Laos.Baronbonk.com;;;;All is quite in Vientiane: bars yes but party no

Vientiane delights
It is the place we have all heard of, but few, from Bangkok anyway, have actually gone there. Laos may be a destination for visa runners in the north of the kingdom, but those of us in the middle know it only as a place with a language which is not quite Thai. Quiet is the word I hear a lot when people talk about Vientiane ; however I was encouraged to hear also about French food and sensibly priced wine: two eminently good reasons to get on an airplane. Mind you having got to the said plane and observed the boarding method, up something a builder would call a ladder, I started having second thoughts. As we bumped our way over Issan I began to regret all those friendly whiskies I had consumed the night before, and just hoped they would stay where they were.
We finally bumped down in Vientiane airport after we had all had a chance to look down into the smog that is covering the North of the country. It looked like there was some cloud as well but the ground was not visible for a long time before we landed, just a white haze that obscured all. Vientiane airport is reasonably new but access is proletarian in this People's Democratic Republic, which of course means it is not democratic, has little to do with what the people want, and its status as a republic is at best questionable. To get the required $35 visa on arrival required form filling, queuing, and being nice to a couple of miserable looking females, clearly long term party members for whom the reality of the communist dream was permission to bully tourists! Then to add insult to injury they charged me another $10 to escape!
I was wafted to the Novotel just down from the airport and a simple tuk tuk ride to the centre. I had tried for more central hotels without success and was concerned about using tuk tuks. Thankfully the Vientiane version may not look as grand as the classic Bangkok machine but it is bigger. I could actually get into most of them! In fact I ended up with a driver that befriended me the first night and became my chauffeur at $10 for a short night or $20 for a longer night. $1 to $2 seemed to be the rate anywhere in town.
My research on what and where had not revealed a great deal. I had been recommended to Restaurant Na Dao (Rue Sibournheuang, Tel 021 213174) on the street that is a Champs Elysee copy, complete with an Arc de Triomphe built by the French shortly before the Indo-China wars that saw them unceremoniously kicked out of S.E. Asia. Na Dao is a pleasant enough restaurant serving good French food. I had their Menu degustation with five courses which were interesting rather than exceptional, but impressive when considering all the staff are Laos . I can not think of a similar restaurant in Thailand . The next night I went to Le Central ( 77 Setthatirath Road . Tel 020 243703) which promotes itself as 'the area's only choice for gourmets'. The boast left me unconvinced but I had a good meal by the French owned and managed operation. The last night I tried La Belle Epoque, the high end restaurant at the luxury boutique hotel the Setha Palace . I have to say I was not inspired by an unimpressive menu backed up by indifferent service.
One area I had identified as a potential happening spot was Nam Phou (the Fountain). There were several restaurants and bars around this small square. Khop Chai Deu (tel: 020 5502545) seemed to be the pick with a popular outdoor bar with lots of seating as well as an internal air-conditioned area which featured a pool table and a band later in the evening. Upstairs there was another bar that attracted a number of unescorted ladies. I read a note in a guide that warned that being found with a local lady in a hotel room was not a good idea. As they put it: Police inspection of hotels sometimes occur and (if you have a Laos person with you) one may be subjected to a hefty fine and expulsion, while the local person faces a far harsher penalty . Mind you that did not deter the tuk tuk drivers outside Khop Chai Deu accosting me with offers of "Lady sir!"
Back to my hotel where there was a disco and which the staff encouraged me to visit. The first night the effects of excesses of the night before made me think of bed long before I considered disco. But the next night I was seriously considering venturing down to said disco to celebrate another French debacle, when I noticed the public opening times were 5 pm to Midnight. On top of that my hotel instructions informed me not only were visitors to my room not allowed but Laos people were verboten from even staying in said hotel. So I opted for the attractions of the mini bar; it was much quieter and I could gloat in peace! On the last night I did finally get to the disco. It was surprisingly busy for a Monday night, even if the music volume made up for the lack of décor. There were many unescorted ladies who appeared to outnumber the roving Laos males. Maybe if I had been young and handsome I would have been able to find out how serious my hotel was about letting locals in!
So that was Laos for a few nights. After my recent excesses in Bangkok , a few quiet nights did no harm and I thought the place had a certain charm. Certainly most of the Laotians I came in contact with were friendly and helpful. On top of that, the food that I ate was French and the wine priced sensibly.