After 5 weeks travelling in Thailand and Laos - although we have generally eaten well - you cannot imagine the joy of sitting down to lunch on the sun-dappled terrace of a French brasserie just next to Nam Phou with a chilled bottle of Chablis, a fresh green salad and an omelette aux fines herbes.
Vientiane shows signs of its French Colonial past amongst the newer concrete government building. This is most clearly seen in the Avenue Lane Xang - an asian version of the Champs Elysee, with its own Arc de Triumphe -Patuxai - at the end. Apparently the final sections were built using cement provided by the US in the 60's for the construction of an airport - hence the loacl nickname 'the vertical runway'.
The city is easily walkable and substantially cheaper than Luang Prabang and we had planned to stay for an extra day or two. Unfortunately, the flight we had planned on taking to Pakse was full and we had to leave earlier than we would have liked - literally since the flight out was at 0730 and Lao Airlines require check in 2 hours before departure.
Sat in a rooftop bar to watch the sunset over the Mekong which was spoiled by clouds of smoke from a big fire on the outskirts: ate good Sushi in a city centre restaurant and had an excellent Lao meal in Amphone restaurant. The jazz bar was a little disappointing - although perhaps we left too early, while the selection of cafes for breakfast - with real coffee- was excellent.
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