Vientiane

Day 1: Pick-up was at 9am to embark on the 4 hour bus journey to the capital. I'm getting pretty used to buses by this point and 4 hours feels like nothing. I was also grateful that the roads (and driver) were far better than those that had got me to Vang Vieng and it was a much smoother journey. We arrived in Vientiane at about 1pm.

After searching around and finding a cheap enough guest-house (I'm working to a budget of course), I left my bag and had the rest of the afternoon to explore the city. A lot of people in Vang Vieng had tried to put me off coming to Vientiane, saying it was pretty dull and there wasn't much to see or do. I think they are doing it a disservice though and I really enjoyed an afternoon of sight-seeing.

First off, I went to check out the main city temple (Wat Si Saket), which was quite impressive and more unique than some of the temples I've come across previously. Then it was onto Patuxai, the Laos version of the Arc De Triomphe, which was also well worth seeing. It's quite difficult to get to because it's in the middle of a roundabout and, like in Paris, the drivers don't particularly want to let anyone across. I eventually got there though and climbed to the top of it to get some great views and snaps of the whole city.

The highlight of Vientiane for me though was the Golden Stupa (Pha That Luang). This was quite a walk to get to but is well worth seeing for anybody whoe ever visits this part of the world. Another very unique building that's situated in it's own enclosure so you can walk all the way around it. Spent some time there taking photos and checking out the other temples and large buildings that were close-by. Some brilliant works of achitecture out here.   

After leaving the Stupa, I decided to head back towards town. I'd done a fair bit of walking all day and was getting a bit tired. On the way back, I lost my bearings a little bit but was pretty confident I was on the right road to get back when a local pulls over on his Moped. Seeing me looking confused at my map, he asks me where I'm going. After giving him the card for my hostel, he then gets out his phone and makes some calls (how nice). After about 10 minutes, he then tells me to walk exactly the way I already was! So now I'm tired, still a bit lost and 10 mins later than before. Nice of him to try though.

After making it back, I hit the streets in town and, after some price comparison (something you need to do on a regular basis out here - the range is incredible sometimes), I booked my next excursion - A long trip to see Kong Lor Cave (7km long no less), which is further south in Laos. I then got some street food and checked out Vientiane by night. Not much more to see besides a couple of cool statues to be honest.

Only a day in Vientiane but I filled it up nicely and liked it there. Saw everything I wanted to see. Next stop ......