Today was out first day in Vientiane. When we left the hotel the temperature was absolutely perfect. After a less than satisfactory breakfast - ants on my friend's coffee cup (seriously?!) - we were soon realising that paying for a 5* hotel doesn't mean you're gonna get quality.
We set off on an exploration of the city. Laos National Museum was this absolutely stunning building - colonial architecture, slightly decayed and just a photographer's paradise. We walked around as the sun was blazing down on us to the Patuxai - a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was so beautiful and gave us views all over the city. We then took a tuk-tuk to Pat That Lung, which was this stunning gold stupa - shining so brightly beneath the cloudless blue sky. It was miles away from the freezing cold of Tokyo and the lack of tourists just made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. After a mammoth lunch, we found ourselves in a food coma and headed back to the hotel for a nap.
Before that though, we headed to the Settha Palace hotel - you should Google it. It's the best hotel in Vientiane and is absolutely stunning, complete with London black cabs. We had seen some promotional offers online and even though it was pricey, we decided that it would be the perfect way to end out holiday here. We went in and spoke to the manager who agrred to give us a corporate deal at $165 a night down from $217! Merry Christmas!
After our afternoon nap, we decided to walk down to the Mekong River to see the sunset. It wasn't what we were expecting, but I was more than impressed with the whole chilled out vibe amd we enjoyed spirits and beer before heading back to the hotel at 10.30pm (the bars have an 11.30 curfew). It was a bit frustrating being forced to go back to the hotel so early, but we still had a good time and met some interesting people!
xoxo
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