I am going to be relocating to vientiane as my wife is lao. I was wondering if anyone is knowledgeable on day to day activities? I am curious if there are many farangs there? Is there enuf things to do there to keep active? What about massage etc? I'm a happy married guy but would'nt mind a little something to keep things entertaining once in awhile. Any advice would be appreciated.

I have only ever been to Vientiane for a few days at a time, so don't know what it is like to be a resident there, but my impressions are.
It is VERY quiet!!!! There are certainly long term resident Falang there and a number of Falang establishments, but these seemed to be mainly restaurant/hotel rather than bars.
I am sure that there is a 'night life' scene but I have never found it (not that I was especially looking ).
I was last there at the start of this month....an English guy who was living in BKK was in the same hotel as me. He WAS looking for establishments where he could become familiar with local girls & failed dismally. He told me he would never bother going back to Laos.
But things can be very different once you are a resident anywhere...

Hey Patt,
I know the Aussies have a kind of country club there where they get together for a drink next to the pool or a game of tennis etc. If ya don't mind NGO's and diplomatic types this could be ok. I have never been there, too many NGO's and diplomats.
When strolling along the prominade there, with the mrs, in feb this year, we viewed local girls, on honda waves, propositioning tourists as they crossed the street on closing time, but there was nothing 'in your face.'

THE TOURIST BROCHURE WHICH CAN BE FOUND ALL ROUND VIENTAINE WARNS MALE TOURISTS THAT THE GOVERMENT DOES NOT LIKE MALE TOURISTS TO BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE LOCAL WOMEN. IT STATES THAT HOTELS CAN BE RAIDED AT NIGHT AND BEDROOMS CHECKED. BEWARE.

patt24 wrote:I am going to be relocating to vientiane as my wife is lao. I was wondering if anyone is knowledgeable on day to day activities? I am curious if there are many farangs there? Is there enuf things to do there to keep active? What about massage etc? I'm a happy married guy but would'nt mind a little something to keep things entertaining once in awhile. Any advice would be appreciated.

Laos is a very peaceful country to live people there is a lot nice and gentle. I think you have make the right decision to move there with your wife. as long as you don't have any small children with you. let's me explain: The education there is suck! That why I am waiting until my child to finish her education in Australia. I will be moving to live in Laos. one of the draw back is the medical or hospital is not up to scratch like the Western world! I always travel to Laos for my holiday just to recuperate from the western world stress!

I am going there at the end of this November for a week. if you like to meet up for a beer!

Note: I was born in Laos,but living aboard(Australia)over 30 years! my thought and my idea is Western.

Found this Lao food site, some nice pictures on there of Lao Life and Style.

http://laocook.com/

I lived in Vientiane from 2002-2007. It is a relatively quiet place to live.

- Education: There are a number of western curriculum schools serving Expats/Diplomats/NGO's.. They're better than average but expensive.

- Medical: All the Lao mid-level and higher folks go to Nong Khai or Udon for care.. The medical infrastructure in Lao is terrible overall.

- Amenities: Restaurants are many, varied types of food, and still pretty cheap..

Bars: there aren't many Farang type bars in Vientiane.. Mostly, the Lao like big bar/restaurants of which there are quite a few.. Some have live bands. Moon of the Night on the Mekong, Romeo on Tha Deu road coming into town and other Lao pop music clubs on the airport road.

- Working girls: As mentioned they are there but fairly low key.. If you're sitting in a riverside open air pub you'll always see a number of girls cruise up on their motorcycles, come in, sit down and if engaged in conversation by a Farang, generally they leave together...
More importantly, the Lao Government does have a law in place that states that if you are caught "cohabitating" with someone not your legal spouse you can be fined $500-5000 and deported. Does this happen?? I know personally of a couple of cases, but also know numerous folks that have "cohabitated" with no problem.

- Massage parlors are everywhere but are almost all "Traditional"...

patt24
udonmap.com



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 1
Location: us
Posted: October 8, 2007, 4:48 am Post subject: life in vientiane?

