Poor Vientiane. After the beauty of Luang Prabang, and the adventuring/partying of Vang Vieng, Laos’ capital city often gets a bad rap as being boring, with nothing to do. On the surface, and if you only spent a day here (as many do) it may well appear that way. However, take a bit of time and you’ll discover that there is more to this city than first meets the eye.
I spent three days in Vientiane and found some gems. There are many temples and Wats throughout the city to visit, though if you’re already templed out (as I was) then there are other interesting places to be found as well. A girl in my dorm room recommended I visit COPE (Cooperative Orthotic Prosthetic Enterprise), and what an eye opener it was.
Did you know that Laos is the most bombed country in the world, per capita, ever? That during the Vietnam War, the US illegally dropped over 2 million tons of ordinance on Laos, and that about 75 million bombs remained unexploded, on and in the ground, after the war. The bombs dropped were ‘anti-personnel’ cluster bombs, which means they were specifically aimed at taking human life, rather than any strategic military targets. UXO (Unexploded Ordinance) still poses a massive problem in Laos, with over 100 casualties every year, about 40% of which are children. The schools even teach songs to children to make them aware of the dangers of UXO.
COPE does amazing work in rehabilitation and providing prosthetics, free of charge, to those that have lost limbs, or become disabled due to the ‘bombies’ still lying around, as well as victims of other accidents. With only five clinics across the country though, they really have their work cut out for them.
About 25km out of the city is Buddha Park, a large area filled with statues of Buddha and Hindu deities. I took a tuk tuk out there with two girls from my dorm room, and as it was another ridiculously hot day, there wasn’t really anyone else out there braving the unsheltered heat, so we had most of the park to ourselves. This park is a photographers delight, with a new bizarre statue at every turn.
Back in Vientiane, as evening approaches and the temperature cools (slightly), the street market on the Mekong waterfront comes alive. One road is blocked off from traffic and out come the joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers. There’s even some large aerobics groups with at least 200 people moving to the beat as the sun goes down. The markets themselves sell the usual souvenirs, as well as clothes for the locals, and it seems the whole city comes down on their motorbikes to shop, socialise and eat at the many street food stalls.
Overall I enjoyed my time in Vientiane, and would recommend to visitors to take an extra day and look below the surface. You may just be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
