Visiting Vientiane, the world’s youngest Communist capital

By Lilit Marcus, CNN

Vientiane, Laos (CNN) — Aditta Kittikhoun has learned to anticipate the question.

No, not Thailand, but it’s next to Thailand. No, not China, but it’s next to China. No, not Vietnam, but it’s next to Vietnam.

Kittikhoun, who is Lao but grew up mostly in the United States, is used to people not knowing where he’s from.

His father worked at the Laos diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York City. As a result, he speaks fluent English, an asset when he moved back to his birthplace.

Now, Kittikhoun runs a media and creative marketing company in Vientiane, a city of about 850,000 people.

“I would say it’s extremely comfortable, it’s pleasant, people are generally nice to each other,” says Kittikhoun, who is raising his three children in Vientiane. “I like the vibe of this place. I do want to continue living here for the long term.”

Although Vientiane has existed on this stretch of the Mekong River for centuries, December marks 50 years as the center of the Lao Democratic People’s Republic. It’s the youngest of the world’s Communist capitals, the others being Beijing, Havana, Hanoi and Pyongyang.

This is no Bangkok on the Mekong. Landlocked Laos gets far fewer tourists than its beach-surrounded neighbors. There are no skyscrapers. Public transit is minimal. Vientiane’s small airport has just six gates, supporting only short-haul flights from around the region.

Global brands are scarce. Most chains are Thai or Chinese, though a handful of Starbucks have opened in the past few years — Starbucks’ Vientiane-branded cups have become unexpected collectors’ items online. A DoubleTree by Hilton opened in the city in 2024, one of the first Western hotel brands to make inroads here.

As for sightseeing? The most popular attractions are the Patuxai Victory Monument, dedicated to the Lao people who fought for independence from the French, and Wat Si Saket, a temple known for its thousands of Buddha sculptures and drawings.

The first thing most people notice about Vientiane is the heat. Like Southeast Asia’s other capital cities, it’s a hot and humid country with a long summer and a rainy season.

Here in Vien, as locals call their city, motorbikes zoom past Buddhist shrines and low-slung Brutalist-style government buildings. In parks and public squares, friends gather on stools, eating barbecued meats alongside ubiquitous bottles of Beerlao. Lao flags — red and dark blue with a bright white circle in the middle — are hung between trees or plastered to the sides of food carts.

Vientiane and beyond

Laos’ economy has grown over the past decade, but the World Bank notes that “high inflation, currency depreciation, and declining real wages are driving workers from wage and unpaid family work to self-employment.” The country was hit hard by the pandemic, and its fragile tourism sector suffered further damage last year after six travelers died from tainted alcohol at a hostel in Vang Vieng, the country’s main party destination.

Many young Lao people have left to seek work in Thailand, where the economy is stronger, particularly in the hospitality sector. Most Lao speakers can understand and speak Thai, as the two languages are similar and many local TV channels show Thai films and TV shows.

“It’s a lot of the manual labor that is going overseas,” says Kittikhoun. “The really educated class are still here, and they are extremely sought after.”

Laos’ economy is expected to grow about 3.5% this year, according to the World Bank. Salaries have risen a little, but inflationary pressures, including rising property prices, keep home ownership out of reach for many.

However, Kiyé Simon Luang, a Lao filmmaker who spent years in France before moving back, says some Lao people of his generation who thought they would have to live overseas to pursue their careers in creative fields are returning home.

Luang, who enjoys checking out the city’s vibrant independent music scene in his spare time, says he’s energized by the young people in Laos who are moving the culture forward and changing the idea of what it means to be successful.

And he believes that a rising tide lifts all boats.

“It’s normal for the country to develop,” he says. “The population is growing. I can see that the standard of living has increased, that the level of health has also increased, as has hygiene. Development has advantages.”

While inbound tourism is a growing sector in the Lao economy, most tourists visit as part of a bigger trip around Southeast Asia.

And when travelers do come to Laos, it’s not Vientiane that most make a beeline for.

Luang Prabang, the UNESCO-listed former royal capital in northern Laos, has long been the country’s showpiece thanks to its pretty, well-preserved French colonial buildings.

These days, the largest, fastest-growing market for tourists is Laos’ neighbor to the north – China.

A China-backed high-speed rail project connecting Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and Vientiane has been a hit. Now, travelers can go between Vientiane and Luang Prabang in two hours — a journey that could easily take all day by car along local roads.

The train originates in the Chinese province of Yunnan. Although Chinese travelers need a visa to go to Laos, that requirement is waived if they book a package tour with a Lao travel company. As a result, Mandarin-language travel guides are popping up in border areas to entice Chinese tourists southward.

Putting Laos in context

Luang Prabang may be the most famous place in Laos.

But, as expat Sophie Steller points out, the historic city is small and doesn’t have as much of a year-round population as Vientiane does.

Many foreigners come to Laos’ capital to work for NGOs, teach English or French (the latter of which is still used officially in the government), or establish themselves as digital nomads.

Steller, originally from Sydney, first came to Laos to work for UNICEF in 1999 and has been based in Vientiane ever since. She quickly fell in love with her adopted hometown but wished there was a good, reliable place to get cocktails that was open on Sundays and had an English-speaking staff.

To fill that gap, she and two friends opened a café called Sticky Fingers in downtown Vientiane 10 years ago. Steller has since bought them out to become the sole owner and has remained in the country on a business owner visa.

Steller likes to spend her days off biking or boating around Vientiane’s green spaces. But when out-of-town friends come to visit, she says she always recommends they visit COPE, an organization that supports victims of land mines.

“It’s a real eye-opener for some people,” she says. “It’s a little bit of history about the Vietnam War and how badly this place was bombed.”

Between 1964 and 1973, the United States dropped about two million bombs on Laos in what was called “the secret war.”

The attacks were intended to break supply lines to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, giving Laos the dubious honor of being the most bombed country per capita in history. Today, there are an estimated 80 million unexploded bombs around the country, which nonprofits are helping to find and remove safely.

About three million tourists visited the country in 2025, compared with 32 million in Thailand. Laos has announced a goal of five million tourists per year.

In a world where overtourism is a constant concern, locals tell CNN that they love Vientiane for its easygoing, manageable way of life. And for expats like Steller, it still feels like a well-kept secret.

“I’ve never been bored here,” she says. “Ever.”

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