Grand Escapades
Travel Photography & Travel Experiences of Africa, South America, the Middle-East & Asia
Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane, Laos’ very relaxed capital city, has changed in many ways since my last trip in 2008. Though still a very chilled and somewhat slow-moving place, the center is now bustling with a new well-off middle class, driving expensive cars and enjoying themselves in trendy restaurants. Looking at their menu it could be any place in Europe. A few years back it was mostly NGOs and government officials that frequented such places… Continue Reading →
Vientiane – Food Stalls along the Mekong
The Lonely Planet describes eating in Vientiane as “dollar for dollar the best in the world”. After more than two months of eating Asian food, we could not wait to explore this city’s highly praised restaurant scene. Of course, there are always places that offer “international cuisine” or what is thought to be such, namely burgers, spaghettis, pizzas or burritos. BUT these dishes are often prepared far from what you would expect: for instance, pizza made of sweet dough, spaghetti cooked into a mash or tacos that were actually crepes! So our hopes were up high to sample REAL international food at reasonable prices here. Continue Reading →
Dragon, Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan, Vientiane
This capital of a nation of almost 6 million people rather reminds of a busy village. Its 300.000 residents enjoy a city without skyscrapers and a few major streets that are ploughed by a couple of brand new pickup trucks and scooters. What a difference to the crazy traffic jam, noise and pollution in other bigger towns in Southeast Asia, not talking about what we experienced in towns large and small in Latin America! Continue Reading →