Vientiane, Laos

Lao people love eating out. Whether slurping a bowl of hot noodle soup for breakfast, popping out for spring rolls for lunch or settling into a substantial evening meal, eating and drinking is a social occasion. Visitors to Vientiane can enjoy the atmosphere, as well as local and international cuisine, in a wide range of eating spots. Street-side stalls and cafes offer a splendid Mekong River sunset view, while exquisite restaurants impress customers with immaculate decor. Vientiane caters, at reasonable prices, to most tastes in food and drink.

French culinary influence lingers in Lao in the smell of freshly baked crusty baguettes. First thing in the morning, street vendors serve them, Lao-style, with a drizzle of condensed milk, or as part of a cafe breakfast. The Sabaidee Restaurant, in the historic quarter, serves a substantial “Lao/American Breakfast” in a shady courtyard setting. The nearby Healthy & Fresh Bakery offers tempting breakfast choices including waffles, muesli and fruit juice, not forgetting blueberry pancakes.

A good spot to watch Vientiane waking up is along the Mekong waterfront. Cafes serving Lao breakfasts and all day meals line the street. Pick a corner spot at Nok Noy Noodle Shop, and try khao pirsen, chunky rice noodles smothered in a delicious broth, or wake up swiftly with a cup of strong Lao coffee (grown in the southern highlands) sweetened with condensed milk.

Baguettes stuffed with pate and vegetables, sold at stalls near Talat Sao (Morning Market) from early until late, are another legacy of French cuisine, but the addition of chili sauce can shock the palate. Making the best filled baguettes in town, as well as some tasty Vietnamese options, PVO Cafe on Thanon Samsenthai is open all day for takeaway or eat-in meals.

Lunch in central Vientiane is international. Italian sandwiches can be savored at the Gourmet Mediterranean Delicatessan on Thanon Setthathirat. Specials include Parma ham with mustard, and vegetarian grilled aubergine salad with soft cheese, sandwiched inside genuine foccacia or ciabatta bread. Across Nam Phu Square, the Scandinavian Bakery offers cheese and ham platters with a choice of bread and tempting sweet pastries. At Nazim Restaurant along the Mekong waterfront, you can lunch on Indian vegetarian and meat dishes and at Uncle Fred's eat American style fast food. Kitchen Tokyo serves Japanese set meals at bargain prices, and at the Cave des Chateaux in Nam Phu Square you can go French. For seafood buffs, the Hong Kong Restaurant is a great setting for business lunches. Vegetarians can relax at Just For Fun, where local specialties are guaranteed meat-free. To eat with the locals, sit down at the food stalls in the Talat Sao.

By sunset, thoughts turn to dinner. As the sun goes down over the Mekong, you can dine outdoors with a river view in the wooden Lao-style Anousone, featuring a wide range of reasonably priced food. For a quiet drink and snack, the nearby Sala Sunset Bar is an ideal scenic spot.

Traditional Lao style dining is communal—guests share a bamboo basket of sticky rice with fish, meat and vegetable dishes. Needless to say, Lao food is widely available, but a couple of venues stand out. The Khop Chai Deu Food Garden features a relaxed courtyard restaurant bar popular with locals, tourists and expatriates. It serves a tasty laap—minced meat or fish seasoned with aromatic herbs with classic Lao sticky rice (khao niaow). Kualao Restaurant, on Thanon Samsenthai, offers traditional cuisine in an elegant colonial building accompanied by live folk music

Nearby, classically European restaurants surround the Nam Phu Fountain. L'Opera is distinguished, Italian, and perfect for a candlelit dinner. Restaurant-Bar Nam Phou offers a mostly business clientèle imported Australian steaks and Lao specialties. Le Provencal is relaxed and French, with a delicious dessert menu. At all these restaurants you can enjoy good wine, liquors and spirits.

Vientiane is usually quiet by midnight, but if you can be here during festival time, wandering the streets with crowds of people late into the night can be both entertaining and can work up an appetite. When people converge on the city for the Boat Racing Festival(October) or the That Luang Festival(November), the streets are lined with low rattan stalls, each lit by a single candle or oil lamp. Here women sell skewers of barbecued chicken (ping kai) and reed cylinders filled with sticky rice.

What is there to drink? As the advertising slogan says here, "When in Lao, drink Beerlao!" You will notice that locals are happy to drink this local brew (with a Czech recipe) from breakfast onwards. If this seems a bit early, there is always a stall or cafe serving Pepsi or Mirinda, perhaps to take away in a bag poured over refreshing crushed ice. Stalls everywhere sell Lao Coffee (hot or iced), soy and coconut milk, as well as bottled water. Wine is readily available (that French influence again), but expensive when drunk by the glass; an impressive collection is offered by Vinotheque La Cave.

