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Well, we thought that Luang Prabang was quiet!! Apparently Laos has 2 speeds, slow and stop. There’s more life in downtown Bradley Stoke than there is in the capital city here in Laos.

You should see rush hour……hah!! Not a single traffic jam in sight, in fact, hardly a line of traffic at the lights. Never have we been to such a pleasant capital city, it’s more like a large village, no hustle and bustle, no horns, no road rage just easy going people getting on with life.

We found a great guesthouse and our balcony overlooked a number of Wats as well as the Hare & Hound Pub! (no we didn’t go there). We’ve been here 5 nights and done very little which is great. The temperature is beginning to climb and is now peaking at around 37C and it doesn’t let up in the evening.

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Even The Mighty Mekong is not so mighty here at this time of the year. (see pic). It looks dry from one side of the river although it obviously isn’t. Having seen it in Vietnam where it is so mighty it seems really strange.

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We visited The Patuxai, also know as the vertical runway. Why? Easy, the concrete purchased from the US was originally intended to make a new runway. Started in 1962 it never got properly finished so from a distance, along their version of The Champs Elysees, it looks like The Arc du Triomphe. On closer inspection, and particularly inside, you could easily be in a multi storey car park in Bristol.  We really liked it’s quirky charm and surrounding gardens. (see pic).

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Pha That Luang, which means “world precious sacred stupa“, is the most important national monument in Laos. It is very impressive against such a blue sky (see pics) and it wasn’t very touristy which was great. It was also good to see local people paying their respects throughout the shrine.

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Also worthy of a quick mention is The National Museum. 16 rooms of Laos history in a dilapidated building.  Dominated by photographs and bizarre everyday objects from the early communist struggle to take control of the country from the imperialist French and US colonialists.