Unremarkable Vientiane (by Joe)

Other than there being remarkably little of note about it, Vientiane, Laos’capital, is an unremarkable place.

We had a pleasant enough time. We enjoyed some nice French colonial architecture; a few nice markets; some reasonable views of the Mekong; a couple of quirky monuments and buildings; some very nice tourist-friendly cafes and restaurants; and a (remarkable) lack of traffic (see top).

It’s just that once we’d got to grips with the fact that it is possibly the world’s most unremarkable capital city, there was remarkably little left to discover about it.

We understand that some tourists spend a remarkably long time in Vientiane sitting in pleasant cafes remarking to one another just how truly unremarkable it is. “A capital city, like this” they say, “… it’s remarkable!”

Indeed it is. We decided to move on.

Joe