In general, before the dark of night takes this sleepy town into full unconsciousness, all tastes can be satisfied. Lao specialties abound, while a lot of the rest of Asia is represented and the selection of Western options is impressive. While all beverage preferences are also catered for, one drink seems to be the general choice to accompany any entrée or none at all, good old Beerlao.

While entertainment options in Vientiane can be somewhat limited, if you like drinking, dancing, karaoke or live music, you are in for a good time. The bad news is that there is a government-imposed curfew of 11.30pm; the good news is that many places either ignore it or have an understanding with the local police, which allows them to stay open until around 1am, and even later in some cases. A word of advice--transportation is difficult to find after about 10pm, especially in areas outside the city center such as KM4, so if you are planning a late night, paying a tuk-tuk driver to wait for you is well worth the money.

If your preference is for more highbrow cultural pursuits than drinking and dancing, they are a little harder to find, but it can be done with a bit of persistence. The best way to find out what is happening on the cultural front is to check the English language newspaper, The Vientiane Times, for listings. Also check the window of Phimphone Market as one-off events such as concerts, drama performances and film showings are often advertised there.

Nightlife There is a good variety of clubs, discos and watering holes to choose from, ranging from those catering mostly to foreign visitors to those with much more local flavor. The Samlo and Rose & Crown pubs are on the foreign end of the scale, with a British feel to them. Similarly, Khop Chai Deu Food Garden is a popular drinking hangout for both expatriates and backpackers.

For something a bit more energetic and with more local color, Image Bar and Chess Cafe are a couple of discos that attract a fair percentage of foreigners as well as numerous locals. Image Bar is strictly a place for cheap drinks and loud dance music, while Chess Cafe has a live band playing Thai and Lao pop. As well, most of the major hotels, including the Lao Plaza, Lane Xang, Novotel and Mekong also have nightclubs or discos attached to them.

If you are not so keen on dancing but like good live music, try Win West or Watcharaphorn, which boasts the best band in Laos. For a more relaxed evening drink and maybe something to eat, the Restaurant-Bar Nam Phou or the many salas, or beer shops, along the banks of the Mekong River are the places to head for. These are simple wooden open-air platforms with cheap tables and chairs, but the beer is plentiful, the food cheap and tasty, and the night air warm enough to sit outside until late.

Karaoke Karaoke is extremely popular in Laos, and there are a number of bars devoted exclusively to it. So if you have ever had the urge to belt out "Hotel California" in front of a bunch of strangers, Vientiane provides the perfect opportunity. Try Snooker Karaoke for a full public performance or, if you prefer to make a fool of yourself only in front of a select few friends, book one of the many private VIP lounges found at the Lao Plaza and Mekong hotels as well as other places. The often irrelevant accompanying videos and full-on echo effects on the microphones only add to what can be a surprisingly great night out--especially if you make good use of the available bar service.

Sports While ten pin bowling may not be the first thing that springs to mind as great entertainment, bowling, Lao style, is a whole different kettle of fish. Lao Bowling Centre has two alleys—one in the center of town and one at KM4. Both stay open until 3am, making them very popular haunts with the local crowd. Snooker and billiards are also popular here, and there are a number of snooker halls around. The easiest to find is the Ekalath Metropole Snooker Club.

There is nothing in the way of spectator sports, but if you like to participate there are various possibilities. Swimmers can find a number of pools, mostly at major hotels such as the Lao Plaza, Novotel and Lane Xang. The latter two also have tennis courts for hire, and there are a number of public courts as well, most centrally at the National Stadium. There is also a thriving Hash House Harriers chapter, which organizes runs every week. Check the Vientiane Times for times and also for details of informal weekly sessions of rugby, softball and ultimate Frisbee.

Local Culture Traditional music and dance performances are part of the dining experience at some of the finer local restaurants such as Kualao and Tamnak Lao. There are occasional performances of varying sorts at the Lao National Culture Hall, but these are irregular so it is a matter of checking the newspaper once you are in town.

Another way to enjoy Lao culture is to arrange to be in Vientiane during one of the local festivals. Pimai, the Lao New Year, combines solemn holiday and citywide water fight. The That Luang Festival , perhaps the biggest festival in the city, sees a mass pilgrimage to That Luang, where live music, dance and a market go well into the night.

Massage For the ultimate in relaxation after a hard night out, it is difficult to beat a massage and sauna. For the local version try Wat Sokpaluang or Amphone Sauna and Massage, or for a more European-style massage or facial, Mixay Massage is the place to go.

Vientiane is yet to make its claims to be part of the upper echelon in exciting cities. If, though, you are able to enjoy the simple pleasures Vientiane has to offer, the city can be a very enjoyable place. A drink by the river, a song sung with friends, a massage, or a game of bowling can definitely please if combined with a friendly Lao smile (or perhaps some Beerlao).