Things to do/places to see/eat in Vientiane

[Becker]

I'm soon off to Vientiane for a few days of holiday with my wife. I'm currently browsing the internet for any information on Vientiane and have found quite a comprehensive list here:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/vientiane

My question to expat residents or frequent visitors is; are there things that should be on the lists that are not, and are there things there we can give a miss?

Also, any tips on obtaining the best exchange rate (my plan is to bring in Thai Baht) and use of tuk-tuks are most welcome. Vientiane seems to be quite small geographically. Is renting bicycles a convenient way of getting around or is the traffic too dangerous?

Edited March 13, 2014 by Becker

[Display]

I have been to Vientiane many times for visa runs with my GF and always enjoy the place, great place to relax and the choice of restaurants are great, from quality Indian food to Laos Noodles which my Thai GF's Loves, to nice French eateries.

They drive on the opposite side of the road to Thailand so can be quite dangerous to drive, and the roads are not safe, I know from the one time I rented a doggy motorcycle there and came across massive pot hole in the city street with no warning at all. But you should be fine on a Bick cycle if you just be aware of the traffic coming for the opposite side than your used to.

I would recommend bringing Thai baht, You don't need to exchanged the money to Kip and everywhere welcome Thai baht and they are used to calculating the exchange, just use Thai Baht there and learn the exchange rate, Its easy like 200 baht is 50000 Kip. They even accept USD there.

If you want to Foreign exchange--

on Rue Setthathilath across the street from the Temple called Wat Mixai, you can also withdraw cash there from your Thai bank a/c as the ATMs charge 150 baht per withdrawal from a foreign a/c.

Stay alone the riverside and you will save on Tuk-tuk as all the restaurants and bars are there, Tuk-tuk there will try and overcharge every time so just bargain with them and walk away from them, they will always drop about 50%, for example for the two of us to visit Thai embassy from riverside they want 200 baht but he will do it for 100 baht or even 80 baht for both of us.

All the Tuk-tuks sell smoke there openly if you

know what I mean and safe to smoke in hotel room. I was surprise that even the small shops sell it there alone the riverside.

I would recommended going to the rooftop bar along

the Quai Fa Ngum rd its alone the riverside road and its not hard to find,

I don't know the name of it but they have live music, food and a lot of westerner goes there.

Patouxay Monument in Vientiane, Laos is worth a visit also any of the older Temple around Vientiane are cool and tuk-tuk will have a picture of all the tourist sites,you can just agreed a price for 3 hour or more and he will take you everywhere you would like to see.

Tuk-tuk for 3 hour special to see sites sorted, its not a big place so getting around is easy. hope this helps enjoy...

Edited March 13, 2014 by Display

[Becker]

Thanks a lot for that useful info

[Pinot]

In the center of town there is a fountain that is surrounded by restaurants. The are bands that rotate in every hour and the musicians are excellent. Pick a restaurant and be entertained for hours.

There is the monstrous thing that looks a little like the Arc de Triumph. You can go to to the top of it and take some pics. Stroll by the river at sunset for people watching and the open market.

I also like Nong Kai. In fact I like it more. It's less expensive.

[Wordworx]

Catch a flight to Luang Prabang?

But seriously, been there several times, a couple times to visit and in transit, other times required for visa runs. Always happy to depart.

Just my opinion, but a different kind of vibe from the expats. (I always wondered why and what sort of Westerners would choose, or be forced, to pitch camp in VT.) And the locals, well... Encountered more stupid shysters there than other places, including at a couple of (better) hotels I stayed. Pretty insulting, actually.

Walked the city extensively, messed up roads and traffic, nothing to see. Plenty of poverty.

Hotels far below Thai (and Luang Prabang) standards per price, waterfront bar scene kind of a downer. Meaning bad attitudes and BS pretty common. Rooftop bar previously mentioned, personal interactions there ranged from weird to semi-hostile. Rare I encounter such in SE Asia but multiple occasions in VT. I dunno, maybe because I showered and shaved.

Positives: Some good food around, Beer Lao by river... Nah, that's about it. Oh, wait, right, as previously mentioned, smoke is easy and cheap. Generally safe, but there have been reports of sellers in cahoots with the cops. Lao cops, you may know, are some of the worst. Will lock you up and soak you for whatever they can. And for foreign guys they bust with a Lao woman (illegal), big, BIG trouble.

