Laos forum

Usually someone picks me up, but as I remember the tuk tuks are only allowed on the far side of the parking lot. Worth walking across the parking lot. Sounds like a good idea yes.

Apart from the main sights of Patuxay, That Luang and maybe a temple or two, one of the most popular places to visit in my experience is Buddha Park, it's about 19 km out of town but is definitely worth the trip and you should be able to fit it into six hours since there's not much else to see in VTE. It's a park with hundreds of statues, some huge, of buddha and hindu gods etc. I've taken people there eight times and they've all liked it!

Good reference point to start is the "Namphou" fountain near the river at the bottom of Pangkham Road. Next to it is the Kob Jai Deu restaurant, Green Discovery office, and the Phimphone market. Many tuk tuk guys hang out here and it is a central hub of travelers with many many guesthouses within a few blocks. I just spent a couple nights at the Riverside Hotel a couple streets over - very decent value although at $25 not the cheapest. A ride to the big-3 (Patuxay, That Luang, Buddha Park) would fill a good 3-4 hours, then you can go stand at the Mekong and watch Korean bulldozers push the sand around =)

Hobo Map of Vientiane here
http://hobomaps.com/VientianeCentralMap.html

Riverside Hotel
http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation_profile/laos/vientiane_and_surrounds/vientiane/vientiane/all/2935