Vientiane
Vientiane
Train Trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane
Laos has an express train which is called Laos-China Railway (LCR). It actually comes from Yunnan in China and it was built by China and Laos. The station is a bit far from the city center but I could catch a shared van.
The station was much bigger than I thought and we needed to check all belongings at the entrance gate. Once inside, there were many shops where we could buy snacks and drinks and everything was organized - I thought it'd be messier lol.
My train is going to Vientiane which is the terminus so most trains depart in the afternoon. When the departure time gets close, passengers go to the gate and wait in line to have their tickets checked. The train arrived right on time and I successfully secured my seat.
From Luang Prabang to Vientiane, it took 2.5 hours - I saw a faster one in the ticket app but I chose the cheaper one. I arrived in Vientiane at around 8pm and I luckily found a bus going to the central area. The station is also far from the center which is 10km away but the bus was only 1USD!
I initially thought to use a bus from LP to VT but I made a good decision!
Downtown Vientiane
I stayed in Vientiane for 2 nights and I spent one day walking around the city. Vientiane is also a compact city so I could go to all places on foot. But still it's capital of the country so I saw many government ministries, their buildings were very casual and very different compared to Japan.
While walking down the street, I found a familiar company - Maruhan. Maruhan is known as a pachinko company in Japan, but surprisingly, they also run a bank in Laos. Also there are many banks in this street such as Vietcom bank so it seemed to be a financial district. Btw, I also found pretty much Vietnamese companies here.
After 15 mins walking, I arrived at Vat Si Saket. Vat Si Saket is a popular temple in Vientiane and it's famous for its small Buddha statues. We can see countless Buddha statues inside but why?
Wat Si Saket is the oldest surviving temple in Vientiane, built in 1818 by King Anouvong (Chao Anou). Just 10 years later in 1828, King Anouvong led a rebellion against Siamese (Thai) rule, which ended in defeat. The Siamese army invaded Vientiane and destroyed nearly every temple in the city — but Wat Si Saket was spared, likely because its architecture resembled Thai style.
The temple is famous for its cloister walls filled with over 6,800 small Buddha statues. Many of these were rescued from the destroyed temples across the city, making Wat Si Saket a sanctuary for the lost heritage of old Vientiane. Others were donated over the years by people seeking to earn merit, a common practice in Buddhist culture.
Today it stands as a rare survivor of old Vientiane and a symbol of the city's turbulent history.
I had seen some temples where many Buddha statues were enshrined before and those places might also have the same background.
Also, I went to another popular landmark - Patuxai Monument. My first impression was that it looked like a French monument but it was actually true.
Patuxai is a large war monument in the center of Vientiane, built between 1957 and 1968 to honor those who fought for independence from France. It's often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris — and the resemblance is no coincidence, as Laos was a French colony. The concrete used to build it was actually donated by the US for a new airport runway, but was used for the monument instead, earning it the nickname "the vertical runway." You can climb to the top for a panoramic view of the city.
We can climb to the top but it was burning outside so I didn’t climb this time lol. There were many tourists here but I was the only Japanese person.
Vientiane has many good restaurants and I tried some - but I just realized I didn't eat Lao cuisine here haha. Particularly, I met my ex-colleague at an Italian restaurant on the second night and it was awesome! Laos has great bread like Vietnam.
Journey to the Thai border
My journey in Laos was almost over. On the 3rd day, I moved to Thailand by bus. Vientiane is located very close to Thailand and there are some bridges along the border which is called "Friendship bridge".
I bought a ticket to Udonthani located in north Thailand and it was my first time crossing a border by land. The system is we get off the bus and pass immigration - we do this on both the Laos and Thai sides.
The bus was comfortable and we arrived at immigration on the Laos side. We took our luggage and got off the bus then went through immigration. After that we got on the bus again and we passed the friendship bridge - meaning I got into Thailand!
However, trouble happened - The bus left without me!! I didn't know that foreigners need to fill out an online form in advance and it took time to pass immigration. Once I passed the gate, my bus had already gone sadly...Could I manage this situation?
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