I'm a happily married guy but would'nt mind a little something to keep things entertaining once in awhile.

Ahhh...right. An...an...an

This post does raise some interesting questions: is the OP looking for possible threesomes; is the Lao wife going to be involved in these entertainment plans; and how pleased will the Lao wife feel about her 'happily married guy' keeping himself entertained in Vienchan massage parlours if she is excluded? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark baw (mai ?)

Tilokarat wrote:patt24
udonmap.com



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 1
Location: us
Posted: October 8, 2007, 4:48 am Post subject: life in vientiane?

I'm a happily married guy but would'nt mind a little something to keep things entertaining once in awhile.

Ahhh...right. An...an...an

This post does raise some interesting questions: is the OP looking for possible threesomes; is the Lao wife going to be involved in these entertainment plans; and how pleased will the Lao wife feel about her 'happily married guy' keeping himself entertained in Vienchan massage parlours if she is excluded? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark baw (mai ?)

More importantly, is it any of our business what he wants to do in Lao

I dont mind being debated. I'm not sure why anyone would want to waste time with that however.
Actually, though I'm looking for information. I think most people understood but perhaps I should be more clear. I'm just wondering about living there: what is there to do etc? part of the question pertains to any useful information on quality of life and how to keep busy. The other part refers to wanting to find interesting liasons without the wife. I'm not refering to anything more than plain vanilla type fun. My wife is from vientiane so I would obviously want to be discreet for many reasons. Any input from any people that know anything is appreciated and I would like to thank anyone who has spoken already. Cheers

I have been watching this thread with interest, as I have had Lao GF and had, from time to time, thought of moving to Lao.

Thanks FrazeeDK I found your post useful (quoted below), though generally confirming what I suspected to be the case.

I lived in Vientiane from 2002-2007. It is a relatively quiet place to live.

- Education: There are a number of western curriculum schools serving Expats/Diplomats/NGO's.. They're better than average but expensive.

- Medical: All the Lao mid-level and higher folks go to Nong Khai or Udon for care.. The medical infrastructure in Lao is terrible overall.

- Amenities: Restaurants are many, varied types of food, and still pretty cheap..

Bars: there aren't many Farang type bars in Vientiane.. Mostly, the Lao like big bar/restaurants of which there are quite a few.. Some have live bands. Moon of the Night on the Mekong, Romeo on Tha Deu road coming into town and other Lao pop music clubs on the airport road.

- Working girls: As mentioned they are there but fairly low key.. If you're sitting in a riverside open air pub you'll always see a number of girls cruise up on their motorcycles, come in, sit down and if engaged in conversation by a Farang, generally they leave together...
More importantly, the Lao Government does have a law in place that states that if you are caught "cohabitating" with someone not your legal spouse you can be fined $500-5000 and deported. Does this happen?? I know personally of a couple of cases, but also know numerous folks that have "cohabitated" with no problem.

- Massage parlors are everywhere but are almost all "Traditional"...

I understand there is a new shopping mall now open in Ventiane, though many outlets not yet in use.

It would seem, Patt24, that the scope for distractions/liaisons (vanilla or otherwise!!), particularly in the daytime is quite limited and there are some risks due to stricter government policy/laws.

On the other hand, just pop over the bridge to nongkai and have a ball can still be home in time for dinner

Realize that this may be too late for the thread starter but still think it'll be useful for others who are interested in Vientiane. They are compilation of stuff I've gathered from various sources all over the lazyweb.

http://alao.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/vi ... ant-guide/

Vientiane Restaurant Guide
Posted by alao under Uncategorized


I spent a year living in Vientiane without a working kitchen. This meant I ate out for dinner every night. I visited a lot of restaurants in Vientiane, almost all of them. The food in Vientiane is excellent. It’s diverse and not expensive. There is a large expat community in Vientiane and I think that forces the restaurants to deliver good food. If they have good food the expats come back. This is unlike tourist towns where you can get away with feeding tourists **** because they’ll never come back anyway.

