Not so Laos-y Vinentaine

Hugging a bend of the Mekong River, the low-rise capital of Laos is a quaint and easygoing place compared to Southeast Asia's other frenetic capitals, looking more like a rambling collection of villages than a city. However, in the mere decade since Laos reopened its doors to foreign visitors, VIENTIANE has changed with dizzying rapidity: new businesses are popping up all over the place, and scores of old shade trees have been cut down to accommodate an ever-multiplying number of cars and motorbikes.

The city's history has been a turbulent one, as its meagre collection of structures from the past suggests. It had been occupied and subsequently abandoned by the Mon and then the Khmer long before the Lao king Setthathilat moved his capital here from Louang Phabang in 1560. After that, the city was overrun or occupied several times by the Burmese, Chinese and, most spectacularly, by the Siamese who levelled the entire place in 1828. By the end of the nineteenth century, the French controlled most of what is now Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and had rebuilt Vientiane as an administrative capital. As with other urban centres in the region, the majority of modern Vientiane's merchant class are ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese, whose forefathers immigrated to Laos during the French era. Though the city was left relatively unscathed by the Second Indochina War, a large percentage of Vientiane's population found it necessary to escape across the Mekong after the formation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic; they were replaced by immigrants from the former "liberated zone" in northeastern Laos, further changing Vientiane's ethnic make-up. Not until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the government forced to rethink its opinions of capitalism, paving the way for the explosion of new ventures and businesses.

Eating
The influx of tourists and a solid foreign community have given rise to restaurants catering to virtually every taste, from Korean BBQ to sauerkraut. The city's Western cuisine in particular is said to be the best in Southeast Asia. Riverside food stalls line the Mekong's bank from Nokeo Koummane Road to Khoun Boulom Road, with most offering Lao staples like tam màk hung (spicy papaya salad), pîng kai (grilled chicken) and fruit shakes from morning until nearly midnight. A night market sets up on Khoun Boulom Road near the intersection with Heng Boun Road in the early evening, and there's a more extensive version at Dong Palane Market on Ban Fai Road near Wat Ban Fai. Most of Vientiane's restaurants open for lunch and then again for dinner; no-frills eateries are usually open throughout the day, closing around 9pm. In most restaurants you'll pay on average $2 for a meal, and even in more upmarket Western restaurants you'll rarely spend more than $10.

Drinking
Vientiane's location along an east-west stretch of the Mekong positions it for spectacular sunsets, and makeshift stalls selling bottles of Beer Lao and fruit shakes line the riverbank from Nokeo Koummane Road to Khoun Boulom Road; 2km upriver along Fa Ngum Road, a long row of beer gardens with wooden terraces hang over the riverbank in the vicinity of the Riverview Hotel.

Many of Vientiane's nightclubs feature live music, $2 cans of beer, dim lighting, deep couches and absurdly overdressed hostesses; the Anou Cabaret at the Anou Hotel is the long-time favourite. A newer set of dance clubs playing Thai pop and international dance mixes, catering to well-heeled teenagers, has cropped up along Louang Phabang Avenue, just beyond the Novotel. They don't usually get hopping until after 9pm, and are unplugged by midnight at the latest. There's no cover charge, but you'll have to fork out more than $2 for a can of Beer Lao. Sadly, Vientiane's live music scene is largely derivative, with popular taste being bullied into submission by the barrage of bland pop ballads churned out in

Shopping
On the whole, silver-work and textiles are more expensive in Vientiane than in Louang Phabang, where they're produced, and Vientiane is no bargain hunters' paradise. However, the Morning Market (Talat Sao) has good bargains in homespun cotton clothing ($2-5), lengths of silk and handicrafts; shoulder bags ( nyam) are cheap and functional, hand-woven pha biang, a long, scarf-like textile, and chequered pha khao ma, the knee-length men's sarong, are also good buys. The Lao Women's Union runs a shop called The Art of Silk, located on Manthatoulat Road near Wat Xieng Nyeun, featuring good deals on plain silk and cotton cloth from all over the country.

Check the antique stores of the Morning Market and the downtown area for old or rare baskets made by the tribal peoples of Laos. These may sell for as much as $50. Sticky rice baskets and mats costing $1-3 can be found on Chao Anou Road beyond the Thong Khan Kham Market. The T'Shop Lai Gallery on Inpeng Road next to Le Vendôme Restaurant specializes in unique mosaics and other handicrafts made from coconut shell; prices are fixed and a bit steep.

Besides the Morning Market, most textile, souvenir and antique shops are found on Samsenthai and Setthathilat roads and along the lanes running between them. Antique brass weights, sometimes referred to as " opium weights " are usually seen in antique stores but may also be found in upscale textile shops. They cost two to five times more than in Louang Phabang and the other provinces. Opium pipes can be found in the antique shops on Samsenthai Road; real antique pipes may go for $100 or more, but new-made Vietnamese pipes cost as little as $10. Keep in mind that the customs officers in your home country may find a reason or two to confiscate such a purchase. Most antique and curio shops have a small stash of stamps , coins and banknotes from present and previous regimes. A no-name philatelic shop near the corner of Samsenthai and Pangkham roads has a wide selection.

