While the vast majority of Laos resides in almost-feudal conditions — trapped in the past — Vientiane represents something different. Vientiane represents modernity.

In myths, the city is said to have been founded by an envious prince who was denied the throne of a legendary Lao kingdom in favor of his younger brother, locating it based on the advice of a seven-headed Naga. In reality, historians believe the city to have emerged from an early Mon settlement that came to be dominated by the Khmer Empire. Eventually — as the Khmer Empire entered its death throes — the Lao people claimed the city for themselves, assimilating the remaining Khmers. For more than three hundred years, Vientiane was the center of the Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang, making myths into a reality.

However, this prosperity would not last, falling under Siam suzerain after the fall of Lan Xang. Conquered and razed numerous times, the city was razed of the riches inherited from the Kingdom, and abandoned for the forest to reclaim... until the French arrived. Designated as the new capital by their colonial overlords, the city was rebuilt back to its former glory, all in time for the "independence" granted to them by Japan. Now, the city represents a model for the rest of Laos to aspire to — something for them to join the rest of Asia with — all with Japan's help.