A very long way to Vientiane!

We started our journey to Laos with the usual drive from home to Melbourne Airport, taking a little over three hours before arriving at the Melbourne Airport. As we had some time before our flight, so we decided to grab a quick meal at one of the airport pubs/restaurants. We weren’t looking for anything fancy, just a simple feed before the long flight (as we didn’t have any meals included with Scoot). Between the four of us, we ordered three burgers and a schnitzel, and somehow the bill came to a ridiculous $138 AUD — and that was without a single drink! Bloody highway robbery, we basically just walked away from that and just got some Hungry Jack meals, same burgers, a third of the price!

Later on we boarded our late evening flight to Singapore, leaving Melbourne at around 9:30pm and landed in Singapore at about 3:00am, giving us a six-hour layover before our final flight. Unfortunately, all the airport lounges and sleeping areas were already full at that time of the morning, so we wandered between terminals looking for somewhere to rest and eventually found a quiet corner where we could lie down for a few hours (and I even got some sleep).

Around 6am we finally got ourselves moving again and grabbed some breakfast, including Hainanese chicken and a traditional Singapore kopi (a strong, rich local coffee, served with condensed milk, just what I needed after a few hours of next to no sleep. We then managed to find a hidden corner with comfortable seats which overlooked the terminal and aircraft where we waited and finally got onto our airplane.

After a slight delay where some passengers didn’t turn up and their luggage had to be offloaded, we landed at Vientiane Airport about 2 hours and 40 min later, breezed through immigration with our eVisas and were soon outside, where we stopped at an ATM to get some local currency and become millionaires, although unfortunately being a millionaire in Laos doesn’t quite mean the same as it does in Australia.

We also managed to pick up a local SIM card for Xander, as his phone doesn’t support eSIM. For about $4 AUD he got seven days of data, and it actually turned out to be a great option as his connection was super fast, whilst the Airalo eSim we had was some of the worst I’ve come across (for future reference, do not use Airalo in Laos).

Getting from the airport, I used LOCA app, pretty much Laos’ version of Uber. What arrived to collect us was a nice electric car. Actually, every taxi ride we took through the LOCA app in Vientianne was an EV, and we quickly noticed the vast amount of EV cars (and fast charging stations) everywhere. Coming from Australia, we were impressed and, to be honest, felt like we are the third world nation and way behind the times considering how normal EVs are around here.

We arrived at our hotel, the Mintra Hotel and checked into our interconnecting rooms. The rooms were comfortable, the beds were nice and plush, and after such a long journey, we were really looking forward to sleep in them. However, no time for that, we headed outside and found our first restaurant for some Lao lunch. The kids grabbed mango and watermelon shakes while Suz and I ordered our first Beer Lao’s (the first of many more to come).

After lunch we organised a tuk-tuk and headed towards Patuxai, one of Vientiane’s most famous landmarks, which is also called the Victory Gate. Patuxai is a huge monument inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, although with traditional Lao architectural details. We climbed the stairs to the top and enjoyed some great views over town.

From there we wandered through Talat Sao, one of the city’s many markets, before Suz and the kids decided it was time to head back to the hotel for some swimming in the pool. I decided to keep going, flagged down a TukTuk, and made my way over to Pha That Luang, a large golden stupa which is one of the most important national and religious symbols in Laos. The site was impressive, with the enormous golden structure standing out against the surrounding buildings.

I eventually returned to the hotel where we all spent some time relaxing in the pool, where I enjoyed a cold beer. Then the rain arrived and we enjoyed some time in the water, whilst the rain poured over us.

We had originally planned to visit the night markets along the Mekong River, however due to the rain, we changed our plans and headed to Wanwan Food Park Center Point instead. Here we just sat down at a local restaurant, on plastic chairs, and ordered from a menu that had no English translations and, even more importantly, no prices. We hoped for the best and choose dishes based on the photos showed and hoped for the best. We ordered some pork larb, fried rice and morning glory with everything being delicious, however the food was definitely on the spicy side and a too much for the kids (and Suz).

After dinner we wandered around the markets, picking up a few snacks along the way before finally returning to the hotel. It had been a very long day, starting with the drive to Melbourne, the flight to Singapore, a six-hour layover, another flight to Laos and then a full afternoon and evening exploring Vientiane. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were more than ready for bed.

One thing that really stood out during our time in Vientiane was the city itself, there are some large and impressive buildings throughout the city, some incredibly modern while others incorporate traditional Lao architecture. We were genuinely impressed over their scale and design.

The next morning we grabbed some croissants and a few other things for breakfast and headed towards the train station. Along the way we passed even more of Vientiane’s impressive buildings, before arriving at the station itself.

And speaking of impressive buildings, the Vientiane railway station is absolutely massive. It feels more like an airport terminal than a train station, with a huge modern structure that really stands out from the surrounding area. After going through security and grabbing some snacks for the journey, we made our way onto the platform and boarded our train towards our next stop in Laos, Vang Vieng!