The second access behind the hill is less steep and more interesting

Nice guesthouse with wooden rooms. Free wifi! Rooms are priced 100-120 KKips

Nice cafe, with western-like food, but a bit overpriced

Unfortunately, something has happened to the Soukxana Guesthouse since 2008. I stayed one night in April 2011. The place was obviously rundown, there was mold on the walls in my room. The staff was as helpful as possible but did not speak any English. Even using was difficult. Sadly, this questhouse has fallen on hard times.

Green Park Boutique Hotel is a nice small luxury Hotel located not in the centre of Vientiane, but this is what makes this boutique hotel feel like you're in the nature.
The interiors are very elegant and well thought. The traditional Lao style decoration with contemporary architecture gives you the feeling of entering into another world.
The Green Park Boutique Hotel allows you to experience a truly lao hospitality.

The rooms feature wireless and cable internet, deposit box, cable tv... all services you'll expect from a luxury hotel.

If you're in Vientiane for a couple of days, I would recommend the Green Park Hotel as you can enjoy a drink close to the pool or a massage at the inhouse Spa.

Le Banneton is a french Bakery / Café located in the busy foreigner suburb Ban Mixay. The owner has also a Bakery/Café in Luang Prabang which I haven't visited this time but I'll definitely do next time i'm up in the north. You can find here the freshest pastry in Vientiane and also find some homemade jam. The refreshing homemade ice cream are also very refreshing on a hot day (which you'll have all year round:))
You can find some "farang" (foreigner/white) decoration, the old radio or the old TV as you enter the Bakery.
If you're looking for some european fresh bread and want to take a break from the good asian food, "Le Banneton" is a place to visit for everybody not just the europeans traveling through South-East Asia.

This is one of the few "high end" hotels! Rooms start at 105$ with complementary Wine and a laptop free of charge in each room. If you're looking for a central location this is where you'll find european standards in spacious clean rooms.

Great Bar to have a nice evening drink! Many foreigners go here to have a cold beer and enjoy the live music.

This is the best place in Vientiane for a PHO. Service is quick and the price for a large soup is 1,5€

I can't believe one has yet to review the greatest pub crawl in the world. I typed Vang Vieng into Qype expecting to find countless reviews on this little gem of a jungle, but to my amazement not a word has been uttered on the subject.

Vang vieng is surreal. It looks like a post-war ghost town upon arrival. During the day a few hungover backpackers can be seen lounging at one of several cafes repeatedly playing Friends all day, which is about the only thing to do with your time in this town if you are not Tubing... or dead. Or dead from Tubing.

This is the sort of place that would easily qualify for a Top 10 spot, in a "things to do before you die" type list.

I am pretty certain watersports and alcohol combined break every health and safety regulation out there, which is exactly why you should go here.

To sum it up, you sit in a giant tube from an old truck tyre, float down the river with no control over speed or direction, and attempt to grab hold of bamboo canes chucked out to you to pull you into a bar. Leave your deflating tube on the deck and go and order a stiff drink served to you in a bucket. Jump back into aforementioned tube, float further along the river, repeat.

It's like a giant "Hook-A-Duck" fairground game to the locals and I am pretty sure their aim is to hook the most lagging amongst us with thier rods and haul us into their bar, before sending us on our merry way further down the river, 7 buckets drunker.

Genius.

a dealers have pretty much the same stuff. you will find more variety i. e. in the weavers across the nam khang river.
we could watch how to girls bumped into a tourist at an atm on the night market, so be carefull here (still: luang prabang is a safe place).