Vientiane | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Vientiane excellent coffee shops

April 18, 2019 by David Herd

Vientiane excellent coffee shops

Vientiane excellent coffee shops were right around the corner from our hotel. They were every bit as good or better than I expected. The shot above is the cafe next door to Le Trio, I believe it is either part of the same business, or simply a shop who they sell their coffee to.

LE TRIO COFFEE

The first ’boutique roaster’ in Vientiane, they source ethical beans from local Lao producers and use only Robusta and Arabica beans, using a magnificent German roasting machine to make their coffee.

There are only 2 stools to sit at here.

I guess that’s why they send you next door. 🙂

Vientiane excellent coffee shops

Coffee does not get any better than this.

Many other coffee shops in Laos buy coffee beans from Le Trio to make their own coffee, showing just how powerful their blend is.

JOMA BAKERY CAFÉ

Joma is very popular among expats and travellers & has two locations in Vientiane. As well as their drinks, they serve great sandwiches, pastries, quiche, muesli, bagels and fruit shakes. It’s an excellent place to go to if you seek the taste of Western food. The mango pudding in the photo was absolutely magnificent.

Joma

Joma was founded by Canadians in Laos and now has 12 stores in three countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam. I must say it was very similar to a Starbucks.

We stayed at the Bloom Boutique Hotel.

These great coffee shops were only about 50 metres from our hotel. I would certainly recommend the Bloom Boutique Hotel, excellent rooms, friendly staff & a great breakfast. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.

Sinouk Coffee Night Market

Small restaurant/bar at the corner of the street, you can watch the crowds pass by at night on the way to the night market.

Thanks for visiting my Vientiane excellent coffee shops photo blog. We took a taxi for an hour ($10 USD) to check out the city, follow THIS LINK to see some of the sights.

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Good restaurants Vientiane Laos

April 17, 2019 by David Herd

Good restaurants Vientiane Laos

Good restaurants Vientiane Laos and terrific coffee shops. You won’t go hungry in this nice city. I was with my friend from Australia Tony Murphy & we both really enjoyed the food & wide choice of restaurants.

Pimenton was one of the best.

TripAdvisor rate this establishment 6 out of 424 restaurants in Vientiane.

Tony chose duck prosciutto

Very tasty & well presented.

A vegetable side dish.

I can’t remember what it was, but it was certainly colourful. 🙂

I chose the pork ribs.

Very tender & tasty indeed.

Good restaurants Vientiane Laos

Red wine & service was excellent & deserved it’s high rating.

Cafe Sinouk

Very good value here, I had a hamburger & 3 glasses of red wine for around $17 AUD.

Hamburger at Sinouk.

To be fair it was not a great hamburger, I would rate it about 6.5 out of 10.

Excellent French food at L’Adress

A TripAdvisor rating of 18 out of 424 restaurants in Vientiane seemed too low to me. The food & service was excellent, I’m surprised it’s not in the top 10.

I chose the spinach soup as an entree.

Very good, I would rate it 8.5 out of 10.

Main course was beef liver.

Different to what I would normally order, however it was on the “specials list” at a very good price. Tasted fine & very French. 🙂

Caesar salad for Tony.

It tasted as good as it looks.

Escargot & scrambled eggs.

Now this is what I call a very interesting creation. 🙂

We stayed at the Bloom Boutique Hotel.

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.

Thanks for visiting my Good restaurants Vientiane Laos photo blog. We took a taxi for an hour ($10 USD) to check out the city, follow THIS LINK to see some of the sights.

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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.

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Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane

April 16, 2019 by David Herd

Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane

Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane in Laos was a pleasure to visit. I would happily recommend the Bloom Boutique Hotel, excellent rooms, friendly staff & a great breakfast. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.

The restaurant

The restaurant is on the 1st floor & reception is on the 2nd floor.

The bed was huge

Please disregard the horrible sight in the mirror, although I realize it is very hard to un-see something. 🙂

Bathroom was excellent

Plus the shower was perfect, which is often not the case in many hotels.

Lets talk about the breakfast.

In my opinion the breakfast was one of the best I have had in any hotel. Forget the buffet style, the breakfast here is excellent. A choice of fried eggs or omelette, toast or baguette, salad or veggies, coffee or tea, yogurt or fruit.

Fried eggs for a change.

Out of the two the omelette was the best. 🙂 Plus the veggies were excellent.

Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane, very nice decor

Their decorator should be congratulated. Those craft items on the table were for sale.

I would visit again just for the breakfast. 🙂

Don’t forget to use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.

Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane

Here is all the hotel staff enjoying a special lunch to celebrate Songkran, the Lao New Year celebration.

After lunch they all get wet.

They celebrated for hours at the Bloom Boutique Hotel Vientiane.

Vientiane is Laos’ national capital, it mixes French-colonial architecture with Buddhist temples such as the golden, 16th-century Pha That Luang, which is a national symbol. Along broad boulevards and tree-lined streets are many notable shrines including Wat Si Saket, which features thousands of Buddha images, and Wat Si Muang, built atop a Hindu shrine.

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Songkran celebration Vientiane 2019

April 16, 2019 by David Herd

Songkran celebration Vientiane

Songkran celebration Vientiane 2019 was certainly more subdued compared to the madness in Pattaya. Songkran is the Lao & Thai New Year’s national holiday. Throwing water has become a huge part of the annual celebrations. If you’re visiting Thailand during this period, prepare to get splashed! In Laos you are able to dodge the soaking if you are careful. 🙂

Look out here they come. 🙂

Lots of pickups prowl the streets with barrels of water to throw at other vehicles & pedestrians.

Our hotel staff

The day we arrived all the staff were having fun soaking each other for Songkran celebration Vientiane. I would happily recommend the Bloom Boutique Hotel, excellent rooms, friendly staff & a great breakfast. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good discount.

Lunch before the water fight

We were invited to join them for lunch however we didn’t want to intrude.

Tuk Tuk

Not all the Tuk Tuks are as flash as this one, in fact many of them are very old indeed.

Father & son.

Age is no barrier when having fun at Songkran.

Songkran celebration Vientiane

The folks relax while the kids play in the pool. As I said earlier Songkran is so much more subdued in Laos than Thailand, in fact each year around 450 Thais lose their life on the roads over what Thailand call the seven deadly days.