LittleSandyBeach

The last few days in Vientiane have been great and we’ve used them to get prepared for Vietnam. We still got to see a few more temples!

The first temple we went to was Haw Phra Kaew which was originally built in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha but has been rebuilt several times due to conflicts. It is now a museum for religious art.

The next temple we went to was Wat Si Saket just across the road. This was built in 1818 and still has the original paintings on the interior. Unfortunately no photos allowed inside but definitely worth a visit!

Wat Si Saket also has a cloister wall surrounding the main temple which has more than 2000 ceramic and silver Buddha’s.

They also had the original Hang Hod which is a long, ornately decorated carving with a water trough down the middle which is used for water blessings.

We also came across the coolest named Stupa so far ‘That Dam Stupa’. It’s surprisingly on a roundabout in the centre of the city. Lao people believe it’s inhabited by a seven-headed naga who tired to protect them during the 1827 invasion by the Siamese army.

Next to our hotel is a very nice Doubletree by Hilton 5 star hotel and it has a lovely bar called Nico’s…. Happy hour 4-7pm and at £1 a beer how could we not!

We also wanted to show the local Starbucks here as it’s one of the nicest coffee shops we’ve seen!

We’ve really enjoyed our time in Laos and would definitely recommend it as a country to visit. Unfortunately due to the high levels of malaria in the south of the country we haven’t seen that but hopefully in the future we will be able to!

Today at 5pm we get on our bus from Vientiane to Hanoi, Vietnam…

Predicted travel time of 23 hours, this could be interesting! We’re planning on spending 3 months in Vietnam as it’s a very large country and lots to see and do! Let’s go get some Dong!