Audioguides Vientiane

Vientiane sits on the banks of the Mekong River, looking across at Thailand, and has the relaxed pace of a provincial town despite being the capital of Laos. That quality is not accidental. The city was sacked and nearly erased by the Siamese in 1828, leaving only ruins, and much of what exists today was built or rebuilt in the French colonial era and in the decades since 1975 when the communist Pathet Lao took power. The main boulevard, Lane Xang Avenue, was modelled on the Champs-Elysees, and at its end stands Patuxai, a Victory Gate that residents call the vertical runway because it was built using cement meant for a new airport.

The most important sight is Pha That Luang, the Great Golden Stupa built first in the 16th century by King Setthathirath and considered the national symbol of Laos.

It is entirely different from the monastery complexes of Bangkok or Angkor, a singular golden tower rising from its own compound that at sunset turns a deep amber. Wat Si Saket, which survived the 1828 destruction because the Siamese used it as their headquarters, has thousands of tiny Buddha images in niches around its cloister walls, a quantity that makes a strange impression. Vientiane is a city for people who like their history without crowds.