Vientiane

Location

Vientiane is considered the important city such as the big provinces of Laos because of its role in the country’s development in all fields. Vientiane has its long history from the beginning but it became the capital of Laos in 16^th century. In the 19^th century, the name of Vientiane appeared under the French protectorate.

Vientiane is located to the north west of Laos on the left bank of Mekong River. The river is the border from Laos with Thailand.

• Districts: There are two parts in Vientiane City in which consist of the urban area and suburb. The urban area has 5 districts called the capital area.
• Climate: Vientiane is in the tropical climate the hot and humid state. There are the rain season from October to May and the dry time from May to September. The average temperature is 29 C degree. 
• Transportation: Travel conveniently by land, river way and airline to the city and from it to other provinces.

           The distance (by railway) is for reference as below:

           From Vientiane to Ha Noi: 792 km

           From Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh City: 1.257 km

           From Vientiane to Luangprabang:  343 km

           From Vientiane to Luang Namtha:  655 km

           From Vientiane to Pakse:  670 km

           From Vientiane to Savannakhet:  462 km

           From Vientiane to Vang Vieng:  161 km

Landscapes

• That Luang Stupa: called the Great Sacred Stupa. It is one of the most important destinations in Vientiane. That Luang Stupa was built in 16^th century firstly and then was rebuilt in 1953 with the golden tower that is 45m high. There is the Revolutionary Monument that located not far from That Luang Stupa. This is the monument where is for memory the people killed in the revolutionary in the period of 1945-1975.
• Lao National Museum: the famous museum was built in 1925. It is located in Samsenthai Road in the city. It is convenient for tourists who come to visit. The museum is the place where visitors know more about the history of the city and Laos.
• Xieng Khouan Buddha Park: It was built in 1958. This is the place where are displayed Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. It is far from Vientiane’s center 30 km nearly.
• Suan Wattanatham Badapao: called also The National Ethnic Culture Park. It is located in the south of the city and far from the city about 20 km. It takes you about 12 minutes for transfer.
• Wat Si Saket: this is the temple was built in 19^th century with the architectural features from Thailand style. There are more than 6.000 of Buddha statues in which there is some statues damaged cause of the war and time. War So Saket is considered the important symbol of Laos.
• Wat Si Muang: the famous temple in Vientiane City. It is located in Sethathirath Road. The temple was built in 1956.

And there are many other famous destinations in the cities.

Festivals:

• Rocket Festival: this is the asking rain festival. It is happened in the end of April to the middle of May each year.
• Boat Racing Festival: The local traditional festival that happened before the Buddhist Lent Festival. The time is for Boat Racing Festival from July to August each year.
• Boun Kin Jieng Festival: or called Hmong Ethnic’s New Year Festival. This is the traditional festival of ethnic people to have the warm time to welcome the New Year. The festival is happened from the end of December to the middle of January each year.  

And there are many other unique festivals in the city.

Local specialties

There are different local specialties in the city such as fish with tamarind and chili, stirred beef with local herb, som tam, ginger chicken and other typical specialties.