It's time to share the videos from my first international travel. I shared about Vietnam and there are still a lot to share especially from our river cruise in Ninh Binh. However, I'm in the mood to share our temple hopping in Vientiane, Laos. It's one of the best last-minute decisions we made.
From Vietnam, we travelled to Laos via a sleeper bus that took us 26 hours from Hanoi to Vientiane. Our original itinerary was supposed to just stay in Vientiane for one night and travel the next day to Vang Vieng. After the grueling 26 hours in the bus and crossing an international border that looks like North Korea, we were so tired once we reached Vientiane. Since we were already so amazed by the nature trip in Ninh Binh, we ditched the original Vang Vieng itinerary and decided to just explore Vientiane.
If you're into Buddhist temples, Thailand must be the first country in your mind. We also had a fair share of temple experience in Thailand, but I felt the temples in Viantiane are much more intimate. One reason is that Thailand charges fees to visit their temples which became tourist attractions themselves. In Vientiane, it's really a place of worship so it's mostly the locals that can be seen in their temples. In Thailand, expect a lot of tourists, but in Vientiane, you can have the temples to yourselves except when there are a few tourists and worshipping locals.
In Laos, expect a lot of photos without any other tourists. It's solemn and quiet. We only paid 30,000 kip in Haw Phra Kaew. The rest of the temples and landmarks we visited are free. Pha That Luang might have an entrance fee, but we were not able to enter because it was already closed when we got there. The whole park surrounding the golden stupa is free though and Pha That Luang looks more majestic on the outside. The Hor Dhammasabha Buddhist Convention Hall was also closed during our visit because of an ongoing renovation. Overall, it was one of the highlights in our Indo-China trip. Sometimes the unexpected changes in itinerary would turn out to be epic. I felt more connected to Buddhism in Vientiane than in Bangkok.
I guess that's all for this post. Enjoy the video!
Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer, so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.
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