Hotel Accommodation Near Vientiane Laos

Hotel accommodation near Vientiane's Mekong River architecturally is a mix of Asian, colonial French and modern western. Travel into Vientiane is usually via Wattay International Airport near the Vientiane CBD or via the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River from the town of Nong Khai in the province of "Nong Khai" Thailand which is also near the Vientiane CBD.  Many land travellers from Vientiane catch the train from Bangkok, stay in hotel accommodation near the Friendship Bridge, Nong Khai overnight before and after crossing the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge which was funded by Australia and built by Australian companies.  Signage near the Thai side of the border names the bridge as the "Thai Lao Friendship Bridge" whereas signage on the Laotian side near the bridge names the bridge as the "Lao Thai Friendship Bridge" The nearest town to Vientiane is Si Chiang Mai directly south across the Mekong River in the Thai province of Nong Khai. I've had many romantic sunset dinners on the bank of the Mekong River at Si Chiang Mai listening to Lao music drift across the Mekong and watching long tail boats, cargo boats and the Vientiane dinner cruise boat ply the mighty Mekong. The bigger Vientiane hotels near the Mekong River have great views of the Mekong river.

Early in the monsoon season the Mekong River near Vientiane is so low that trucks drive out halfway into the Mekong from the Lao side to cart sand for building materials in Vientiane. Towards the end of the monsoon season, September / October dragon boat races are held on a swift flowing Mekong River in towns near Vientiane. See photo of dragon boat race near Vientiane in slide show below. Hopefully damming of the Mekong upstream by China won't reduce the Mekong to a trickle like the fate of many other once great rivers. See photo of Mekong River Commission building near the Mekong River in Vientiane.

Accommodation near Vientiane with internet, 80 TV channels, restaurants or near restaurants and swimming pools are common at 4 and 5 star hotels.

Language spoken in Vientiane is Lao , Laotian, (Lothian). It is a form of Isan (Isaan) which is widely spoken in nearby north east Thailand.

TRAVEL TO VIENTIANE

Tourist visa upon arrival at Wattay Airport costs about $40 while crossing the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge to get to Vientiane need to pay:

• Flights to Vientiane from Bangkok, KL, Luang Brabang, Hanoi etc are common. The first time I caught a flight from KL to Vientiane's Wattay international airport near the centre of Vientiane with AirAsia for about $50

• Bus fare of 15bht (about 6 cents), cheap bus transport from Nong Khai to Vientiane is very frequent over the Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River.

• Lao "tourist visa upon arrival" at immigration checkpoint near the Friendship Bridge near Vientiane cost about 1,300bht ($43). Extra passport photos are required when submitting your visa upon arrival card.  Wait about 10 minutes. A Lao migration officer's hand hold's out your passport for collection. Watch this window carefully to make sure no one makes off with your passport and change from your visa payments. While the Lao currency is Kip, Thai baht is welcomed in Vientiane.

• Bus or tax from the Friendship Bridge to your hotel accommodation near Vientiane CBD.  We hired a good driver named Sonenal
  Pin and air conditioned tour van for 2.5 days for 1900bht.

• If you're driving to Vientiane road signs display it spelt "Vien Tiane"

On the Lao side of the Friendship Bridge the tourist bus crosses over to the right hand side of the road.

Things to Do In Vientiane

A must visit to the Lao War Museum in Vientiane will confirm that Laos is a communist country. The Lao War Museum is large and full of many interesting Vietnam war exhibits. More bombs were dropped on the Plain of Jars and on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos than all of WWII. We saw the war museum with a mechanic from Kalgoorlie who's working near the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He's seen many huge craters and daily there are finds of unexploded bombs near the Australian copper/gold mine near the Vietnamese boarder with Laos. Eye candy in uniform are female military War Museum attendants. The chorus "women in uniform" kept ringing in my head.

Swim and enjoy the cool jungle environment of waterfalls near the Mekong River near Vientiane. The videos below were filmed 18km, from Wattay international airport near the Vientiane CBD. You'll need your passport to cross the Mekong River into Thailand to get to these beautiful waterfalls.

Politics

While officially communist the Democratic Republic of Laos does not give the impression of equality of all it's people. Booming Vientiane, with new hotel accommodation developments, advertising billboards of many western brands, mostly imported from China, grand building and luxury cars are everywhere. Compact four door, left hand side drive sedans cost about $9,000.  Many petrol stations are Vietnamese.

Mekong River Cruise

• Sunset Mekong River Cruise from Vientiane to a temple near Vientiane

• Day Mekong River Cruise or a longer cruise to Luang Prabang

• If you're in Vientiane in the second week of hot April, go swimming in the Mekong River near the Thai Lao Friendship on the Thai side near Nong Khai town. Bring a big water pistol or super soaker for the famous Thai festival of Songkran near Nong Khai. If you're not in a car with the window up, you WILL get wet on this day trip near Vientiane.

Bus Tour of Vientiane

• Buddhist temples

• Arch near grand presidential palace.

• Cool gardens

• Banks of the Mekong River viewed from near a large Laotian liberation fighter's statue.

• Bus tour of waterfalls near Vientiane. The Wang Nam Mok waterfall is 18km near Vientiane.

Large freedom fighter statue near big Vientiane hotel points down to the nearby Mekong River.

Bars and Restaurants Near Vientiane

• There are many good Vietnamese restaurants near Vientiane's CBD. We ate a lot of great Vietnamese food at the Family Hotel. The green vegetable dish is recommended but avoid the tofu.

• As a former French colony there are still some French and other European style restaurants to enjoy near the Mekong River or bustling streets of Vientiane.

• There are bars near Vientiane's centre with beautiful Laotian women but my wife wouldn't let me go.

Restaurants near the centre of Vientiane dish up good food but as in most capital cities, is double the price of restaurant food on the other side of the nearby Mekong River in Si Chiang Mai.

Orphanage Vientiane

A legacy of the Vietnam war was displacement of many Laotian families. One of the pleasures of life is giving. I gave 5 years in the prime of my life as an Australian Volunteer Abroad. A poor but great experience. Try spending a time visiting orphanages near Vientianne. Check out accommodation and other facilities. Interact with orphans near Vientiane. You'll be inspired by the children of Vientiane.

Buddhist Retreat Accommodation

Near Vientiane I met a Buddhist monk from Perth Australia. We travelled over Friendship Bridge by bus into Thailand and tok-tok to Nong Khai border town. Gavin gave up a well paid boilder maker job in Australia to do volunteer welding work at his forest monastery retreat in Thailand. Buddhist monks there provide retreat accommodation and therapy for drug addicts.  Gavin hopes to set-up similar retreat accommodation and therapy in Perth. Forest monks rarely travel and wear brown robes.

Photo of Monk from Perth Australia on a tuk tuk near the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge

Photos of Accommodation Near Vientiane

The top of page photo of accommodation near Vientiane was taken from our hotel room at the "Family Hotel" near the 5 star Lao Plaza Hotel near the centre of Vientiane

Photos Taken Near Vientiane

Videos Filmed Near Vientiane