Where We Be
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| The national symbol of Laos -- Pha That Luang -- is located in Vientiane. The Great Stupa is the site of a huge candle-lit festival in Laos each year. |
| Vientiane, Laos |
| The cloister around the central building has hundreds of niches for small Buddhas, with larger golden-robed Buddhas in front |
Vientiane is the capital of Laos but it's so laid-
back you'd never know it. It's a walkable city
with plenty of French colonial buildings and
Buddhist temples. While not known for its
blockbuster sights, we still had a great time
here, in part because it's a foodie heaven with
restaurants galore offering delicious meals at
easy-to-like prices. One of the best tenderloin
steaks we've ever had was served at a place
just around the corner from our Moonlight
Champa Guesthouse called Veena Cafe.
Isabella, our host at Moonlight Champa, took
great delight in helping us track down the best-
value restaurants in town. Each day she would
give us a mission -- that is, a new restaurant to
discover. One evening it was a Belgian cafe
near the river called Chokdee, where we had a
huge bowl of steaming mussels with Roquefort
dipping sauce. The next it was the awesome
bacon double cheeseburger at Ray's Burgers.
Then it was Le Vendome, home of the cheapest
French food in the world per Isabella, where
we enjoyed their lunch special at a total cost of
just $6.50 with drinks. Now that's a bargain!
back you'd never know it. It's a walkable city
with plenty of French colonial buildings and
Buddhist temples. While not known for its
blockbuster sights, we still had a great time
here, in part because it's a foodie heaven with
restaurants galore offering delicious meals at
easy-to-like prices. One of the best tenderloin
steaks we've ever had was served at a place
just around the corner from our Moonlight
Champa Guesthouse called Veena Cafe.
Isabella, our host at Moonlight Champa, took
great delight in helping us track down the best-
value restaurants in town. Each day she would
give us a mission -- that is, a new restaurant to
discover. One evening it was a Belgian cafe
near the river called Chokdee, where we had a
huge bowl of steaming mussels with Roquefort
dipping sauce. The next it was the awesome
bacon double cheeseburger at Ray's Burgers.
Then it was Le Vendome, home of the cheapest
French food in the world per Isabella, where
we enjoyed their lunch special at a total cost of
just $6.50 with drinks. Now that's a bargain!
| Built in 1818, Wat Sisaket is the only monastery to survive a Siamese sack of the city. We enjoyed the peaceful serenity of this place. |
| Our last visit of a historic nature was to Ho Phra Keo -- now a museum, once a temple that housed the famous Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok) |
| Bronze Buddhas surround Ho Phra Keo. We especially like the extra-long arms and hands of the one on the right. |
| Chillin' with my pet dragon at Ho Phra Keo |
| Buddhas and dragons everywhere |
| And a rare T-rex carved into this tree trunk on the grounds of Ho Phra Keo |
| The fact that farmers and other poor people (often children) are still being injured by unexploded ordnance (UXO) fifty years after the war is hard to believe but true |
| Laos has the unfortunate distinction of being the world's most heavily bombed nation. Around 30% of of the cluster bombs dropped on Laos didn't explode. |
| Back at Moonlight Champa Guesthouse, where we whiled away many a pleasant happy hour chatting with Brad (in orange) and Isabella |
| Each evening Isabella would say to us: “So...have you completed your mission?” and we would tell her about our latest foodie experience at one of her favorite restaurants. |
| In Vientiane it's all about the food. Whether French-inspired or Thai or American, it's all delicious and astonishingly affordable. |
| Our final visit was to the COPE Center, where prosthetic limbs are made for people injured in bomb explosions. American bombing missions dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos during the Vietnam War. |
| Patuxai was built in 1962 using concrete donated by the U.S. in order to build an airport runway! Now expats call it the vertical runway. |
| A sign at the monument calls it a “monster of concrete” but it does have some pretty architectural elements |
| You can climb the stairs to the top of Patuxai for views of the surrounding city |
| Fine examples of Buddhist architecture abound in Vientiane, including the impressive buildings at That Luang Neua |
| From Patuxai we continued walking to the eye-catching gold spire at Pha That Luang -- national symbol of Laos |
| The dragons guarding Pha That Luang look a little less intimidating with flower offerings filling their mouths |
| Nam Phou Fountain is a landmark near the center of the city and home to some of the more expensive restaurants in Vientiane |
| This World Peace Gong in Vientiane is one of several such gongs located around the world |
| A walking path along the Mekong River offers a place to hang out -- and maybe make words out of a convenient pile of stone blocks |
| Turn another corner, find another Buddhist temple or monument. This one is called the Black Stupa (That Dam), the largest stupa in Vientiane. |
| This handsome building is the Presidential Palace, a French Beaux-arts style building located across the street from Wat Sisaket |
| Wat Sisaket is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Vientiane |
| We walked half a mile to Patouxai monument, which resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris but with Lao-Buddhist-Hindu influences |
| King Sisavang Vong (king of Laos 1904-1959), known as the Playboy King, fathered 50 children and married 15 different women -- two his half sisters and one a niece |
| Facebook photo of Isabella at Siem Reap, 2011 [Not my photo] |
