ARRIVED IN LAOS

2 DAYS 1 NIGHT

• DAY 1 IN VIANTIANE, LAOS

We arrived in Laos on March 31, 2025, which coincided with the 1st of Shawwal. The accommodation I selected in Vientiane, Laos is Sailomyen Cafe & Hostel (My friend and I stayed in different hotels). We were welcomed by the receptionist and other café staff, as the hotel is integrated with the café. The hotel receptionist was fluent in English, so we had no communication difficulties at all. While waiting the receptionist and I chatted, and it turned out she was from the Philippines. She checked my passport and read my name aloud. She said, 'Wow, your name is Hari? In the Philippines, Hari means King.' Haha. I replied, 'Wow, so I’m the king here, hehe.' We laughed and after a while, I was ready to enter my room after the long journey

BUT . . .

When I got to my room, I didn't lie down immediately; instead, I took a shower because I felt sticky and smelled bad. After showering, I planned to have lunch at the café downstairs.

And now it's time to eat! The food was incredibly delicious! Was it because I was hungry? Anyway, the total came to around $5.70—quite expensive, but well worth it, haha. The place was super cozy, really! I sat in the indoor non-smoking area, but there was also an outdoor seating option.

After lunch, I took a short rest for a nap because in the afternoon, we planned to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Celebrating Eid in a country where Islam is not the majority religion felt just like any other day—nothing special. Therefore, we decided to visit one of the mosques here. On our way to the mosque, I took some photos of interesting sights around the city.

And this is the mosque we visited Vientiane Jamia Masjid.

Of course, we changed into our new clothes here. After the Asr prayer, we met several gentlemen who welcomed us warmly. They greeted us with 'Selamat Idul Fitri' and we exchanged handshakes, chatted, and shared in the celebration.

We looked around inside the mosque, and it was quite similar to mosques in Indonesia.

After leaving the mosque, we walked back, still in our new clothes. Eventually, we arrived at a city park that I found quite beautiful. So we took some photos, just like the 'moms' on Facebook. The park's name is Anouvong Park. And around here, there's also the King Anouvong Statue. Entry is free!

After leaving the park, we crossed the street and strolled along the sidewalk by the river, which marks the border with Thailand. Along the way, we came across a bustling night market, reminiscent of a local night bazaar. Numerous vendors were selling souvenirs, clothing, and, of course, food. I tried some shrimp satay priced at about 5,000 kip (approximately $0.23 USD), and a serving of fried rice for around 40,000 kip (about $1.85 USD). The fried rice was incredibly delicious—not dry at all, just the way I like it! Clothing items were also affordable, starting from 30,000 kip (around $1.38 USD), similar to markets in Indonesia. However, refrigerator magnets at this market were quite expensive, so we decided not to purchase any.

We walked until we found a lot of food, just in time for dinner before heading back.

This is the fried rice I mentioned earlier—absolutely delicious! I forgot to mention the name of the place, but it's a street food stall set up from a motorbike, essentially a mobile food cart. The vendors are a husband and wife duo; the wife is Chinese, and the husband is Malay who has migrated here. Communication was very easy for us.

After our meal, we headed to our next destination: Patuxay Park, a famous victory monument and a symbol of Vientiane city. We took an orange tuk-tuk, but Indonesian numbers don't work here, so we just raised our hands like hailing a taxi or angkot. The driver stopped, and we negotiated the fare—hahaha.

Here's the typical orange online tuk-tuk of Laos. There's also the conventional type without an app, similar to a rickshaw, but the driver uses a motorcycle from the front.

We arrived at Patuxay Park around 8 PM, spent about an hour taking photos and relaxing. The park is free to enter, and the illuminated monument offers a beautiful view at night. It's a popular spot for locals to take an evening stroll.

After leaving here, we walked back to the hotel, approximately 1.2 km. The weather was still the same—cool and refreshing!

Upon arriving at the hotel, we each rested to continue our adventure the next day!

Here are the details of the hotel where I stayed: super comfortable, clean, and complete—just bring yourself. The price per night was around $22,58.

to be continued . . . .