December 31, 2012 @ Vientiane


Complimentary breakfast

Restaurant across the hostel

Rooms are so cheap in Vientiane

Bee

Wat Onteu aka Temple of the Heavy Buddha

Massive bronze 580 meters tall Buddha, biggest in Vientiane

Wat Haisok

Windows and facade are beautifully carved in wood

With symbolic landmark of Laos

Gilded multi-headed nagas (mythological snakes) flank the steps

Soaring five-tiered roof topped with elegant golden spires

Drawing @ Wat Haisok

Wat In Peng

Shrine in the garden

Exterior is very beautiful with colorful decorations and paintings

Art work on the walls and roof

Riverside promenade

Laos is a communist country

Dry season, can see the riverbed

Chinese temple

King Anouvong statue

Park leading to the Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace

Morning market

Hmong*s hat

Frog escaping

Selling frog in the mall?

Hmong costume

Just like school uniform

Hmong Barbie

Wat Si Saket, now signposted as Sisaket Museum

With very contemplative ambience

Rrobably the oldest standing temple in Vientiane

Built in 1818 by Chao Anou in the Bangkok style

Hence left unsacked when much of Vientiane was razed in a Siamese raid in 1828

Within the cloister walls are hundreds of niches housing Buddha images large and small

A five-tier-roofed sim (ordination hall) in the centre

Buddha niches and beautiful but fading murals of the Buddha*s past lives

Book shelf @ the library

The library

Entrance fee 5,000 kip

Haw Pha Kaew aka Hophakaew Museum

An elegant, and majestic structure

King Setthathirat*s former royal temple

The temple no longer operates

The interior has been turned into a small jumbled museum housing Buddha images

Me @ Haw Pha Kaew

Glad we got in just before they close

Pink taxi

New Year Eve countdown party

Nam Phou Fountain

New Year countdown party @ Lao National Cultural Hall

Lao National Museum

Bars around the National Cultural Hall

Lao National Cultural Hall

Fancy New Year Eve Dinner

Complimentary bbq @ Vientiane Traveller House

Friendly manager @ Vientiane Traveller House

A great place for sole traveler

Huge fish

Seafood

Veggie

New Year eve dinner

Laos style hotpot

Yummy

New Year countdown party @ Lao National Cultural Hall

A lot of drinking

Navigated all the way to the front

Me & Jac

VVIP

Broadcast on national TV

Culture dance

The speech overran, the countdown was delayed

Major General Asang Laoly, one of the four deputy prime minister

Toss for the new year

Happy New Year

Cheers

The party below got a bit crazy

Followed by dance by Ms Lao and Asang Laoly

Their culture dance is just few simple movement

We were so close to the deputy prime minister

Free beer at the hotel