Most people only spend a few days in Vientiane on the way to something else in Laos. Here is my list of restaurants in Vientiane and a one sentence review. I have grand plans of turning this into a full website one day but until that happens here’s the list:

Namphou Coffee: Fantastic noodle soup (pho and kaw piak) for less than $1. The George Costanza look-a-like that runs the place is a pretty cool guy.

Duck Koon: Decent roadside pad thai.

Le Silapa: Excellent French-Canadian food with good service. Relatively expensive but good value lunch set menu for about $7. The guy that runs it is friendly and informative about the menu.

Le Central: Excellent French food. Nice setting. Relatively expensive but have a lunch set menu for about $6.

Chateaux De Cave: French food, nice setting, outdoor BBQ, friendly staff, extensive specials board, quite romantic, relatively expensive.

Le Provencal: French-Italian food. Not bad, there backpackers dinner special is a bargain.

La Terrasse: French-European food, great desserts, good family restaurant, very popular with expats, excellent bread.

Coffee Shop opposite women’s union: Really nice inside but I didn’t really like the taste of the coffee. Maybe I just don’t have the palate for it but I’d like to know what other people thought about it.

Taj Mahal: Good Indian food that’s not expensive, but the inside of the restaurant is pretty basic.

Fatimas: Good Indian food that’s not expensive, yep just like the Taj Mahal.

Nazims: Same as Fatimas and Taj Mahal.

Rashimis: Indian food. Lunch buffet is good value and quite popular. Downstairs is some weird quasi-takeaway that never seems busy, just head upstairs for the buffet.

Xyaoh Cafe: Do a good sunday roast and other western dishes are consistently good. Good place is you want western food that isn’t too Frenchy but is of a dependable standard.

Swedish Pizza House: Really good pizza which a Swedish guy tells me are exactly the same as pizzas in Sweden (I don’t know if he was being sarcastic because they just look like regular pizzas to me). Pizzas that are probably suitable for children and more unsophisticated palates than those that can be found in the French restaurants.

Bounmala: Really good Lao food and reasonable prices.

Moon the night: Massive menu of Lao food that is really popular among locals.

Fruit shake shops (the two next to each other on Samsenthai road): If you look at them the one of the left looks fancier but I’ve seen rats near their coffee pots there. The one of the right is better. They’re trying to do some takeaway food at the moment but it doesn’t seem to be taking off.

Centerpoint Fruit Shake Corner: The best and cheapest fruit shake shop (5000kip/$0.5) but only open at night.

Tuna bagel shops on Samsenthai road: A good cheap meal. One of these is meant to be famous, but because there are a couple there I’m not sure which one is the good one.

Samsenthai Grill: Brand new, very expensive, but you get a lot of food for your money.

European Steak House: Out of town and food is good but not great.

Anna Restaurant: Fantastic Lao food which is pretty local but a little more polished. You could ask a tuk tuk driver or local about getting here. Tuk tuk driver could wait for you.

Spring Roll Shops: Vietnamnese spring rolls and be boun (rice noodles) which are cheap and delicious.

Vegetarian Restaurants (near Cultural Hall and Talat Sao): Cheap vegetarian buffet that’s really good food. Somebody told me these are kind of a chain that developed in monestaries where monks made vegetarian food for the guests that would make pilgrimages.

Full House Korean: Out of town but you get some bloody awesome korean food in large quantities.

Korean Restaurant with giant water wheel: This place has the nicest waterwheel and artificial lake I have seen in a restaurant. It’s a really nice setting.

Fast Food Korean Restaurant: Near the water wheel. They do a good Korean BBQ.

La Fontaine: Nice cafe with good pastries. The owners live in the cafe, you can see their toothbrushes in the sink when you use the bathroom.

Croissant D’or: Excellent pastries, friendly staff, bargain lunch specials. I think I ate here more than anywhere else.

La Bennaton: Upmarket version of Croissant D’or but next door. Nice sandwiches but considerably dearer.