Raintrees on Nokeo Koummane Road, near La Terrasse Restaurant, has the best selection of English-language books in the city. Smaller branches are located on Pangkham Road, next to the Thai Airways office, and in the lobby of the Novotel and Lao Hotel Plaza. The government-run State Bookstore, on the corner of Manthatoulat and Setthathilat roads, has a small selection of English-language books and even a few dusty titles from the Soviet era.

Attractions

• Buddha Park
  Without question Laos's quirkiest attraction, Xiang Khouan boasts a brontosaurian Buddha that reclines in a riverside meadow turned bizarre Hindu-Buddhist sculpture garden - the work of a self-styled holy man long since drummed out of post-revolutionary Laos.
• The Riverbanks
  Though development efforts have diminished the riverbank's charm, Vientiane's soul still lies with the Mekong. Find a perch at a waterfront beer garden to catch the sun easing into the river at day's end.
• Morning Market
  A trip to Vientiane wouldn't be complete without a wander through the capital's morning market, which is simply bursting with cheap food vendors, Chinese electronics, cotton, silk and handicrafts.
• Haw Pha Kaew
  Once the king's personal Buddhist temple, Haw Pha Kaew houses the finest collection of Lao art in the country, including an exquisite, bejewelled Buddha and a highly detailed "naga throne" from the defunct kingdom of Xiang Khouang.
• Lao Pako
  A short hop from the capital is the environmentally friendly resort of Lao Pako. Situated along a languorous river, this woodsy getaway is a good spot for leisurely nature walks, bird-watching and swimming, or just lounging about in the traditional sauna.

Hugging a bend of the Mekong River, the low-rise capital of Laos is a quaint and easygoing place compared to Southeast Asia's other frenetic capitals, looking more like a rambling collection of villages than a city. However, in the mere decade since Laos reopened its doors to foreign visitors, VIENTIANE has changed with dizzying rapidity: new businesses are popping up all over the place, and scores of old shade trees have been cut down to accommodate an ever-multiplying number of cars and motorbikes.

The city's history has been a turbulent one, as its meagre collection of structures from the past suggests. It had been occupied and subsequently abandoned by the Mon and then the Khmer long before the Lao king Setthathilat moved his capital here from Louang Phabang in 1560. After that, the city was overrun or occupied several times by the Burmese, Chinese and, most spectacularly, by the Siamese who levelled the entire place in 1828. By the end of the nineteenth century, the French controlled most of what is now Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and had rebuilt Vientiane as an administrative capital. As with other urban centres in the region, the majority of modern Vientiane's merchant class are ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese, whose forefathers immigrated to Laos during the French era. Though the city was left relatively unscathed by the Second Indochina War, a large percentage of Vientiane's population found it necessary to escape across the Mekong after the formation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic; they were replaced by immigrants from the former "liberated zone" in northeastern Laos, further changing Vientiane's ethnic make-up. Not until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the government forced to rethink its opinions of capitalism, paving the way for the explosion of new ventures and businesses.

Eating
The influx of tourists and a solid foreign community have given rise to restaurants catering to virtually every taste, from Korean BBQ to sauerkraut. The city's Western cuisine in particular is said to be the best in Southeast Asia. Riverside food stalls line the Mekong's bank from Nokeo Koummane Road to Khoun Boulom Road, with most offering Lao staples like tam màk hung (spicy papaya salad), pîng kai (grilled chicken) and fruit shakes from morning until nearly midnight. A night market sets up on Khoun Boulom Road near the intersection with Heng Boun Road in the early evening, and there's a more extensive version at Dong Palane Market on Ban Fai Road near Wat Ban Fai. Most of Vientiane's restaurants open for lunch and then again for dinner; no-frills eateries are usually open throughout the day, closing around 9pm. In most restaurants you'll pay on average $2 for a meal, and even in more upmarket Western restaurants you'll rarely spend more than $10.

Drinking
Vientiane's location along an east-west stretch of the Mekong positions it for spectacular sunsets, and makeshift stalls selling bottles of Beer Lao and fruit shakes line the riverbank from Nokeo Koummane Road to Khoun Boulom Road; 2km upriver along Fa Ngum Road, a long row of beer gardens with wooden terraces hang over the riverbank in the vicinity of the Riverview Hotel.

Many of Vientiane's nightclubs feature live music, $2 cans of beer, dim lighting, deep couches and absurdly overdressed hostesses; the Anou Cabaret at the Anou Hotel is the long-time favourite. A newer set of dance clubs playing Thai pop and international dance mixes, catering to well-heeled teenagers, has cropped up along Louang Phabang Avenue, just beyond the Novotel. They don't usually get hopping until after 9pm, and are unplugged by midnight at the latest. There's no cover charge, but you'll have to fork out more than $2 for a can of Beer Lao. Sadly, Vientiane's live music scene is largely derivative, with popular taste being bullied into submission by the barrage of bland pop ballads churned out in

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