Day 12 Thursday Vientiane

Today we went to 4 different places. Firstly a lovely wat – Wat Si Sakit. It was built in the early 1800’s. The temple is surrounded by cloisters with many images of Buddha. It had a really peaceful feel. Hah Pha Kaeo followed – an ex-temple, now a museum, then Pha That Luang. This was not to my taste! It is the national monument of Laos, and is supposed to be a symbol of both Buddhism and Lao sovereignty. It is a goldy coloured stupa surrounded by concrete. It doesnot have, for me, a good peaceful feel.

After that we drove to a funny thing that looks like the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed to the top and had a good view of the city. Vientiane is built on the edge of the Mekong but there seems to be a lot of construction along the waterfront and the view of it from the top of the Arc was all I have seen.

Mrs MW and I did some shopping in the afternoon, ignoring the protestations of Mr DW who is well known for his opposition to spending money.

Tomorrow we are off to Cambodia.