Sticky Fingers: Australian restaurant serving western food. Always busy, diverse menu, happy hour has cheap drinks on Wednesdays and Fridays. I was throwing up in the evening after eating the taco salad and this was the only time I ever threw up in my year in Laos. Another person told me they’ve thrown up twice from ordering that so if you stay clear of that you’ll be right.

Full moon cafe: Good cafe that seems to try and copy-cat sticky fingers.

Tex Mex: Okay mexican food and pizzas. They have a cool big fish upstairs. Upstairs is a pretty cool place to sit and watch the street.

L’Opera: One of the more expensive restaurants in town but it definitely has the best Italian food.

La Gondala: Overpriced. The bread was stale when I went there, and as such I never went back.

Yulala: Contemporary Japanese food. The couple that run it are really nice at attentive. The desserts are divine.

Cafe D’Arts (or something like that, next to Yulala): I have never seen anyone eating in this restaurant. Every time I go by I just see the owner sitting there, starring out at me. A friend said they went there and weren’t impressed.

Cafe opposite the music shop on Samsenthai road: I can’t remember it’s name but I ordered a coffee there that was terrible and something else to eat, which I can’t remember but do recall it also was not very nice.

Samsenthai noodles: Average, but for some reason gets a write up in the Lonely Planet.

North Korean Restaurant: This is in the latest lonely planet. I went there and the food was pretty average, just like South Korean restaurants I’d been to but not as good. A friend that went said that the waitresses did a singing mime act for them, but not the time when I went. They just showded these strange communist music clips on the TV of people marching, war planes, and lots of harvesting. They turned it off when we started laughing about it. Probably should have been more sensitive about it. Apparently the restaurant is state owned.

Airiang Korean Restaurant: Good Korean food at reasonable prices.

BCF (Beef, Chicken, Fish): Bargain Western food that is good but not great. I reckon I might have gotten food poisoning from eating the salad here, but I can’t be sure. You can get a decently sized steak for $2.

Scandanavian Bakery: Good pastries. Very popular.

Joma: The Starbucks of Laos. The coffee is excellent, well run, good atmosphere. Joma apparently stands of Joseph and Mary, because the place is owned and run by Christian fundamentalists.

* Correction from the proprietor: Joma is actually an acronym of the owners names: JOnathan, JOcelyn, Michael, Aun. I would truly appreciate a correction in your blog as this is a wide spread rumor i am trying to dispell.

Tokyo Kitchen: They do an excellent Ramen. Attentive staff. Pretty extensive menu.

Fujiwara: Really nice decor inside, really expensive (but sushi generally is). I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and didn’t think it was that nice.

Sengdara Fitness: They have a restaurant here that is pretty good value for money.

Guangzhou Chinese Restaurant: Large servings, good food. Always seems quiet though.

Dumpling shop, just up from TMB: Excellent value for money, good seaweed soup, but someone told me they saw the seaweed being stored in the bathroom and water from the bathroom running out and straight into the kitchen. I don’t think I’ve got sick from here though.

Vista WiFi Cafe: They have wifi internet, ubuntu pcs upstairs, massages and food similar to croissant d’or (I think it’s the same order). I knew some people that ate lunch here every single day because of the free wifi. The staff are nice and the pastries delicious.

Kunming Restaurant: I guess it was okay, but I don’t think I really like kunming food that much. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing.

Novotel: I never ate hear but they always advertise lunchtime buffets which seem impressive.

Don Chans: Same as Novotel.

Lao Plaza: Apparently the lunchtime buffet is really good. They have a fancy cafe inside but I never tried it. I think it’s all pretty expensive.

Riverside restaurants: These line the Mekong and most of them do standard Lao food pretty well.

Kulao: The fanciest and best Lao food in town. I highly recommend going here. The set menu is a stupidly huge amount of food so you’re better off ordering on your own. They do a live show here every night, but tour groups usually take the tables with the best views of the stage. Not that expensive so it’s good value for money.

Paradice Icecream: You can got to the factory or buy it from La Bennaton. It’s really nice gelato.

