going going gong...Jamie's off on a two-wheeled adventure
The capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, Ventiane, is a charming city, thanks to the influence of late 19th century French colonial architeture, wide tree-lined avenues and views across the wide confluence of the magistic Mekong.
A handful of old Wats (Buddhist temples), some dating back to the 18th century, their roofs with flame-like golden flickers on the corners sit cheek by jowl with old paint-flaking chateaux, all louvre shutters and gentle sloping roofs.
A pathway between two cultures: French chateau meets Laotian wat
What better way to explore this beautiful city, then, than by bicycle, transport mode of choice for both rural France and Indochina.
There are countless other Ferangs also exploring on bikes – the city has a large expat population of NGO workers as well as tourists. At times the sight of a westerner leaving one of the many pattiserries or boulangeries, baguettes in hand, and jumping on a ‘bicyclette’ gives one a double take.
The only thing is certainly Asian is the heat. We’re here in the hot season (wet season) and the breeze on a bike is another great reason to jump in the saddle.
First stop is Patuxai: Laos’s answer to the Arc de Triumph. From far away it looks most impressive, dominating one of the main streets with its solid, ornate bower arching across the road, but when you get up close it’s clear that it’s not nearly as awesome, or even as finished, a monument as it should be. Built in the 1960s to commemorate soldiers who died in wars pre-independence, it was never finished and sits as a mound of unclad and crumbling concrete, where local teens gather to drink soda in its shade. We spotted some of them pretending it was a hat from distance so we had a go ourselves.
I went to Laos and all I got was this lousy headdress!
Next we headed out of town to the beautiful gold Pha That Luang, pride of Lao Buddhist history (legend has it that part of Buddha’s breast bone can be found inside the main ‘stupa’). Looking like a big gold candle on a birthday cake, the monument (which appears on Laotian money and national seal) is amazing, and well worth a 5km bike ride with burning sweaty eyes and almost getting mown down by small children on mopeds on the way there. (In Laos seemingly locals seemingly only ride bicyles without motors unti the age of four or so).
Resting place of part of the Buddha?
We wheeled around for several hours more taking in other sites including Wat Si Saket – the oldest temple in Ventiane, built in 1818, That Dam (the black stupa), the Lao Cultural Centre and the Lao National Museum. Then we spent an hour getting hopelessly lost and had to visit yet another two temples just to ask for directions!
Back on the road we were unbeleivably hot and sweaty by this time so we rode to one of the city’s municipal lidos to go for a swim (for 70p). Next door was the Lao Bowling Centre so we had a go at that as well.
By that time it was getting dark so we peddled to the metal down to the Mekong for sunset time. Two litres of delicious Beer Lao for all of £2 and the sky turning bright red over our first night in real Indo-China. What more could you want?
Red sky at night - total delight
