Vientiane shares the same mixture of French and east asian culture that made Vietnamese cities so appealing. Tight spiralling staircases, pork baguettes, cheap high quality pattiseries, I have really enjoyed the place. It's a slow capital, so if your not into temples and such there's not a great deal to do other than eat and drink. I had a haircut/shoulder massage/cut-throat-razor-shave combo for $2 at the master barber in Rue Dong Palane, and later went in search of top cycle zone for the chain. In the process I became disoriented and stumbled upon Chong Charoen in Poensinuan Rd, which is a very modern bicycle store run by an enlgish speaking Laotian guy. Other resources said Top Cycle Zone is the only modern bike store, but I can confirm there are now two. The shop is larger than Top Cycle Zone with a good range of modern parts. I bought two seven speed chains, spare pins, and a spare tyre. Neither store had anything good for narrow touring so I ended up with a skinny 700x23 specialised all condition pro-2, not terribly puncture proof. They will order you anything from Bangkok but that involves a week long wait.
I attempted to buy a new seven speed chain before leaving Nong Khai, but only managed to find a shimano nine speed, and some other really cheap ones with no english text. I eventually spent my last few baht on a flexi tripod from the market, that has made later attempts at self-photography much easier. Border crossing I experienced no hassles, I had pre-arranged the visa in Bangkok, so I headed over the friendship bridge within minutes of arriving at the checkpoint. The Australian Government actually put up the money for the friendship bridge under the banner of foriegn aid. This attracted the criticism of NGO's working in Lao, who suggest the alterior motive was to allow Australian construction companies to develop a presence in Asia. I believe it is now a trade route, so you could argue the Laotians have benefitted in that respect, but I guess the money could have been better spent on more basic needs. A few thousand thousand banana pancake stands and lorry tubes perhaps?
Vientiane shares the same mixture of French and east asian culture that made Vietnamese cities so appealing. Tight spiralling staircases, pork baguettes, cheap high quality pattiseries, I have really enjoyed the place. It's a slow capital, so if your not into temples and such there's not a great deal to do other than eat and drink. I had a haircut/shoulder massage/cut-throat-razor-shave combo for $2 at the master barber in Rue Dong Palane, and later went in search of top cycle zone for the chain. In the process I became disoriented and stumbled upon Chong Charoen in Poensinuan Rd, which is a very modern bicycle store run by an enlgish speaking Laotian guy. Other resources said Top Cycle Zone is the only modern bike store, but I can confirm there are now two. The shop is larger than Top Cycle Zone with a good range of modern parts. I bought two seven speed chains, spare pins, and a spare tyre. Neither store had anything good for narrow touring so I ended up with a skinny 700x23 specialised all condition pro-2, not terribly puncture proof. They will order you anything from Bangkok but that involves a week long wait. 
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