard to see why.

Took a tuk tuk to the Pha Tat Luang, which is some way off the city centre, although still manageable distance best covered on a bicycle. It was impressive from a distance, shimmering golden in the midday sun, and its scale and architecture undoubtedly accentuated by the large area of dead ground before it, a vast carpark where Vientiane youths practice their driving under the watchful eyes of their parents then a smaller square with the statue of a former Lao king (My (limited) knowledge of Lao history only stretches as far back as King Sisavangvong)once you've passed the arch. Entry was 5,000 kip, roughly over half a dollar. Closer to it the Pha That Luang was slightly less impressive with some black stains on the lower walls, but one admires the symbolism and functionality of the architecture, less so its pulchritude. All in all an enjoyable trip, plus i think i somehow got on Lao TV, some presenter was conducting an interview and i obliviously wandered behind him for a better shot of the golden spire.

The Unknown Soldier's Monument and National Assembly near (right next to, in fact)the Pha That Luang are also of mild interest.