Again, only my opinion. Maybe check Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Vientiane

Edited March 15, 2014 by Wordworx

[laobali]

In the center of town there is a fountain that is surrounded by restaurants. The are bands that rotate in every hour and the musicians are excellent. Pick a restaurant and be entertained for hours.

There is the monstrous thing that looks a little like the Arc de Triumph. You can go to to the top of it and take some pics. Stroll by the river at sunset for people watching and the open market.

I also like Nong Kai. In fact I like it more. It's less expensive.

Agree until your last sentence.

Nongkhai seems less expensive because there's nothing to buy (except at Tesco), nowhere decent to eat, virtually no nightlife at all, and bugger all for tourists to see or do. Fine for the odd old expats you see in the few places they sit around to eat and drink. NK has hardly changed in 15 years.

[CapeCobra]

My favourite place for decent food with delicious draft Lao Beer is the Khop Chai Deu.

[Dannyboy6]

In the center of town there is a fountain that is surrounded by restaurants. The are bands that rotate in every hour and the musicians are excellent. Pick a restaurant and be entertained for hours.

There is the monstrous thing that looks a little like the Arc de Triumph. You can go to to the top of it and take some pics. Stroll by the river at sunset for people watching and the open market.

You have International Market in Nong Khai, DD Restaurant is excellent and Mai's restaurant, Nong Khai City Hotel is nice and cheap and Brendan and Noi's is Good and Bar Nana Disco called Banana by locals , only shopping is Tesco, No...

I also like Nong Kai. In fact I like it more. It's less expensive.

Agree until your last sentence.

Nongkhai seems less expensive because there's nothing to buy (except at Tesco), nowhere decent to eat, virtually no nightlife at all, and bugger all for tourists to see or do. Fine for the odd old expats you see in the few places they sit around to eat and drink. NK has hardly changed in 15 years.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dannyboy6

[Dannyboy6]

In the center of town there is a fountain that is surrounded by restaurants. The are bands that rotate in every hour and the musicians are excellent. Pick a restaurant and be entertained for hours.

There is the monstrous thing that looks a little like the Arc de Triumph. You can go to to the top of it and take some pics. Stroll by the river at sunset for people watching and the open market.

You have International Market in Nong Khai, DD Restaurant is excellent and Mai's restaurant, Nong Khai City Hotel is nice and cheap and Brendan and Noi's is Good and Bar Nana Disco called Banana by locals , only shopping is Tesco, No...

I also like Nong Kai. In fact I like it more. It's less expensive.

Agree until your last sentence.

Nongkhai seems less expensive because there's nothing to buy (except at Tesco), nowhere decent to eat, virtually no nightlife at all, and bugger all for tourists to see or do. Fine for the odd old expats you see in the few places they sit around to eat and drink. NK has hardly changed in 15 years.

. Your wrong about Nong Khai, I'm up here now...

[Shaunduhpostman]

I'd agree that there is a fair amount of nastiness and mercenary rip-offs going on at hotels, restaurants and bars. Hotels can be filthy and in disrepair but charge you 700-800 baht a night. To be fair there are some OK places, you need to shop around and check the rooms carefully before. It often takes me awhile before I can find a decent available room in Vientiane.

A word of warning: There's a wine bar about 100 meters down the the street from the Joma coffee shop /Chop Chai Deu/import items shop that you'd do well to avoid. I can't remember the name, but there are a few small potted trees out front and a number of fairly, tall teetering stools and and tables to fall out of that you can try and sit at out front, tho I wouldn't if i were you.

Several years ago the mrs. and I went to have a nice glass of wine there and returned a few times on passport stamp runs and quite enjoyed it. Really good selection of European and other wines by the glass for reasonable prices. Last year we went in and the first thing that struck me was that the place was unusually full of staff, about 10 or 12 of them in a tiny wine bistro. I thought, hmm, must be too many idle hands amongst Uncle Somchai's many nephews, he's nice enough to give them a job down at his wine shop, there's hardly ever more than a few people in here and how many people does it take to open a bottle of wine and pour out a glass or two?

