Taxi tour | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Taxi tour discovering Vientiane

April 16, 2019 by David Herd

Taxi tour discovering Vientiane

Taxi tour discovering Vientiane in Laos only cost us $10 USD for an hour of sightseeing. This is the capital city with a population of only 783,000 in a country of 6.858 million.

The photo above is Pha That Luang, a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of the city of Vientiane. Initially established in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions, as recently as the 1930s due to foreign invasions of the area. Wikipedia

Temple near our hotel

In fact it was virtually in the same street as the Bloom Boutique Hotel, we would walk through it to get to the riverside.

Lets take a closer view.

Like many cities in Thailand there seems to be temples everywhere.

We did not spend too much time in the temples.

Our focus was more on the bars & restaurants. 🙂

I would like to recommend the Bloom Boutique Hotel, excellent rooms, friendly staff & a great breakfast. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.

Patuxai is a war monument

Built between 1957 and 1968. The Patuxai was dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. In romanising the name from the Laotian language, it is variously translated as Patuxai, Patuxay, Patousai and Patusai. Wikipedia

Meet the jolly jumbo

Made out of porcelain plates, saucers, cups etc. I have no idea what it stands for. 🙂

Rather spectacular.

It really is a fantastic monument.

Thai bank in Vientiane

I actually have an account at Kasikorn Bank.

This is what you need for a road trip. 🙂

Gotta be the most famous bike in the world.

King Anouvong Statue

Chao Anouvong (1767-1829), or Chao Anou for short, was the last king of the former Lao kingdom of Lane Xang. He ruled from 1805 to 1828 in Vientiane and came to power after his brother’s death. Chao Anouvong had long been an ally of the Thai monarchs against Burmese invaders but unfortunately his accomplishments and support of the Thai kingdom was not well recognized. From 1826 to 1828 Chao Anouvong rebelled against Siam in an attempt to gain independence from Siam.