Home UpViangchan (Vientiane)

Pictures from a walk at dawn around the Nam Phu Fountain.

Once a colonial covered market, Nam Phu is now a traffic circle around a fountain.

The old governor's palace, now the museum, is equally uninteresting.

Nearby, however, there's an atmospheric collection of old houses.

They're very different from the colonial houses of British India, which usually had flat roofs and classical facades.

Many of the houses here lie on very quiet side streets.

Some are in poor shape.

Another.

And another.

Unkempt and shuttered.

Nearby, a commercial street, Samsenthai, gets ready for the morning rush.

A few minutes later.