Stopover in Vientiane

From Luang Prabang, we took an overnight sleeping bus to the capital city of Vientiane. We didn't plan to stay here for long and only stayed one night. That was probably a good decision because the city itself doesn't offer much.

We visited the Patuxai (a kind of Arc de Triomphe) and strolled around a few temples. In the Lonely Planet (as we have consulted many times before), it also mentioned the COPE Visitor Center, which was definitely worth a visit.

The COPE institution supports physically disabled people with prosthetics, wheelchairs, and therapies (both physical and psychological). Most of these victims require these services after accidents involving unexploded ordnance (UXO) from cluster bombs, which can still be found in the fields, mainly in eastern Laos. We were not aware of how much Laos suffered and still suffers from the Indochina War, the Vietnam War, and, ultimately, the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the USA. It was very informative and interesting, albeit tragically and sadly, to see the consequences of history here. More information can be found on the COPE website. If you ever come here, you should definitely visit the center and support them with a small donation or souvenir purchase.