Vientiane ATM's and Nite Life

[seedy]

First time visitor - forum search did not turn up any current data.

ATM's in capitol widely available ? Dispense only Kip ??

Booked hotel already so that is taken care of.

Any recommendations for a drink and entertainment at nite time ??

Thanks.

[Jay Sata]

No problems with ATM's which do dispense Kip. What were you expecting in Laos?

Plenty of places for eating a drinking.

[cooked]

There is even a Bangkok bank in Vientiane.

[Jay Sata]

And a few Indian restaurants if you fancy a curry.

Thai baht is accepted everywhere.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jay Sata

[Furbie]

Probably too late for your trip, but it may help others.

It’s easier to use THB except for the smaller purchases. You’ll be walking around with a lot of KIP if you try otherwise.

Places I like:

Best morning coffee: JoMa Café

First drink at sunset: Spirit House next to the Hotel Beau Rivage (a bit far to walk, but an easy tuk tuk ride from main tourist areas)

Best cocktail: Jazzy Brick, also best whisky selection

Best beer: Chokdee Cafe & Belgian Beer Bar on Fa Ngum Rd. (the road parallel to the river). Really good food too.

Fun music: Music House on Fa Ngum Rd. It was pretty good after 9pm or so. Lots of local and tourists crammed in, but fun.

Late night (I mean before midnight): Bor Pen Nyang Restaurant

Real late night: Don Chan palace disco – though last few times it was getting very local.

Other popular places: Martini Lounge, Khopchaideu Restaurant

[Tomtomtom69]

The Lao government now has signs all around Vientiane (mostly in Lao, which I can read) stating that when translated into English, quote "In Laos we only use the Kip". Although there's nothing stopping you from using Baht, US Dollars or occasionally even Euros (depending on the business) prices are generally quoted in Kip and change usually comes only in Kip. So if you want to pay for that curry or fried fish in Baht, you'll still get Kip as change usually at the exchange rate quoted by the vendor (which isn't too much different from the official exchange rates obtained at moneychangers and banks, but could just be).

I would still recommend changing foreign currencies for Kip or making ATM withdrawals and prior to leaving the country for Thailand you simply exchange your Kip back to Baht.

ATMs are everywhere and usually dispense a maximum of 1 or 2 million Kip these days, depending on the ATM. ANZ ATMs tend to be more generous than the local ones but they all charge a commission of something like 20000-40000 Kip for withdrawals from foreign cards. A good bank to withdraw from is Acleda Bank, which is a Cambodian bank that operates bank branches and ATMs all over Laos.

If you're young (or young at heart) the Romeo disco located about 7-8 from downtown Vientiane along Tha Deua road (the road that goes towards the Friendship Bridge to Thailand, another 12 or so km further down) is as good as any when it comes to a drink and dancing (but isn't any good for talking with your friends as you're there to enjoy the music and watch girls dance). It's mostly got Thai/Lao and western pop/hip-hop and is just like any other dance club you'll find in larger Thai cities or in Bangkok (although it's obviously a fair bit smaller than the ones you'll find in Bangkok). There are usually a few other younger western faces in there but hardly anyone over 35-40 as you can appreciate...although I haven't been for a while I've noticed a tendency for isolated middle aged Korean and Chinese men aged around 40-50 who think they've still got it to try and "fit-in" at these sorts of places in Thailand so maybe the same is happening in Laos too, but I'm not sure.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[nicolas18]

Just a word of caution about Vientiane during nighttime though:

I last went there to get a visa a few months ago. I was absolutely spent, so I took a nap and woke up at 10PM-ish.

I was hungry, but, unfortunately, my hotel's restaurant closed at 10PM. So, I thought, hey, let's go near the riverfront, I'm sure there's going to be a restaurant open over there.

As I soon found out, the streets were empty, except for some prostitutes and all the restaurants were closed.

As I was walking on the road that runs along the riverfront, I noticed that a guy was following me on his bike. After a while, he pulled over next to me and asked me if I wanted to buy drugs. I said no and walked away towards my hotel, sensing that something was wrong.

After a couple of minutes, I noticed that the guy was still following me, along with two other guys. They then stopped in front of me. Two guys (including the one who tried to sell me drugs) were in civilian clothes, while the third one had a rifle and was wearing military camo pants and shirt. No one in sight, except those guys, so I thought "ohhhhh f***..." Thankfully, they smelled my cigarettes (regular tobacco) and went through my pockets, looking for drugs, found nothing and let me go.

Still, it was pretty scary and, on my next visa trip, I plan to stay far far away from Laos.

[Ajaan]

Wow, in all my years (10+) traveling to Vientiane, and going out quite late at night, I've never had an experience like that...and believe me, I look like most Asians' stereotypical image of a Western drug user, haha!

It's true that Vientiane is not really a late-night town for food. There are all-night jok places, but you have to know where to find them. I've had women I've met in discos take me to them on their motorbikes on several occasions.

[john1000]

Wow, in all my years (10+) traveling to Vientiane, and going out quite late at night, I've never had an experience like that...and believe me, I look like most Asians' stereotypical image of a Western drug user, haha!

It's true that Vientiane is not really a late-night town for food. There are all-night jok places, but you have to know where to find them. I've had women I've met in discos take me to them on their motorbikes on several occasions.

Can happen anywhere in the world. Called luck..shit happens.