Thread: The Effects of Laos

From atop the Patuxai (Victory Gate) Vientiane Laos. Constructed in 1964 to commemorate the lives lost during the Lao Civil War, fought between 1953 and 1975. It is made of concrete , which is rumored to have been donated by the Americians for the construction of a new airport.

The arch is adorned with a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu iconography along with bas-reliefs of apsaras facing fierce demons from the Hindu epic, Ramayana.

Once on top visitors are rewarded with an excellent view across Lan Xang Avenue toward the Mekong River.

A few pics with my S5. I may dig up something from the gopro yet but I need to get these out of the way and placed on a thumb drive to make room for the good stuff.

A stairwell wraps around the monument with shops on the upper deck selling souvenirs.

Plenty of tourists, local and foreign.

Looking up at the ceiling of the arch. A few floors are above this elevation so yea, it's kinda cool and worth a look if you're in the area.

Not too crowded though so it makes for a nice sight seeing tour.

While in VTE we visited the Gfs Brothers house. It was their fathers house. It's right on the Mekong river a bit south and slightly east of the city. Pretty cool for an old house. They don't use the upstairs except for some old "stuff" they keep up there.

They keep a loom and a few motorcycles in the kitchen. Where else would you keep your loom, makes perfect sense to me.

We had a nice dinner there and they gave us a 2017 Lao calendar. Similar to the 2016 one that's by the door behind the loom. One of the nieces is featured on it, so she has that going for her.

This is the living room. I don't know if I have one of the dining room but will say the table had room for 12 easy. Solid with matching chairs. Real nice "stuff."

Construction of a new hotel in Vang Vieng. Looks like they plan on doing river tours as well. Anything for a buck, nothing new there.

Head south along the Nam Song River to the Vangvieng Resort and you will find this bridge at a place called Tham Chang. Verry popular with locals and tourists alike it leads to a cave through the mountain. Very beautiful scenery along the river and the cave is very cool literally and figuratively.

The cost was negligible so a must do if you are in the area. I had whole school groups of kids wanting to pose with me for selfies. I guess It's not every day they see a 5'9" 185 lb fish walking along the river.

These stairs lead to the mouth of the cave. A piece of cake as I saw many retired people enjoying the sights.

Not the best pics but you get the idea.

The cylindrical tub in the walkway was placed to prevent one from stepping onto a chasm.

Pretty amazing place. They had hand rails placed in areas where you could fall into the abyss. In fact there was a movable metal railing that said no entry. I was told because a few guys went that way, ran out of oxygen and never returned. So yea, I crossed that barricade and took some pics looking back at the sign just so I could say I crossed the line. Only by ten feet but I did cross the line.

The trail led to a hole in the side of the mountain.

Strolling along the Nam Song river was simply beautiful. The suspension bridge in the distance.