Peking Restaurant on Samsenthai Road: Decent Peking food, but not really to my taste.

Tum Zaap: Went here once. A little too trendy and expensive for what was really just Lao food.

La Petit Sushi: Never ate here but a friend raved on about it. I think it’s quite expensive though, at least for the sushi.

Japanese restaurant just down from Khop Jai Deu: It’s part of Chantha’s guest house, or really near there. It’s pretty decent and very cheap.

Indochine: Really nice interior to a Vietnamnese restaurant. The food is good but it’s always so quiet.

Khop Jai Deu: They do a pretty good lunchtime buffet. Really popular at night with foreigners, which to me makes it kind of gross.

Soukpaluang Korean BBQ: Unfortunately this place closed, but they use to offer $3 all you can eat korean BBQ. There are other places in town that offer something similar, especially along Kouvieng road.

Spirit House: Lots of foreigners, pretty expensive, I thought the dinner I had here was really plain and quite ****.

Sunset Bar: Popular with expats, you can get a good view of the mekong.

Bor Pen Nyang: Western food. The service is **** house and everything takes ages if it ever arrives at your table. Packed with foreigners. Excellent view of the Mekong though which somewhat redeems it. I’m told hookers work the upstairs pool tables.

Wind West: I think this place should have been called Wild West, but I never got to go there. I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun though.

La Ranch: Decent Western food.

The Pond: Close to That Luang on That Luang Road. Good Lao food.

ITECC Japanese restaurant: Good shabu shabu.

Tyna’s Crepes: Really nice dessert crepes. The owner seems pretty friendly. When I was last there some Frenchys were playing poker downstairs.

Blue Sky: Never went here, looks like a bit of a backpacker hovel.

Singaporean Restaurant: Never went here.

Samlo Bar: Never went there but have been told it’s full of ladyboy prostitutes. Yes, I honestly never went in there.

Hound and Hare: A new place that does western and indonesian food. They’re trying hard but it just doesn’t seem to have the right feel about it. Never eaten here but walked past it many times.

Na Dao: The nicest French restaurant in town. The lunch set menu is a bargain, the dinner set menu is a stupidly huge amount of food.

Jazzy Brick: They do ***** cocktails at expensive prices. probably the fanciest bar in town.

Martini Bar: Nice new bar, the owner has tried hard to make it a cool hand out and I think he’s succeeded well.

Taste of India: Doesn’t cut the mustard when compared to the other Indian restaurants for me.

From another website but offhand can't recall which one.

Lao & Thai Restaurants in Vientiane

Obviously, Lao food can be found every few meters in Vientiane. Listing all the places here would be impossible, so we concentrated on what we consider to be “real” restaurants and left away all or most of the food stall type places.

Although Lao and Thai have different cuisines, they are still very much related to each other. Moreover, most Lao restaurants also offer some or many Thai dishes and vice versa. Often, apart from Lao and Thai food, these places have some “falang” items on their menu as well and it’s also not rare to find Chinese food in what we list here as Lao restaurants.

Last, but not least, as Laos back in the colonial days was part of Indochina, Vientiane4fun.com also lists here the restaurants that offer mainly Vietnamese food.


Kualao Restaurant
Samsenthai Rd.
Tel. (020) 215 777 Set in a nicely restored French colonial villa, Kualao offers superb Lao cuisine served to international standards. Live Lao music and dancing at night, all at reasonable prices.

Tamnak Lao Restaurant (Lao Residence Restaurant)
That Luang Road
Tel. (020) 413 562 This upscale restaurant is ideal to enjoy the local cuisine in a relaxed and elegant atmosphere, be it in inside the colonial villa ("the Residence") or in the beautiful, tropical garden. Live Lao music and traditional dancing performances make dining at Tamnak Lao a memorable event.

Café Indochine
Sethathirath Rd.
Tel. (021) 217 658 As the name suggests, food from the former Indochina is served here, but the emphasis is on Vietnamese cuisine. Very nicely decorated in a traditional, but elegant style, Café Indochine is certainly one of the first choices for local cuisine.

