of the Mekong River facing across to the even sleepier
Thai town of Sri Chiang Mai. For many visitors,
Vientiane provides the first taste of Lao food, culture
and hospitality, and it does not disappoint on any count.
Actually pronounced Wiang Jan and translated as City
of Sandalwood, the modern name of Vientiane comes
courtesy of a bastardised French transliteration. Wiang
actually means "fort" (City of Sandalwood sounds better
than Fort... ) but by all accounts it mustn't have been
much of a stronghold, as the original city was overrun
on a number of occasions by the Burmese and Chinese,
and absolutely flattened by the Siamese (Thais) in 1828,
after which the city was abandoned and left to the
jungle.
This is one reason why many of the wats in the city are
of a relatively young age, and if the road layout strikes
you as an inspired affair, thank the French for it -- they
laid the whole place out when they oversaw the
rebuilding of the city from the turn of the 19th to 20th
centuries.
Like many French colonial cities, Vientiane is
characterised by broad, often leafy boulevards and
rundown, creaking colonial mansions. Dotted with rustic
wats surrounded by coconut palms and a generally
sedentary pace of life as well and the allure of the place
can be well understood.
Indeed it's only since the early 1990s that the city has
really started to develop. While it's a shame that the first
waves of (largely Thai) investors that hit landlocked
Laos brought with them the concrete egg-carton style
architecture that litters so much. The sunsets here are simply sublime.
For a capital, Vientiane isn't exactly overloaded with
museums and sights, but in a way that's part of the
attraction. Slow down to Lao speed -- hire a bicycle;
see one or two things a day; spend a lot of time
snacking and quenching your thirst by the river. You'll
grow to appreciate the attraction of the place.
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