"Vientiane, capital of tranquility " a Vientiane Travel Page by SirRichard

I arrived in Vientiane from busy Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. Sincerely, I had no idea of what Laos was gonna be like. Besides, my Lonely Planet was stoledn in Bangkok and I hadn't bought any other, so I left the airport guide-blind (first time in several trips).
I took a cab and told the driver to take me to the centre. When we arrived, I couldn't believe THAT was the centre of the capital. It seemed more the suburbs of a quiet rural village!!! No skycrappers, no traffic, no horns... I was in the middle of nowhere!!

First thing I did was choosing a room (the first one I saw for 5 $, as I had no guide) and go out to discover the city, as my bus to Luang Phabang left the following morning.
It was a nice surprise to find such BEAUTIFUL AMAZING FANTASTIC temples in the very heart of the city. It was such a calm relaxed walk from one to another, finding each one more beautiful than the previous...
Besides, there were about 10 tourists in all Vientiane, and I was 1 of them, so the contrast with Hanoi was incredible.

One thing that surprised me a lot (apart from the fact that there is no Coke in Laos!) was to find temples under construction. And I don't mean refurbishing, they were brand new. In the rest of the trip I always found old temples (real old in Cambodia), but here I had the chance to see temples being built and I felt that religion (buddhism) was a very living concept here, part of theit everyday life.