Shiok Travels!

This adventure brings us further downstream of the Mekong River to a park approximately 25 kilometres away from the city centre of Vientiane. It almost feels as though we had just embarked on a pilgrimage to the famous Buddha Park, which is a must-visit when in the area. Known to the locals affectionately as Xieng Khuan (literally meaning Spirit City), the park is visited by large numbers of local devotees who have come to offer their prayers to the deities as well as tourists who would love to dwell in the tranquillity of the countryside and admire these mysterious, peculiar stone sculptures. These statues offer travellers a warm welcome to Buddha Park!

Named after the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang which was one the largest empires in the Southeast Asian region for more than 350 years, Avenue Lane Xang is the most prominent boulevard cutting through the heart of Vientiane’s city centre with numerous tourist attractions on its two flanks. As a starter to explore this Laotian capital, I would recommend that you take a nice stroll down this path to admire some of Vientiane’s most popular tourist attractions.

While Vientiane certainly gives me the first impression of being one of the most relaxed capital cities in the world, it has been making a concerted effort to achieve urban development. Its gradual improvement and establishment of its public transportation system is testament to this, benefitting both locals and travellers alike. It was certainly a breeze trying to move around this capital sitting on the Laos-Thailand border for me, and I am sure it will be for you too! Immediately after stepping out of Wattay International Airport, I was treated to an amazing sunset!

After concluding our miniseries on Hanoi, I will now be sharing with you about a rather mysterious nation which has been overshadowed by its neighbours in terms of numerous aspects such as tourism, urban development and economic growth. I had the opportunity to embark on the well-travelled backpacker circuit along the northern region of Laos in January – traversing the territories from Vientiane to Luang Prabang via the quaint village of Vang Vieng .  Vang Vieng  | My favourite place in Laos with spectacular natural scenery!