Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the construction of a new airport; hence expats refer to it as 'the vertical runway'. Climb
to the summit for panoramic views over Vientiane.
Lao National Museum
( 021-212461; Th Samsenthai; admission 10,000K; 8am-noon & 1-4pm)
Sadly, this charming
French-era building was due to be knocked down and the museum moved to newer
premises. Formerly known as the Lao Revolutionary Museum, much of its collection re-
tains an unshakeable revolutionary zeal. Downstairs has a potted account of Khmer cul-
ture in the south, accompanied by tools and Buddha statuary; upstairs has ponderous dis-
plays that tell the story of the Pathet Lao, peppered with busts of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh.
MUSEUM
Xieng Khuan
(Suan Phut, Buddha Park; admission 5000K, camera 3000K; 8am-4.30pm)
Twenty-five kilometres
southeast of Vientiane, eccentric Xieng Khuan thrills with other-worldly Buddhist and
Hindu sculptures, and was designed and built in 1958 by Luang Pu, a yogi-priest-shaman
who merged Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, mythology and iconography into a cryptic
whole.
Bus 14 (8000K, one hour, 24km) leaves the Talat Sao bus station every 15 or 20
minutes throughout the day and goes all the way to Xieng Khuan. Alternatively, charter a
túk-túk (200,000K return).
MUSEUM
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