Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, situated in the Mekong river. Vientiane became the capital in 1563 due to fears of a Burmese invasion. During French rule, Vientiane was the administrative capital and due to economic growth in recent times, it has become the economic centre of Laos. The estimated population of the city is 754,000 (2009) while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area (the entire Vientiane Prefecture and parts of Vientiane Province) is believed to be over 730,000. The city hosted the 25th Southeast Asian Games in December 2009 celebrating the 50 years of SEA Games. Sri Sattanak, or Sisattanak, is a former name of Vientiane. It is often confused with Sri Sattanakanahut, the Pali name of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants. Sisattanak now is the name of one of the five districts of the city Vientiane.
Talk about luxury and being spoiled, Forbes Travel and Lisa Bains did it! Our Alaska Cruise was great from start to finish, right down to the detail of the airport bus to the boat and back with all of our luggage taken care of from the airport to the ship and back again. Aboard ship we found a bottle of champagne in the room from you and there were three colorful balloons on the door. Talk about being indulged. No one else on that deck had such a greeting at their doors! Thank you, again, you really picked a great ship, and for the wonderful, over-the-top service, Lisa, and for your great agency.