Vientiane is just North of the border with Thailand. Like so much of SE Asia the French have had a hand in the best bits and no where is that more obvious than Vientiane. There were some reoccurring themes that can make life trying in SE Asia but Vientiane was a welcome break from most of them. The presence of footpaths that you can actually walk on might seem like a strange thing to enjoy as we take them for granted but they are rare in this part of the world and they mean you can walk around and enjoy the place. Without them you are walking on the busy road and that isn't pleasant. Civic spaces where people can gather are also a rarity. A city layout that has been carefully planned and designed with the people who live there in mind is also unusual. These sort of things make people who live there happy. In the West we take these things for granted but they are uncommon around here and we hadn't seen this sort of civic consideration since leaving Singapore. The thing we liked most about the place however was the coffee shops :) The French managed to leave a real impression on the place before they departed and no where was this more welcome than the little boutique coffee shops that we had missed so dearly.

This mini Arc De Triomphe and it's associated gardens, seen here and above, is as French as eating cheese. The US donated large quantities of cement as an aid project for the construction of a runway. The locals built this instead and it is affectionately called the vertical runway. It was refreshing to see it's clean lines and enjoy the sense of peace that it's ordered geometry creates.

Here are some pictures of a Buddhist temple in Vientiane. I thought the effort that had gone into it and the use of simple, local materials was impressive. The use of sea shells for the dragons scales that is shown here is a great example. Most of the construction and carvings are wood.

For us the highlight of Vientiane was it's little coffee shops and patisseries and the boulevard that the French had carved along the water line. At night a market appeared and people gathered and socialised and made great use of the space. It is a pity that this sort of thing is so rare in this part of the world as it makes a huge difference to the feel and function of the city.