Laos Vientiane: discover That Luang and Patuxai, two icons of the capital Vientiane, Travel to Laos 5 (1)For this final day, Jitima took the bus early in the morning to return to Bangkok. For my part, I could stay one more day, especially to collect my passport with my new visa all fresh and beautiful. This allowed me to appreciate the Laotian capital a little more than our quick visit on the first day.After my visit to the Thai consulate I headed to the bus station to check the timetables and book my ticket, knowing that for the return I would stop in Udon Thani rather than returning by night bus before taking the plane back to Bangkok (it was just to change from Nong Khai but in the end I wouldn't have time to see Udon).Once done, I was dropped off by tuk tuk at my starting point, the Pha That Luang (Great Stupa), a national monument representing the Buddhist faith and the sovereignty of Laos, it is the most important in the country (its design is visible on bank notes).Today's anecdote, as I mentioned in an earlier article, Vientiane was practically razed by the Siamese to show their dominance in 1828, and it was us, France, who rebuilt it at the end of the 1890s when the city had almost become a jungle again... It then became the capital of the Laos protectorate in 1899. It was during this period that most of the monuments were renovated (well, unfortunately there wasn't much left)The city itself has no more than 200 inhabitants (an estimated 000 in 130...) and more than 000 if we include the outskirts, a far cry from the millions in other Asian cities.Payment for return ticket to Udon Thani in Thailand.Statue of King Setthathirath, considered the founder of the city (in 1560), he is also the initiator of That Luang.After 15 minutes of walking I arrived at Patuxai. In the middle of Lane Xang Avenue, this building is the most recognizable symbol of the city after the That Luang chedi, but what is it exactly?Well, it's a bit like an Arc de Triomphe whose design is quite deliberately inspired by it (moreover, Lan Xang Avenue which leads to this monument is popularly called the "Champs-Elysées" of Vientiane... as I said before. Construction began in 1957, in memory of the victims of the war (notably of independence against France). Lacking materials, they built it from cement stocks from the Americans and which were to be used for the construction of a new airport, which earned it the nice nickname of "vertical runway", it was never 100% finished... one of the reasons being that shortly after the start of construction, the Vietnam War began and would greatly affect the country... with an average of one bomb every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 24 years!The detail of the day, it did not have an official name until 1975, when, although very recent, a renovation was made to the monument to give it its current appearance while the communist party “Pathet Lao” definitively took power.Arrived at Patuxai, a sort of triumphal arch in Vientiane LaosThe spiral staircase leading to the top.Visiting students, recognizable by their white shirts and black sarongs as skirts.They themselves say it...Translation: "At the northeastern end of Lane Xang Avenue stands a huge structure resembling the Arc de Triomphe. This is the Patuxay or Victory Gate of Vientiane. Built in 1962 (Year 2505 of the Buddhist calendar), but never completed due to the country's turbulent history. Up close it appears even less impressive, like a concrete monster. Nowadays, the square is used as a recreation area by Vientiane residents and the 7th floor at the top of the monument serves as an excellent viewpoint over the city."Once I had seen the two main sites of the city, I still had to see the temples, those seen on the first day, namely, Wa Si Saket and Wat Phra Keo.When we see the 3G soap opera that is happening in Thailand, it makes me laugh when we see that even here in a very poor country we are already talking about 4G… (although in reality it is also in the test phase in Bangkok and True, one of the Thai operators, is even starting to use it, but hey it is not about to be deployed throughout the country yet… and even then it was in 2012!)The morning market, the Talat Sao (the sound "ch" does not exist in Lao, whereas in Thai morning is "chao") Next door we can see a new modern shopping mall whose construction began 4 years ago.This includes a luxury hotel, a shopping centre (another building already existed in 2007, the Talat Sao Mall) and a modern cinema, which the centre of Vientiane was previously lacking.Here is an itinerary of my visit today:One day itinerary for a visit to Vientiane.And a small photo gallery to summarize this day: Did you like the article? Vote on the article Note globale 5 / 5. Number of votes: 1 No votes yet. Be the first to rate this article! Did you like the article? Follow me on social media Capital Essentials to visit Historic site Buddhist temple 0 2 Roman 15/02/2014
