Thoughts on Laos

Before I visited Laos in late April 2009, I did not think much of this land-locked country sandwiched by bigger neighbours all round (Thailand in the south, Vietnam in the east, Myanmar in western and China in the north).

Obviously, given the lack of foreign investments, I was already prepared for the lack of infrastructure development in Laos. That said, I was nevertheless charmed by the laid back nature in Vientiane. Although I did not intend to stay at Novotel as it was not conveniently located in relation to the places of interest, I found the colonial design of the hotel rather refreshing. The staff at the hotel were friendly and the lighting and decorations helped to enhance the atmosphere.

My interest in this country grew gradually and I was fortunate to chance across a Lao/Thai jointly produced movie titled Good Morning Luang Prabang (in Laotian Sabaidee Luang Prabang).
Sabaidee is a greeting used by Laotian in every day life (similar to sawasdee in Thailand or G'Day in Australia) while Luang Prabang was the former capital of ancient Lao.

A rave reviews have been written about the movie, the first Lao language movie in more than 30 years. Albeit the simple story plot, I felt that the movie had managed to convey the view that Laos does have really nice sights

Lan Xang - Food

Vientiane is a small city with a population of more than 700,000. With such a small base, it is not surprising to find that they have only one air-condition shopping centre. Known as Talart Sao (Morning market), the centre operates from 9am to about 5 in the evening.

The three levels of shops offer a limited choice for tourists. Level one has shops selling clothing, electronic goods, antiques, a cafe and a fast food restaurant. At level two, there are a whole collection of goldsmith shops. Level three offer a varied selections of shops selling souvenirs, bags and wallets and DVDs. There is also a food court offering local delicacies.



Photo of food coupon. Unused coupons can be refunded.











Lao-style wanton noodle. They do not add tomato ketchup.









Laotian tuk tuk stand beside the shopping centre.

Visit to the former Land of a Million Elephants (Lan Xang)

From 29 Apr to 1 May 2009, went on a short trip to Vientiane, otherwise known as Vieng Chan in Indochina. The journey from Singapore to Vieng Chan took slightly more than four hours as there is a need to transit at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (New Bangkok International Airport).






We arrived at Wattay International at about 1.45 pm and went straight to Novotel Hotel located about 10 minutes away. The hotel is situated at the junction of the main road from the airport, Luang Prabang Road and Samsenthai and Setthatirath Road. The four-storey hotel is designed in old colonial style.
The room where I stayed overlook a park dedicated to legendary Chao Fa Nguom the Great who established Lan Xang empire.