Due to our unexpected departure of Vang Vieng, we choose not to per-arrange accommodation in Vientiane. Instead, we simply headed towards the city center and looked for guest-houses. We immediately noticed that the cost of staying here would be far greater that we experienced in the rest of Laos.


We found a place called RD Guest house, which was run and owed by a French guy. A tiny room with fan, poor air-con and no window cost us 15USD per night. In my opinion this wasn't value for money at all, however these are the prices in the city.

We weren't planning on staying for too long, this was a pit-stop along our journey. The next day we headed straight to the Alliance International Medical Center to get our shots.

Blu needed a tetanus shot for her stab wound, I would required a rabies booster, followed by another one 3 days later. Because of this we would have to stay in Vientiane for 5 days.

A little shopping at the night market

Once our jabs were done it was time to find a dentist to take care of Blu's dental pain. We heard of the French Clinic (part of the French Embassy), where foreigners and expatriates can go for health and dental issues.

One thing you should know about this city is that no one truly knows where anything is. If you ask a tuk-tuk driver they will all say yes and tell you it will cost between 30,000 and 50,000KIP aroud 4 - 7USD. You will waste a lot of time and money this way. A far more convenient, cheaper and in my opinion fun option, is to rent a bicycle, 10,000KIP (1.20USD) for 24 hours.

If you need to visit the French Clinic then you should head towards the COPE center. Just before you reach COPE, there is a small football field. The French clinic is nested in-between here. Blu needed to get a root canal done, the total cost for this was 200USD. Finally my girl was smiling again, no longer in pain.

COPE Center

We still had some days in Vientiane and decided to arrange our Cambodian visas while there. Ok, just to remind you here. DO NOT ask a tuk-tuk driver to take you there. They have absolutely no idea where it is, yet will swear on Buddha they do. After traveling around the city for over an hour we told our driver to stop and let us out. Our driver finally accepted defeat and the subsequent renegotiation of price.

We decided it was easier to grab a map rent some bikes and explore. On the way to the embassy we found a beautiful secluded monastery. A greater experience than following the other tourists.






If you need to find the Cambodian embassy then follow the Thadeua road until you get to Mai Tee Chit Residence, the embassy is on the opposite side of the street.

It does actually exist

Later that day we booked out bus tickets to 4000 islands, Don Det. Make sure you scout around for the best prices. By simply crossing the street we saved 30,000KIP each. The ticket price was 220,000KIP or 28USD, for a 14 hour journey on another VIP sleeping bus (still have no idea what VIP means).

Finally time to leave