SETTING FOOT ON LAOS' CAPITAL,VIENTIANE

September 12, 2011

SETTING FOOT ON LAOS' CAPITAL,VIENTIANE

Excitement and Fear. It was a mixed emotion when I received the announcement from the office that I will be going to Lao for some technical assistance there. Excited because this is a rare opportunity, an opportunity to travel and to earn more money than usual at the same time. Not all employee were given this kind of opportunity so I'm very thankful. Excited because another country will be added again on my list of destinations. And aside from those, this trip will be another experience and adventure to be posted on my blog. On the otherhand, there's a feeling of fear. I find it very hard to overcome my "Pteramechanophobia". It haunt me even in my sleep. There are many advice from friends how to overcome it but it is very hard to convince myself.

But anyway, I have arrived safely here in the capital city of Lao PDR despite the heart-pounding three times travel in an airplane. Leyte to Manila, Manila to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Vientiane. All my fears and anxiety were gone as the plane wheels touches the runway. I reserved some of it during my flight back home. For now I just want to explore Lao.

Its only my first day here but I don't allow the day to pass by without visiting the famous Patuxai. Patuxai means Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph. This is the asian version of Arc de Triomphe of Paris France. This is a war monument dedicated to those who fought in the struggle of independence form France.

Beside Patuxai is the Prime Minister's House of Lao.

I also featured here the currency of Lao. I was very overwhelmed as I exchanged my dollars into their currency. I am a millionaire here! Kip has the least value in Asia. Bill denominations starts with 500 up to 50,000 . There are no coins here in Lao.

Directions:

Patuxay is just around the city. Only 20 mins form the airport. There are lot of hotels in the city proper to stay. Beside Patuxay is the House of the Prime Minister, the white house of Laos.

Note: There are limited public transportation here in Laos. Most of the Lao people have their own services like cars and motorcylces. Most of the public transport here is the big tricycle called "Tuktuk". Tuktuk resembles the rickshaw of India or Bangladesh. There are also taxis but limited. Its hard to catch one.