A Thoroughly Classic Tour of Laos

By Ed Peters

Contributing writer

The ``Enigma of Arrival’’ is a well-worn phrase, but one that has especial resonance when landing somewhere completely new, such as Vientiane. But after we had hurdled Immigration and Customs, there to meet my wife and me was the smiling, reassuring personage of Khamsouk Douanglakaysone who, thankfully, suggested we simply address him as Souk.

Souk, a guide working with Laos Classic Tours _ which we had found and booked through the user-friendly www.visit-mekong.com Web site _ was to be our reception, mentor, vade mecum and chum over the next couple of days in the Lao capital.

While the facts and figures that he could recite at the drop of a hat could all be found in a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide, he could also answer more searching questions, provide up-to-date shopping and dining recommendations, and even discourse knowledgeably about Russia, where he had trained as an engineer.

He was the face and heart of Vientiane and its history, and pretty much Google on legs with a grin to go with it.

After a comfortable and refreshing night at the Don Chan Palace, Vientiane’s most unmissable hotel, we sallied forth in company with Souk to Wat Si Saket. Built in 1818 by King Anouvong following the Bangkok style, it’s the oldest temple in the city, and the only one to have escaped the ravages of war. Souk gently led us around its confines, explaining the history of the scores of Buddha images, and the precise meaning of their various physiognomies.

It was then just a short step across the road to Ho Pha Keo, a former temple built in 1565 by King Setthathirat, and since converted into a museum containing some of the most stunning examples of Buddhist sculptures to be found anywhere in the country, as well as one of the jars from the legendary and mysterious Plain of Jars near Phonsavan.

From there, we boarded our limousine, which piloted us through the streets to the soaring chedi of Pha That Luang, the country’s most important national monument, dating from around the A.D. 12th century.