Tel: (021) 214-130 | commechezsoivientiane@live.fr

Located on Rue Hengboun below Hotel Lao, Comme Chez Soi is a great little place to enjoy your lunch. It’s menu is designed around a selection of meats that the restaurant produces itself in its Phonpapao factory.

All of the meat served at Comme Chez Soi comes from animals raised in Laos, a nice way to support the local economy. The restaurant offers beef pastrami, cooked ham, Parisian ham, salami and coppa. All of the meat can purchased in increments on 100 grams.

The menu at Comme Chez Soi centers around three types of food: pizzas, baguette sandwiches and spaghetti.

The restaurant also offers a wide variety of wines by the glass or by the bottle.

Open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 11pm

Tel: (020) 797-8190 | cemturan81@hotmail.com

Hidden away within the Nongchanh Water Park is this great little Turkish restaurant. If you have never tried Turkish food or if you are already a fan, the quiet surroundings of Istanbul offer a relaxing spot to enjoy a Turkish style coffee.

Istanbul has a nice selection of foods to choose from. All entrees come with an appetizer of sliced baguette pieces with three different dips: eggplant, roasted red pepper and a vegetable yogurt mixture. The best options for vegetarians  are the falafel and salads.

For families with the children, Istanbul has some great benefits. The restaurant is in the main courtyard area of the water park and has a wonderful play area. The restaurant also has nice sturdy unbreakable wooden tables, a feature often overlooked by restaurant owners, which provide a worry free environment for eating.

Open everyday from 10am to 9pm.

Tel: (021) 219-386 | www.nongchanhwaterpark.com

Laos’ only water park is located a few hundred meters from the bus station on Boulevard Khouvieng. It opened it’s doors in July 2008 and has become a nice place to relax with the family or to have fun with friends.

For those with children, the park has several different options of how to spend your time. There are two large shallow swimming pools to wade around in or to splash around with the kids. One is around 4 feet deep and one is only 20 inches deep making it great for toddlers to splash around in.

For those who like slides, Nongchanh offers 4 different types:

• 3 spiral falls
• The twin falls
• A six lane racer
• 1 child slide

The water park also offers the always popular lazy river, where one can freely float away the day.

Walls have been built around the park to shield it from Boulevard Khouvieng that borders it. Surrounding Nong Chanh park helps you forget the hustle and bustle of the traffic awaiting on the outside.

There are two great restaurants located on the water park property: Joma Bakery Cafe and Istanbul Restaurant. Both of these are great options for any meal you may need throughout the day. There is also a nice little play area for kids to play in while parents enjoy their meals.

Entrance Fees:

• Weekdays - 40,000 kip per adult and 26,000 kip per child
• Weekends - 45,000 kip per adult and 30,000 kip per child
• Swim trunks can be rented for 15,000 kip + 10,000 kip deposit.
• Lockers can be rented for 8,000 kip + 2,000 kip deposit.
• Valuables can be kept in special lockers located in the office.

PLEASE NOTE: Nongchanh is currently offer a winter special on entrance fees. Everyone is admitted for a flat rate of 20,000 kip per person.

Open everyday from 10am to 6:30pm

Tel: (021) 243-708 | mblaos@monument-books.com | www.monument-books.com

One of the best bookstores in town, Monument Books offers a great variety of books that will please anyone. English, French and Lao books are available at Monument Books.

Monument Books is the only bookshop that aims at offering all the published titles related to Laos. They currently offer around 120 different titles in French and English. Including all topics, the bookstore receives around 50 new titles every month. Monument Books has a newsletter that customers can subscribe to to stay updated on all new arrivals.

Monument Books has a large selection of French and English magazines available at the store. Subscriptions are also available through a catalogue containing over a 1000 titles.

Monument Books also carries a large selection of books and crafts geared towards children pre-school aged and up. The owners of Monument Books have recently opened a new toy store in town called Monument Toys.

On its second floor, the bookstore regularly hosts conferences with renowned Lao-culture savants such as Martin-Stuart Fox, Milton Osborne, Grant Evans. Monthly events are organized with the WIG Cultural Study Group.  Art exhibitions are also regularly held with a variety of themes.

To get to the bookstore go down Rue Samsenethai and turn right onto Rue Nokeokoumane. Monument books will be on the right side of the road next to Vayakorn Guest House.

