3 Days in Laos – Day 3
Vientiane is the bustling yet languid capital city of Laos. This former French trading post used to be a sleepy capital of a sleepy country, but Laos has started reaching out to tourism slowly, so Vientiane has come under the limelight. Its riverside location makes it a relaxing place for tourists to enjoy the sunset over the river. But we had only few hours to explore the city before we leave the country.
Highlights of the Day
- Vientiane Bus Station
- Wat Si Saket
- Haw Phra Kaew
- Pha That Luang
- Patuxai Monument
- Buddha Park
- Immigration
Vientiane Bus Station
It was a 8-h long overnight bus journey from Luang Prabang to Laos, and I must say, the single sleeper bed was not very comfortable. We reached the Northern Bus Station at around 6.30 AM. A shared songthaew transferred us to the Khua Din Bus Station.
The bus station has clean toilets – you can use them paying 2,000 ₭. We decided to leave our bags at the safe of the bus station, and just carry the essentials.
Wat Si Saket
The temple opens daily from 8 am until noon and from 1 pm until 4 pm, and the entrance fee is 5,000 ₭ per person.
Just around 500 m away from the bus station, Wat Si Saket is located – the temple housing over 10,000 Buddha images, the oldest ones being from the 16th century.
We came across a fenced storage room, which contains hundreds of broken Buddha images – these were discovered during excavation works.
Haw Phra Kaew
The temple opens daily from 8 am until noon and from 1 pm until 4 pm, and the entrance fee is 5,000 ₭ per person.
Right across the street is another highly revered temples of Laos, now turned into a museum, called the Haw Phra Kaew. The Emerald Buddha, which is now enshrined in the Wat Phra Kaew temple on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, stayed here in this temple until 1779. Taking photographs inside the museum is not allowed.
Pha That Luang
The temple is open daily from 8 am until noon and from 1 pm until 4 pm. Entrance to the surrounding temples is free but admission to the golden stupa costs 5,000 ₭ per person.
We took a bus from Khua Din Bus Station that dropped us in front of Pha That Luang. It is the most important Buddhist monument in Laos. It is believed to enshrine a breast bone of the Buddha. Officially, it is called Pha Chedi Lokajulamani, which means “World Precious Sacred Stupa.”
Pha That Luang consists of 3 levels –
- The first level is the wall with a prayer gate at the center of each wall.
- Hundreds of sema stones and 30 small stupas that mark the sacred area.
- Arched gates lead to the third level that contains the 45-m high stupa.
Patuxai Monument
Patuxai opens on weekdays 8 AM-4.30 PM and on weekends 8 AM-5 PM. Entry to the park is free, but if you want to climb to the top, you must pay 5,000 ₭ per person.
Our next destination was Patuxai Monument – one of Vientiane’s most noticeable landmarks. We were not sure of which bus goes to the monument, so we got a tuk-tuk to drop us there.
Buddha Park
It was almost 10.30 AM and we visited all the must-see’s of Vientiane, still we had Buddha Park, locally called Xieng Khuan, in our mind – that is worth a visit too.
We walked to the Khua Din Bus Station, picked our luggage up, gobbled another bowl of congee,boarded bus no. 14 that took 45 min to reach the Buddha Park via the Lao immigration border control.
The park opens daily 8 AM-4.30 PM and cost 5,000 ₭ per person, plus camera fee of 3,000 ₭.
Buddha Park is a sculpture garden that houses a collection of over 200 Buddhist and Hindu sculptures in a park-like setting on the banks of the Mekong river outside Vientiane, around 10 km east of the immigration area. Luang Pu Bounleua Sulilat, a Laos national who later moved to Thailand as he was forced to abandon it during the Communist rule in Laos, was the mastermind behind the park. In Thailand, he created a similar park named Sala Keoku in Nong Khai, on the other side of the Mekong river.
It was difficult to find information about the sculptures and their meaning as there were very few signs in English. On the grounds of the park, there are food vendors, a gift shop and a restaurant overlooking the Mekong river.
Immigration
It was around 1.30 PM when we reached the immigration. We took the 20 ฿ shuttle bus once we stamped out of Laos. The bus crossed the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge, and took us to Thai immigration at Nong Khai, Thailand. It was easy to get inside Thailand as I was having multi-entry non-B visa as I work here for now. Laos was beautiful – plan for it soonest!
