Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane is one of my favorite cities in Asia. It is just jam packed with temples, many of which I have never visited despite my best efforts over at least 10 visits over the last few years. This one is by the Mekong River near the center of town. We headed out to the Morning Market (which is open all day) and I veered across the street to show my daughter and son in law the "Hmong" Market across the street. In addition to many of the textiles available across the street there are shops selling outfits for celebrations. There is also a vegetable and medicinal herb market but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take photos.

Of course we had to stop for the required banana split.

Beautiful carved temple doors.

My friend Phonesay (the former monk) came over to our hotel in the evening with his wife and baby. We went out to dinner in one of our favorite restaurants.

Our hotel lobby. I don't quite understand the umbrella.

Just across the street from our hotel is a fabulous temple.

Just the doors.

The grillwork was heavily mirrored and just glittered.

A tomb.

Windows.

This was just the entranceway to the main building.

Bas reliefs outside the main building.

After all this culture it was surely time for a nice snack at my favorite Scandanavian Bakery.

A hat seller near the Morning Market.

The view of the temple from our hotel.

Tuk tuks waiting across from the Scandanavian Bakery. This is the town center and has a nice little park with a big fountain.