Open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 8pm
Sunday 9am to 6pm

Tel: (021) 252-100 | mblaos@monument-books.com | www.monument-books.com

Monument Toys is the newest toy store in Vientiane. However, it is owned and operated by the same people of Monument Books, which has been around for quite some time.

Monument Toys has the largest building and the largest variety of toys when compared to the other two stores in town, ABC Toys and Xang Noi Books & Toys. The store is the closest you will get to a Toys-R-Us in Vientiane.

The prices are quite reasonable as well. Most of the toys we checked in the store had prices comparable to what you would find on the Internet.

Below are a few items (not a comprehensive list) that Monument Toys carried that we haven’t seen in the other stores:

• Barbies
• Legos
• Hot Wheels
• Plan Toys
• Schleich Figures

To get to Monument Toys, go down Rue Setthethirath and look for the store on your right across from Wat Si Meuang.

Open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 8pm
Sunday from 9am to 6pm

Tel: (021) 212-260 | peter@cafedesartslaos.com | www.cafedesartslaos.com

Located in the heart of the city on Rue Hengboun, Cafe des Arts offers a great place to enjoy a quality lunch or dinner. The small restaurant is filled with elegance and style.

Cafe des Arts serves great selections of Italian style food including home-made gnocchi, penne pasta, ravioli, tagliatelle, pizza and more.

With room for only 20 to 25 people at most, you can rest assured that you will be able to enjoy your meal in a quiet relaxing atmosphere.

Open Monday through Friday from 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 11pm

Open Saturdays from 5pm to 11pm only

 Click here to take a look at the menu 

Tel: (020) 750-5190 | Tel: (030) 526-1723 | peothong@yahoo.com

If you have children, it is definitely worth taking a drive over to Rue Khouvieng to check out ABC Toys. Upon entering the store your first thought will be to wonder how they fit so many toys in such a small store.

ABC Toys has one of the largest selections of toys you will find in Vientiane. The store is packed wall to wall with quality toys from Voila, Leap Frog, V-Tech, Bright Starts, Tolo and others.

If you have kids, it will be difficult to leave the store without buying something as the store has good prices. It also runs great seasonal sales such as 15% off everything during the Christmas holidays.

Open everyday from 9am to 8pm

Tel: (021) 219-732 | Mobile: (020) 786-4379

On Rue Samsenethai, look for the blue building across from the New Lao Paris Hotel a little  after you pass Rue Chanthakhoumane. Inside you will find a great little restaurant that has a lot to offer.

Owner Simon Ward has set up a nice place to eat, play and relax. Blue Bananas offers a good variety of European and Asian cuisine as well as a fully stocked bar.

For those with kids, Blue Bananas has a large selection of board games to play while you wait for you food. If you like more interactive games, Blue Bananas also has a full size pool table on the second floor.

One unique aspect of this restaurant is the “Wii room”.  The Wii room contains three large sofas, a furry rug, a large flat screen TV and of course a Wii game console. The room can be rented for 50,000 kip per hour.

So, the next time you’re looking for some good food and some good fun be sure to check out Blue Bananas.

Cultural Exhibits

The Ethnic Diversity of Northern Laos at Monument Books from Dec 16th to Feb 16th. Presented by the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre this exhibit highlights cultural arifacts from 11 ethnic groups and photographs by Philippe Coste.

 Movie/Film Events

Vientianale International Film Festival at the Lao-German House from May 8-10. Consisting entirely of films made and produced by people living in Laos, the theme of the festival will be “Lao: Happry Country”. For more information about the festival and how to enter your own film visit www.vientianale.org.

Tel: (021) 222-229 | info@laoparis.com | www.laoparishotel.com

Located on Rue Samsenethai across from Blue Bananas, New Lao Paris is only minutes away from the busy Nam Phu area of Vientiane.

Room Rates:

• Single rooms - $25/night
• Double rooms (hotel back) - $25/night
• Double rooms (hotel front) - $30/night
• Twin rooms - $30/night
• Deluxe/Triple rooms - $35/night
• 2o rooms total

Amenities:

• All rooms are equipped with air conditioning.
• All rooms have a TV and refrigerator.
• Internet is available in the lobby.
• Breakfast is included with each room.
• Locals call cost 2,000 kip per call.
• A laundry service is available for 10,000 kip per kilo.
• Transport to and from the airport is available ($8 each way).
• Visa and Mastercard are accepted (3% charge applies).

 Pictures taken by Vientiane Living: