June
3, Sunday
Got up early to walk around Vientiane on my own. We are leaving later this morning on our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, so I will not get the opportunity to visit Buddha Park (aka Xieng Khuan) 24 km outside of Vientiane, which has a huge 40-metre high reclining Buddha. Nor will I see Pha That Luang and its 148 foot tall Great Stupa covered with gold leaf.
I walk down to the Mekong waterfront to see the statue of King Chao Anouvong (1767-1829), or Chaiya Sethathirath V, was Laos’ last king.
The water levels appear to be very low, but then maybe they have built the retaining wall so they are at the high water level.
The statue looks out toward Thailand (what used to be Siam) in a gesture that could be interpreted as “Charge! “In 1826, he led the Laotian Rebellion to try to regain complete independence. In retaliationfor Anouvong's disloyalty, King Rama III ordered his troops to sackAnouvong's capital of Vientiane. Anouvong soon returned with Vietnamese assistance, but was again defeated and this time captured. The now furious Thai monarch ordered Vientiane completely destroyedand only the temple at Wat Si Saket was spared. Anouvong himself was brought to Bangkok as a prisoner in to face the man against whom he had rebelled. Rama III ordered him kept in an iron cage, where the Lao ruler remained until his death the following year at the age of 61.”
"Modern Lao nationalist movements, on the
other hand, have turned Anouvong into a hero, even though his strategic and
tactical mistakes combined with his hot temper led to the end of the kingdom of Lan Xang (Million Elephants,) destruction
of Vientiane, and a permanent division of the Lao people between the country of
Laos and the Lao-speaking provinces of northeastern Thailand. In 2010, to coincide with the 450th
Anniversary celebrations of Vientiane, the Lao government created the Chao Anouvong Park,
complete with a large bronze statue of the locally revered King.”
Frangipani, the national flower of Laos, or as it is better known here Dok Champa, or its latin name plumeria
This is a miniature version of the flower, or maybe because it is a small tree.
From here, I am at back of the Presidential Palace and walk around it to get to the main avenue.
The Presidential Palace was originally built for the French governors, and later housed the monarchy during their reign after Laos gained its independence.
Views on the boulevard
Quite wide and beautifully landscaped
Back to Patuxai so that I could climb up and see the views.
Once I had climbed up to the first level, I was surprised to find some shops
I kept climbing up to the second level, and as you can see by the height of each level, one level is equal to 2 floors, so technically I was now up on level 4 for the following views.
Looking back down Avenue Lane Xang toward the Presidential Palace
On the opposite side, there is a huge fountain
and beyond that the street narrows down again.
Views of Vientiane from level 4
I kept going, up to the next level, which would be level 6. The two flasg are the Flag of Laos and the Communist flag (hammer & sickle). I've noticed the communist flag flying on many government buildings in Laos.
The view from level 6. I decided to opt out of climbing the spiral metal staircase to level 7 in the tower.
Hey...zoom in..... the fountain is working now, flowing to the sound of music.
Wow, I'm really high up here !
I make my way back down to the ground level
for a last look at Patuxai, before making my way back to the hotel on Rue Pangkham, via a detour on Boulevard Khun Bu Lom.
Still time for a last shower and change before leaving for the airport, to fly from Vientiane to Hanoi.
The flight was fairly quick only about 1 hour. We spent more time waiting for the flight than the time it took to fly here.
On the road from the International Airport into Hanoi, or Ha Noi as it is properly known in Vietnam.
Ha Noi means "Inside the river" since the original city lay on an island between two branches of the Red River. It is the country's second largest city and its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts.
This is a view of the Red River. It is huge, and much wider than most of the Mekong.
As we arrive in the city, we can see some fairly modern buildings, all scrunched up together. Most of the buildings are narrow, since the owners are taxed according to the frontage on the street. I saw some buildings that were no more than 8 feet wide, I kid you not!
As we get closer to the older sections of the city, the buildings are much older.
After checking into the hotel we walked to Hoan Kiem Lake (lake of the restored sword), which was only a few blocks away from Hong Ngoc 3 Hotel, where we were staying in the Old Quarter.
All the shops and outside markets are open as the sun begins to set.
We walked along part of the lake near the Ngoc Son Temple and then went to a roof top restaurant for a beautiful view of the lake and a nice breeze to cool us down.
The Millennial Anniversary of Hanoi was celebrated from October 1 to October 10, 2010, the 1,000th anniversary of the foundation of the capital "Thăng Long" by the emperor Lý Thái Tổ.
Scott took us to a nice restaurant on the roof top of a tall building (6 or 7 stories high) for drinks and a beautiful view of the Lake
We were only supposed to stay for drinks since Scott had made arrangements for us to eat in one of the local restaurants on street level somewhere, but we wanted to stay put enjoy the views and EAT since we were all starving. The food was delicious.
This was another "pinch me" moment. I'm in Hanoi ! I'm in Vietnam ! WOW !
A view of the streets below earlier on in the evening.
As it got later, the streets got busier and SIMPLY CRAZY. There were people, motor bikes and cars going in every direction and not a traffic light of police officer anywhere in sight to direct the traffic.
And still later, add some vendors in the middle of the street selling baloons and cars going in every direction.
The HEAT is excruciating in this part of the world. For the past weeks I’ve been sweating so much I look like I’ve been standing in a shower fully dressed most of the time. The water is just pouring off of me. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life. It is like living in a sauna, but worse. My body can’t seem to cope since my system is overheating. I’m drinking loads of water and juice to try to rehydrate. Too bad they don’t have those nice rehydration drinks I had in Peru and Bolivia; I could use litres of it right now.
Back to the hotel and another nice cold shower.
It’s been a VERY long day
Got up early to walk around Vientiane on my own. We are leaving later this morning on our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, so I will not get the opportunity to visit Buddha Park (aka Xieng Khuan) 24 km outside of Vientiane, which has a huge 40-metre high reclining Buddha. Nor will I see Pha That Luang and its 148 foot tall Great Stupa covered with gold leaf.
I walk down to the Mekong waterfront to see the statue of King Chao Anouvong (1767-1829), or Chaiya Sethathirath V, was Laos’ last king.
The water levels appear to be very low, but then maybe they have built the retaining wall so they are at the high water level.
The statue looks out toward Thailand (what used to be Siam) in a gesture that could be interpreted as “Charge! “In 1826, he led the Laotian Rebellion to try to regain complete independence. In retaliationfor Anouvong's disloyalty, King Rama III ordered his troops to sackAnouvong's capital of Vientiane. Anouvong soon returned with Vietnamese assistance, but was again defeated and this time captured. The now furious Thai monarch ordered Vientiane completely destroyedand only the temple at Wat Si Saket was spared. Anouvong himself was brought to Bangkok as a prisoner in to face the man against whom he had rebelled. Rama III ordered him kept in an iron cage, where the Lao ruler remained until his death the following year at the age of 61.”
"Modern Lao nationalist movements, on the
other hand, have turned Anouvong into a hero, even though his strategic and
tactical mistakes combined with his hot temper led to the end of the kingdom of Lan Xang (Million Elephants,) destruction
of Vientiane, and a permanent division of the Lao people between the country of
Laos and the Lao-speaking provinces of northeastern Thailand. In 2010, to coincide with the 450th
Anniversary celebrations of Vientiane, the Lao government created the Chao Anouvong Park,
complete with a large bronze statue of the locally revered King.” 
Frangipani, the national flower of Laos, or as it is better known here Dok Champa, or its latin name plumeria
This is a miniature version of the flower, or maybe because it is a small tree.
From here, I am at back of the Presidential Palace and walk around it to get to the main avenue.
The Presidential Palace was originally built for the French governors, and later housed the monarchy during their reign after Laos gained its independence.
I walked up Avenue Lane Xang, Vientiane’s “Champs Elysée” well, not quite really, but it is a nice wide avenue.
There are beautiful French Colonial buildings along the way
Views on the boulevard
Quite wide and beautifully landscaped
Back to Patuxai so that I could climb up and see the views.
Once I had climbed up to the first level, I was surprised to find some shops
I kept climbing up to the second level, and as you can see by the height of each level, one level is equal to 2 floors, so technically I was now up on level 4 for the following views.
Looking back down Avenue Lane Xang toward the Presidential Palace
On the opposite side, there is a huge fountain
and beyond that the street narrows down again.
Views of Vientiane from level 4
I kept going, up to the next level, which would be level 6. The two flasg are the Flag of Laos and the Communist flag (hammer & sickle). I've noticed the communist flag flying on many government buildings in Laos.
The view from level 6. I decided to opt out of climbing the spiral metal staircase to level 7 in the tower.
Hey...zoom in..... the fountain is working now, flowing to the sound of music.
Wow, I'm really high up here !
I make my way back down to the ground level
for a last look at Patuxai, before making my way back to the hotel on Rue Pangkham, via a detour on Boulevard Khun Bu Lom.
Still time for a last shower and change before leaving for the airport, to fly from Vientiane to Hanoi.
The flight was fairly quick only about 1 hour. We spent more time waiting for the flight than the time it took to fly here.
On the road from the International Airport into Hanoi, or Ha Noi as it is properly known in Vietnam.
Ha Noi means "Inside the river" since the original city lay on an island between two branches of the Red River. It is the country's second largest city and its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts.
This is a view of the Red River. It is huge, and much wider than most of the Mekong.
As we arrive in the city, we can see some fairly modern buildings, all scrunched up together. Most of the buildings are narrow, since the owners are taxed according to the frontage on the street. I saw some buildings that were no more than 8 feet wide, I kid you not!
As we get closer to the older sections of the city, the buildings are much older.
After checking into the hotel we walked to Hoan Kiem Lake (lake of the restored sword), which was only a few blocks away from Hong Ngoc 3 Hotel, where we were staying in the Old Quarter.
All the shops and outside markets are open as the sun begins to set.
We walked along part of the lake near the Ngoc Son Temple and then went to a roof top restaurant for a beautiful view of the lake and a nice breeze to cool us down.
The Millennial Anniversary of Hanoi was celebrated from October 1 to October 10, 2010, the 1,000th anniversary of the foundation of the capital "Thăng Long" by the emperor Lý Thái Tổ.
Scott took us to a nice restaurant on the roof top of a tall building (6 or 7 stories high) for drinks and a beautiful view of the Lake
We were only supposed to stay for drinks since Scott had made arrangements for us to eat in one of the local restaurants on street level somewhere, but we wanted to stay put enjoy the views and EAT since we were all starving. The food was delicious.
This was another "pinch me" moment. I'm in Hanoi ! I'm in Vietnam ! WOW !
A view of the streets below earlier on in the evening.
As it got later, the streets got busier and SIMPLY CRAZY. There were people, motor bikes and cars going in every direction and not a traffic light of police officer anywhere in sight to direct the traffic.
And still later, add some vendors in the middle of the street selling baloons and cars going in every direction.
The HEAT is excruciating in this part of the world. For the past weeks I’ve been sweating so much I look like I’ve been standing in a shower fully dressed most of the time. The water is just pouring off of me. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life. It is like living in a sauna, but worse. My body can’t seem to cope since my system is overheating. I’m drinking loads of water and juice to try to rehydrate. Too bad they don’t have those nice rehydration drinks I had in Peru and Bolivia; I could use litres of it right now.
Back to the hotel and another nice cold shower.
It’s been a VERY long day
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