As we were enjoying a glass of their cheapest, but still nice Euro wine of some sort, a couple of guys from the UK came in to return their rented scooters or motorcycles. It seemed clear to me fairly quickly the renters were getting screwed and as voices were raised and there was some dispute along the same lines as you often have in Thailand whenever people are silly enough to trust businessmen in a verbal agreement, "We told you dat already before, why you not listen!?" It seems these guys had given them some huge deposit which they were not going to get back. Perhaps needless to say, the purpose of having 10 waiters became clear. I thought hmm…Vientiane's learned from the jet ski operators. Oh well, not my problem, ordered one more glass. Bad decision. The dispute should have been my cue to pay up and go. But no, nice wine, ahhhh. Bill came and shocker! They had charged me way more per glass. I said I thought there must be some mistake. I asked for the menu. The waiter came back with that and 4 or 5 guys as well, they stood behind my waiter with their arms folded and not looking happy. The waiter pointed to the wine he claimed I had ordered, the most expensive wine on the menu. Quite a bit more, maybe 3 times the price of what I had ordered. Not wanting to have a problem, I said nothing other than I didn't order that wine which received no reaction as none was needed. Wine Bar 2, Me 1. Buncha thugs running that place taking advantage of the kind of wimps like me who like to enjoy wine. Steer clear.

Good things: I like the import goods minimart next to Joma coffee shop. You can, as you can elsewhere in Laos, get imported wines at much lower prices than Thailand there. They also have a good selection of significantly cheaper than in Thailand Belgian beers. The owner complained that the coppers were twisting her arm for extortion payments, but she runs a really nice shop the like of which you'd never see in Thailand. Chop Chai Deu was mentioned above. I realy like the place, seems to get very mixed reveiws tho. The food quality is wildly inconsistent, but usually pretty good and good considering their menu is all over the map, Thai, Lao, Indian, American, Italian, Chinese and quite a few items of every cuisine. I only ever order Indian and Italian, so that's what I like. The mrs really likes their Lao stuff. The wait staff is probably the worst you will have encountered in all of your born days, they are so beyond the point of hopelessness it doesn't even annoy you, I think half the waiters must get lost walking back to the kitchen and end up somewhere just west of Danang before they give up on your order. One example would be the waiter who brought us our two draft Lao beers one at a time. What the hell, just share the glass with the wife, it all goes down the same way. You will have to order two or three times before your order will go through and most of what does go through will not, but be careful as usual, it is not forgotten when it comes to tallying your bill. They are nice enough about correcting any errors tho. Take the service as comedy entertainment in the garden dining/pub area and it is quite nice. Chop Chai Deu is in a huge old Laos mansion that has been converted into a restaurant. Very lively and crowded place, ex-pats, tourists and lots of Lao as well, fun atmosphere, reasonable prices. Seems all of the ngos go there on Friday night, so it must be good, right?

Joma coffee shop also gets mixed reveiws, expensive but very good cakes and pizza slices. Coffee is very good and I think there is a free refill. Slick post-hipster arty farty decor, good comfortable couches and wi-fi and lots of back issues of newspapers (Bangkok Post, The Nation, and the local Lao English newspaper) on their free for the browsing rack to sit and read and research and write your Thai Visa postings while you are waiting for processing.

Personally, I'd say I enjoyed Vientiane for its old school (19th century old school) atmosphere and change of food from Thailand in the past. But, the poor value hotels and general rip off the foreigners attitude in some places makes me not inclined to go back any time soon. I now just turn right around immediately and exit Laos once I've exited Thailand without leaving them a satang except at Laos immigration, get my 90 stamp and make a bee line for the cabin and happy as a clam to be back on Massuh Shinawatra's plantation where I can be happy and sing my songs and do my field dances all the live long day!!

[thaiguzzi]

Roof top bar is called Bor Bpen Yang (lao/Isaan for no problem).

Drinking itinerary; daytime and early evening - anywhere inc the above mentioned Khop Jai Deu (lao/Isaan for thanx), Tex Mex, Steve's Drop Zone etc. 9 till midnight - Bor Bpen Yang. Midnight till 2 in the morning, the only place open in the town centre; the infamous Samlor, proper spit and sawdust pub. After 2am, stagger home to your flea infested crap guesthouse room. Repeat every 3 - 6 months, i have for over 10 years, and still love the place.

[nottocus]

Taj Mahal Indian restaurant.

Good....very good.