NET EXPENSE FOR 1 PERSON (IN LAK)
Let us have a look at the expenses of Day 3 in Laos – Vientiane.
- Entrance fee to temples, Patuxai monument, and park: 25,000
- Getting around: 50,000
- Food: 4,000
- Miscellaneous: 1,000
Total expense (roughly): 80,000 LAK
For an overall idea of itinerary and expense of the trip, whether for solo or couple or group of any number of people, feel free to contact me on Contact Us page. You can also have a look at 3 Days in Laos – Itinerary and Expenses.
If you are planning for a much-organized, tastefully-curated, stress-free yet exciting vacation, consider booking your holidays at Travel Love Repeat. It is going to be a treat for sure!
It’s looks really nice, and the pictures are very amazing! 🙂 I’ve never heard about it, but it looks really nice and the tips are very useful. Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
Yes, Vientiane is not so popular as Luang Prabang in Laos. It is however the capital and has beautiful places to offer.
I really enjoyed Vientiane and thought it was a pleasant city to explore. I think it is somewhat underrated because tourists focus on Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng but I think definitely worth a visit.
It is absolutely underrated. Your reason is right. Tourists mostly love UNESCO-listed Luang Prabang or party town of Vang Vieng.
That is some cool architecture. It is very unusual for an European eye. I really hope I would get there with my camera one day.
Yes, and then I would love to read those blogs with high-quality pictures in it!
I have an embarrassing confession to make – I did not know what the capital of Laos was until I read your post! Your pictures, as usual, are pretty awesome Shreya and the temples of Laos are amazing, quite like many other Buddhist temples from around the world. I would love to visit Pha That Luang as well as the Buddha Park. I plan to visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos all in one go, maybe in 2019. Can’t wait to get there!
Hi Medha, I have a great plan – one for 15 days and another one for 30 days – to cover these three countries at one go. Please do contact me or leave a mail in my personal email id. I live in Thailand and help travelers explore South-East Asia. Just drop an email if you are seriously thinking of exploring these countries at one-go. Thanks. Much love!
Wow, I would love to visit here! I was thinking about going to Laos in a couple months and your post has motivated me even more to go! I think the Congee looks very yummy! We don’t have anything like it here in the US! I also love how the city has SOOO many different types of Bhuddas – gold, stone, etc. It looks very cool!
Glad that you liked it, Courtney.
Oh My God, this is really new to me. I really love the article and the place, hope one day I will visit this one.
You would love it there!
Thanks for such a detailed itinerary. I didn’t know much about Vientiane but I would love to explore it. Buddha park and its so many statues are like a photographer’s paradise. There is a lot, I guess half day may not be enough for a lot of people.
I agree with you, keep a day or two in hand.
Wow this is such a detailed post!! Thanks so much, I am thinking of visiting Laos next year so I’m saving this for when I visit Vientiane 🙂
You would love it there!
It’s great that there are so many possibilities for just half a day!
Yes, Alysa.
This is a really good guide for those who need a quick visa. The park in Vientiene is in my opinion the most beautiful and worth visiting. Of course checking the food is a must!
Oh yes!
Wow, the reclining Buddha in Pha That Luang is an incredible sight! I would like to take a meditative trip to Buddha park and take a tranquil stroll through the sculptures.
You would love it there!
I visited Vientiane back in 2017. I had only a couple of days so didn’t see a lot more and I have to say you did a great job of covering the highlights of the city in such a short period. IT’s a very useful article, considering most people (at least from my impression) don’t spend a lot of time here.
True that, Daniel. It is actually worth a visit.
I actually just did a huge SE Asia trip and was so bummed out I didn’t get to Laos, but I guess that’s fine because now I have your awesome itineraries for reference! Buddha Park would definitely be high up on my list so good to know that they charge a camera fee. Did you see anyone offering guided tours there? Since like you said, there aren’t that many signs and I’d love to learn more about the sculptures.
You would love it there!
There is pretty cool architecture, it looks really unusual for an European eye. I would love to get there with my camera and do some shots.
And I bet that you will create magic.