The Night Market on Sisavangvong Road

Every evening the main street closes to traffic and fills with red-roofed stalls of textiles, lanterns and silver, with a narrow alley of food stalls tucked off to one side.

Area

Markets & evenings

Start from

Sisavangvong Road, in front of the Royal Palace

Distance

walking distance

Time needed

evening

Best season

All year; nightly

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

On foot

Tickets & rules

None

Why go

Around five in the afternoon the traffic stops on Sisavangvong Road and the street transforms. Hmong and Lao vendors roll out rows of stalls under red and blue canopies, lit by strings of bulbs, and soon the market stretches for several hundred metres from the foot of Phousi.

It is calm compared to many Asian night markets. Sellers sit on mats among their goods, children play between the stalls, and the bargaining is gentle. You will find embroidered bags and quilts, silk scarves, paper lanterns, silver jewellery, wood carvings and small bottles of lao-lao.

The highlight for many is the food alley, a narrow lane off the main street lined with stalls selling grilled fish, sticky rice, sausages, spring rolls and the famous vegetarian buffets, where you fill a bowl for a fixed small price and the cook fries it up for you.

The story

The market began as a modest gathering of Hmong women selling handicrafts in the 1990s, as tourism grew after the town’s UNESCO listing in 1995. Many of the vendors came from villages in the surrounding hills, and the market became an important source of income for families with few other options.

Many of the textiles carry traditional designs. Hmong reverse appliqué and cross-stitch, called paj ntaub, include motifs such as snail shells, elephant feet and spiders’ webs, each with a meaning, and some pieces tell stories in embroidered pictures.

As the market has grown, more factory-made goods have crept in, some imported from neighbouring countries. Telling the difference is not always easy; handmade pieces are usually less uniform, with slight irregularities in stitching and dye, and the seller can often show you work in progress.

The food alley grew alongside the market. Its buffet stalls became famous among backpackers in the 2000s as one of the cheapest ways to eat in town, and they remain lively and filling, though the grilled meats and fish are where local flavours really shine.

Getting there

The market runs along Sisavangvong Road from near the tourist information office towards the Royal Palace, in the centre of the old town. Simply walk there from anywhere on the peninsula.

The food alley branches off the main street near the market’s start.

A suggested plan

1. 17:00Watch the stalls being set up as the light fades.
2. 18:00Walk the full length of the market slowly before buying anything.
3. 19:00Eat in the food alley: a buffet bowl, grilled fish and a Beer Lao.
4. 20:00Return to the stalls you liked and bargain politely.
5. 21:30The market starts packing up around this time; walk home by the river.

Where to stay

Anywhere in the old town; it is a short walk from everything.

Good to know

• Walk the whole market before buying; the same items repeat.
• Bargain with a smile; start lower but don’t push too hard.
• Eat early in the food alley, when the grills are freshest.