Labieng Latsanee Restaurant
Luangpabang Rd.
Tel. (021) 262 807 Lao, Thai, Chinese and even seafood is served here. Set in a very nice wooden house with plenty of flowers and plants. Well worth a try.

Moon the Night
Fa Ngum Rd.
Tel. (021) 217 073 This is the very last building on Fa Ngum Road, the riverside road along the Mekong. "Moon the Night" is a big, wooden stilt construction, directly on the mighty Mekong river, you cannot get closer! Very simple decoration, but genuine local food, all at very reasonable prices.

Sai Nam Lao Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.
Tel. (020) 771 574 Next to the "Moon the Night" and in the same style, but a lot smaller.

Saylomyen Restaurant
That Luang Road
What makes this otherwise very simple restaurant remarkably special is that all the cheap plastic chairs and tables are situated in two wooden huts on stilts, directly over a small pond in midst of huge coconut palm trees and other wild, tropical vegetation. Although only a few meters from the main road linking the Monument with the golden That Luang Stupa, this place feels more like being right in the middle of the Laotian jungle. The food served here is good and genuine and the prices are low.

Fong Beer Restaurant
That Luang Road
Tel. 218 190 Like its direct neighbor Saylomyen, the Fong Beer Restaurant sits on stilts directly over a small pond in midst of huge coconut palm trees and other wild, tropical vegetation.

Mai Phai Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.
Close to the "Moon the Night" and in the same style, but a lot smaller.

Nang Kham Bang Lao food Restaurant
Khun Bulom Rd.
Tel. 217 198

Daovieng Restaurant
Heng Boun Rd.
very big, ideal for big receptions, etc.

Tonhom Asean Cuisine
Samsenthai Rd.
Tel. 223 113 Thai food

Dok Boua Kham Restaurant
inside Chaleunxay Hotel


Phonetip Restaurant / Coca Suki Rest.
Saylom Rd.


Seen Dat Saylom
Saylom Rd.
Tel. 212 204 suki - barbeque - nice, big, quite garden

Krua II Restaurant
Luangpabang Rd.
Tel. 214 882 ex-Highway Man Restaurant

Suki Yaki
km2 Luangpabang Rd.
Tel. 020 5514454 suki yaki

Restaurant OK
Sihom Rd.
Tel. 213 322 suki - steaks

Sunset Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.


Tavendaeng Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.


River View Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.
opposite Mongkol Restaurant

Sayfon Restaurant
Fa Ngum Rd.
Tel. 020 522 594

Mittaphap Lao Barbeque
Fa Ngum Rd.
Tel. 264 444 next to Mekong River Commission Secretariat

Salonxay Restaurant
inside Lane Xang Hotel


Riverside
km 4 Thadeua Rd.
Tel. 312 875

Villa That Luang Guesthouse & Restaurant
That Luang Road
Tel. 413 562

Seafood Restaurant
Thadeua Rd.
Tel. 314 287 Seafood / Ostrich Meat. Terasse along the Mekong

Km 3 Seafood Restaurant
Thadeua Rd. km 3


Mekong Restaurant 1 + 2
Thadeua Rd. km 4
Tel. 312 480

Sala Nong Chan Restaurant
inside Green Park Boutique Hotel
Tel. 263 062

Huong Duê Vietnam Restaurant
Dongpalane Rd.
Tel. 020 240 1843 Vietnamese food

Ban Yen Restaurant
Phonthan Rd.
Tel. 020 556 3404

Sokpaluang Restaurant
Sokpaluang Road
Tel. 020 2433 666

Souliphan Restaurant
Sisangvon Rd.
Tel. 260 617

Say Nha Restaurant
Sisangvon Rd.
Tel. 263 315 with big garden, also Karaoke

Kopkap Restaurant
That Luang Road
Tel. 413 122

Restaurant Sabai
Phonthan Rd.
Tel. 020 242 75 05 You have to be able to read lao.... no sign in roman script