Markets and independent shops in Vientiane

27 markets, bookshops, record shops and makers in Vientiane.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

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Book Cafe
A small bookstore selling new and used books in English, German, and French, with a selection of nonfiction about Laos and Southeast Asia. Also buys used books if you have some to get rid of. Beware, if you buy a book wrapped in plastic it's likely to be a low-quality pirated version.
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Home Ideal
A Chinese-owned shop, offering good foreign exchange rates. Large one-stop shop for assorted products from stationery to housewares, clothing to luggage. Prices are fixed and reasonable.
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Khua Din Market
Local market. Mostly sells clothes and fabric, especially traditional Lao clothes, but there's an array of food and other products too. The entrances can be hard to spot, but when you go in it's huge.
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Morning Market
Talat Sao
A large collection of indoor stalls selling, well, pretty much anything. There are two floors: the first floor sells mostly textiles, electronics (watch out as nearly all of them are counterfeit), and watches. The second floor has clothing, gold and jewellery. Depending on the product, you should negotiate. Discounts can vary from 10% to 33%.
Closed · opens 9 am
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Seng Lao DVDs
Vientiane boasts one of the best DVD shops in Southeast Asia, with 10,000 titles of quality European, Asian and US movies. Seng Lao has dozens of books displaying DVD covers: you browse the books, and list your choices on a piece of paper they provide, at 10,000 kip each. The nearby and better-marked Seng Dao DVD shop has inferior service and choice. Mind the possible consequences of importing large amounts of illegally copied DVDs into your country.
10,000 kip
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Talat Sao Mall
Has 3 floors and is the first public building in Vientiane with indoor parking. On weekends folks from the countryside come and marvel at the escalators (which one Lao magazine referred to in English as "electricity ladders"), and at the bravery of those who venture onto them. The mall boasts a few cafés and a Thai-style food court. The front side of the market has space for parking. The toilets are not far from the entrance and can be used for a very small fee. Many vendors are Thais so they expect you to pay in baht, despite the signs urging you to pay in kip, and they also expect you to be typical dumb tourists who'll pay any price and still think it's a bargain. Souvenir tee-shirts, three for 200 baht. Brand-name products are often fake.
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ANZV
Allows withdrawals of up to 2,000,000 kip per transaction with a 40,000-kip transaction fee. Supports both Visa and Maestro. There are 2 branches in Vientiane. The first is at the main ANZV office mid-way down Lane Xang. There are now also various ANZV ATMs, for example on the corner of Fa Ngum Rd and Rue Chao Anou and at various minimarts, like the City minimart and at some M Point marts.
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BCEL
Foreign exchange counters at various locations. This bank charges no commission, gives better conversion rates and has longer opening hours than most local banks.
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City Minimart
Maybe the shop with the most extensive range of merchandise in the town, and somewhat cheaper than the shops in the centre.
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Joint Development Bank
Possible to withdraw up to 1,000,000 kip per transaction with a 30,000 kip transaction fee. Supports both Visa and Maestro.
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Kanchana
The Beauty of Lao Silk
Traditional Lao silk weavings, hand-woven fabrics, textiles and clothing using natural dyes.
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Laha Boutique
Naturally dyed textiles (mainly cotton) from the south (Savannakhet).
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Lao Textiles
Founded 1990 by an American woman (Carol Cassidy), who now employs some 40 artisans, this firm offers modern cotton weavings using traditional motifs and. Some of their work has been exhibited in international museums, with this reflected in the price. They are not particularly welcoming to visitors, including a locked front door, a bell that needs to be rung to request entry and very prominent "No photography" signs.
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M-Point Mart
At least five locations in Vientiane. Much like a 7-Eleven. Stop by around 18:00 and there will be a Thai food cart right in front. Has the best pad Thai in town. You can choose from pad Thai, fried baby mussels, fried rice, and mixed seafood platter. 15,000 kip per plate.
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May Bank
Possible to withdraw at least up to 1,500,000 kip per transaction with no transaction fee.
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Mixay Boutic (sic)
They weave handmade textiles of the shop's own design on the premises, and you are welcome to watch. Beautiful wall hangings, not the cheapest in town, but well worth the price. Also on sale are shirts and skirts, scarves, cushion covers and anything made of fabric.
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Monument Books
Offers a good selection of English and French language books and magazines.
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Mulberries Lao Sericulture Company
The sales outlet of a not-for-profit organisation that operates in about five hundred villages in Northern Laos, seeking to create income-generating opportunities. Naturally-dyed, handmade Lao silk products.
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Phimphone Minimart
An almost a full-grown supermarket. This place will surprise you with the amount of Western stock it carries, but it is expensive, and the owners must make a nice profit on the exchange rate that they apply so it' advisable to pay in kip. A second shop with the same name (the owners are related, the shops are not) is on Samsenthai Rd at the corner of Chantha Kumman Rd. Excellent, European-style bread is usually available (on Setthathirat), though the delivery schedule is a bit erratic.
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Phongsavanh Bank
A privately owned bank that operates a currency exchange until about 20:30 on weekdays, and for shorter hours on weekends.
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TShop Lai
Sells oils, shampoos, soaps, etc., made by Les Artisans Lao as well as honey and some nice handicrafts. Les Artisans Lao is a social venture allowing disadvantaged, uneducated and often marginalised people to receive apprenticeships.
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The Art of Silk
Lao Women's Union
Silk and cotton weavings in both traditional and modern designs. A local magazine says "phone before visiting, as there is no permanent staff."
Mon-Fri 09:00-16:00Free
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Top Cycle Zone
The place to go if you want to buy a decent Western style bicycle or spare parts for one.
Mountain bikes from US$350
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V-Shop
Outside in front is a small café where they serve some of the best coffee specialties in town (Lao Mountain Coffee), shakes, fruit juices, waffles, doughnuts. Good for people watching on the edge of the Chinese quarter.
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Vientiane State Import/Export Enterprises
A duty-free, state-owned liquor store. Limited selection but the cheapest prices in town for popular brand name liquor by the bottle. This place is pretty good in terms of product authenticity but nothing is 100% guaranteed.
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Chinese Market
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Evening Market
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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Vientiane (CC BY-SA 4.0).