Mali Namphu Guest House

relaxing place near the center

by mvdwater about Mali Namphu Guest House

When we arrived in Vientiane, we first looked for another guesthouse. But most of them were already full, or didn't look good enough for the price you had to pay.
To enter the guesthouse, you first walk through a hall. Here you find the reception. Then you enter a garden, where you can have your breakfast in the morning.
The rooms are very clean and nicely decorated. The garden in the middle of the place, where you can eat, surrounded by flowers.

Windowless, but clean

by traceyspacey about Phonepaseuth Guest House

We didn't book ahead and after going to 9 guesthouses/hotels decided to stay here. It was the first place that had a room available. It is clean and beds are comfortable. The air con is noisy, whether you have it on or not (you can hear everybody elses). They initially wanted $15, but as it we were told that it had a T.V which wasn't there the price was dropped to $13.

Mali Namphu guest house which is a couple of doors down looks really good. It is built around a leafy courtyard and it's not much more than we are paying. Book ahead. 215 093 114 Th Pangkham. It was the first room available. It's clean. Laundry is overpriced at 25,000 a kilo but came back smelling really good.

Mali Namphu

by aemilys about Mali Namphu

This was just a charming place. Clean, quiet and only 14 USD for a single room with A/C, hot shower, en suite, TV and breakfast. This was the nicest place I stayed during my Laos trip.

I reserved in advance through the service on travelfish and yes, I got a prompt reply in perfect English and my reservation was honored, very nice indeed. Beautiful courtyard, outstanding service, breakfast included.

Good deal in the centre of Vientiane

by ytanay about Mali Namphu Guesthouse

Mali Namphu is conveniently located near the Namphu Fountain, where most amenities, restaurants and bars can be found. It's within a short walking distance to BCEL (for reliable currency exchange), ATM, the Mandarina spa, the Mekong river, temples, cheap laundry, the institutional Scandinavian Bakery, Green Discovery office for great adventure trips and lots more.

It's unassuming facade hides a beautiful courtyard within where you can have breakfast which is included in the room rate.

Staff is friendly and went the extra mile for me. I had to leave very early in the morning, before breakfast started, and was going to miss it if not for the staff who bothered to pack me some fruits and bread with jam for my journey. I thought that was really nice because I'd stayed at another place by the river which cost more and they denied me the free breakfast because i had to leave 30 minutes before breakfast started.

trip Report on Three Weeks in Laos

by AncientAusie

"Part 2 - Luang Prabang to Vientiane"

(The first part of this report covered Luang Prabang.)

The 9 am mini-van finally set off for Van Vieng at 10.05am after the usual delays in picking up stragglers, changing mini-buses and securing back packs on the roof, a task that was a huge source of amusement to the several men loading the van. Cost was 40,000 Kip p.p.

Contrary to Forum advice, no one suffered car sickness on this journey through some beautiful but incredibly mountainous country. It finally ended at 4.45 pm but some of the memories will last a life time! The magnificent lime stone karst terrain; the manic horn assisted drive through villages where the narrow road seemed to be the place of choice for cattle or pigs, and always a variety of fowl; and our unusual driver.

Aside from his driving performance, he left the van on two occasions for a rest/drink without a word to the passengers.

We contemplated staying at Elephant Crossing (Lonely Planet's pick) but were put off by the high concrete box style of architecture and the lack of any imaginative landscaping. We chose the low style garden setting of the Thavonsouk Resort, next door and down by the river and paid 220,000 Kip. Clean and views from the open style restaurant across the river to the dramatic karsts were exceptional. Here we spent a couple of hours sipping Beerlao and the next morning at breakfast to watch the sun rise over the mountains.

Despite a studied walk around the centre our choice of eating place proved quite forgettable. In the morning we spent a few hours exploring the town before boarding the VIP bus for Vientiane at 1 pm. Aside from the amazing karst landscape we found little to recommend V.V. Basic restaurants and plenty of bars invariably set up to watch TV from a reclining position! Yes! Re-runs of Friends are still playing!

The air conditioned and comfortable VIP bus left the depot on time but became bogged to the axle as it crossed the road verge! The antics of about 10 drivers and 2 towing buses kept us amused for the next hour. The rest of the trip to the peaceful capitol of Laos was without further drama.

"In Vientiane"

We loved the atmosphere, accessibility and the calm pace of Vientiane. I can’t recall another city of this size that appears so relaxed and is such a complete contrast to the hustle of activity and urgency that we regard as a normal part of a developing urban environment. There are signs of considerable renovation and construction activity all round the city but its people appear unperturbed and good manners retained.

I would like to hear from others more experienced in the Lao culture. We have listened to tourists complaining about the lack of infrastructure, the need to modernise, or the absence of tourism know and customer awareness. Will the Lao people be able to pick up on these areas while retaining their unique lifestyle?

First night was spent at Villa Manly and, like the city itself, we consider it would be the ideal venue to re-charge before tackling Bangkok, certainly the best choice for any one wanting to relax in a quiet area away from the centre of activity and prepared to pay a little more. The French Villa, priced up near US$ 60 a double, is tastefully furnished and decorated and set in a large garden with pool.

But it is about 2 Km. away from the centre and we chose to move to Mali Namphu Guest House which is next to Nam Phu in the very centre and in walking distance of the main attractions and restaurants. At only US$18, spotless and including breakfast in the pleasant courtyard, we figured the savings would justify our pursuit of fine food establishments of which the city has many! Those most enjoyed were: -

Kua Lao served the best Lao food ever. Three courses, coffee and a couple of glasses of wine each, for US$30 (a chicken dish in banana leaves, prawns and a sauce wrapped in a fine crepe, egg salad, and banana flambeau - using lao-lao spirit.

Second day we had dinner at LA Terrasse. Superb duck!

A change to Italian at La Gondola ( a salad, two pasta dishes, coffee and a bottle of red Chile wine for US$30) Great service and food which was markedly better than at the much vaunted L'Opera.

Cote D'Azur was our Lao farewell dinner and worth far more than the 419,000 Kip (US$48.80) Have both in mind because I used my remaining Kip and credit card for the balance. We chose a goat cheese salad, rabbit with fresh herbs, and duck breast with orange sauce, washed down with a bottle of Bordeaux Malbec/Cab.

There were many good bakeries, coffee and more casual food outlets along the river side, where a great meal generally cost no more than US$6.

Our VIP bus trip to the Border, through Immigration and on to Udon Thani, was uneventful and followed the clear directions provided on this Forum.