Look out the window as the plane descends over the rice fields surrounding the Lao capital. You’ll see some good news. Vientiane is flat and perfect for biking. If you’re about to become a resident, buy one. If you’re a visitor, rent one. It’s a great way to see the city and get some exercise.

You’ll find bicycles for sale or rent in a number of places. Perhaps the easiest place to buy one is Talat Sao, the Morning Market, on Lane Xang Avenue. If you want to rent, try Kamchana Boutique opposite the Ekalath Hotel just around the corner from Thanon Samsenthai. ("Thanon" means "street" in Lao.)

We’re going to describe a 20-kilometre tour which any reasonably fit person can take. Depending on how many stops you make, it should take about half a day. Before we start, let’s talk for a moment about some basic tips. Unless it’s the cool season (late November — early February), it’s a good idea to bike-tour in the morning. It can get pretty hot in Vientiane, especially during March-May, when temperatures can hover around 40 degrees Celsius.

For that reason, it’s wise to take a bottle of water with you. You’ll find small shops all along the route selling sodas and bottled water, so if you run out or forget, ‘bo pen yang" as the Lao says ("not to worry").

It’s very helpful to buy a copy of the map of Vientiane published by the Women’s International Group (WIG). It’s sold separately or with the "Vientiane Guide", also recommended. You’ll find both at Kamchana or at shops and hostelries throughout the city.

You’ll be passing many restaurants en route. As you ride by, you might want to choose one to return to for lunch — there’s one for every budget. Alternately, you might want to buy the ingredients for a picnic. Most folks go to Phimphone Minimart on Samsenthai across from the Ekalath Hotel.

Throughout the journey, you’ll see bicycle repair shops. These are easily identified by the tyre outside. This means they fill, repair and sell tyres, and they can usually accomplish simple mechanical repairs like fitting a slipped bicycle chain back on the sprockets.

Okay, you’ve got your map, your water and ideas about lunch and repairs. Let’s go!

Start at That Dam, just up the street from Kamchana. This is perhaps the most ancient stupa in Vientiane. Legend says that a seven-headed dragon living beneath That Dam will rise up and defend the city in times of peril. Notice the French colonial buildings on the circle and the U.S. Embassy down one of the side streets.

Ride around That Dam, return to Kamchana and the Ekalath Hotel and continue straight ahead toward the river. When you get to the Mekong, turn right onto Thanon Fa Ngum, named for the king who founded the first Lao kingdom in 1353. On your left is Don Chan Island. If it’s the rainy season, the island could be almost completely submerged. During the dry season, a huge sandbar stretches upriver, waiting for the rains that will briefly turn it green before it again disappears.

On your right, you’ll pass the Hotel Lane Xang, named for Fa Ngum’s kingdom, "the land of a million elephants", and two temples, Wat Xieng Nhune and Wat Chan, where you’ll find the largest Buddha in Vientiane. One block past the second wat, look for the consulting firm of Burapha on your right. Beside it is a dirt lane leading away from the commerce of the riverfront. Turn into the lane and take a short ride through a typical middle class Lao urban neighbourhood.

Just before the lane ends at a "T" intersection, you’ll see, on the right, a traditional Lao house and outbuilding of white stucco with exterior beams. This charming example of a vanishing architecture was renovated by a foreign firm for its headquarters and manager’s residence. As Vientiane experiences a new economic vitality, preservation of old structures with cultural and design merit is important to Lao and foreigners alike.

At the "T" intersection beside the Vendome Restaurant, turn left and then right onto the paved road. After you made the second turn, the Russian Cultural Center will be on your left. At the stoplight, turn right onto Thanon Setthathirath, named for the King who founded Vientiane in the 16th century.

Setthathirath is one of our two most beautiful streets, lined with old trees and faced by Wat Inpeng, Wat Ong Tu (home of the Buddhist Institute) and Wat Mixay. Further down, on the left is Nam Phou Square with its namesake fountain. cafes and restaurants, and a Lao Cotton outlet. Across Setthathirath from the fountain is the National Library, an old building with an ochre patina.

As you continue along Setthathirath, you’ll see a number of French colonial buildings renovated by government ministries and foreign investors. These renovations are examples of the burst of economic enthusiasm which you’ll see all over town — clean up, paint up, built up.

After you pass these renovations, you’ll come to the Palace on your right and the broad Lane Xang Avenue on your left. The Palace is used for major official functions and is not open to the public. However. just ahead, across Lane Xang Avenue are two important temples which may be visited for a modest entrance fee. If you’ve got the time, stop for a while and see the wonderful frescoes and peaceful cloister of Wat Sisaket and then Wat Pha Keo, the former home of the Emerald Buddha, taken by the Thais to Bangkok in 1779. Both the temples are closed on Mondays and holidays.

Whether or not you stop at the wats, the next leg of our tour is up Lane Xang Avenue, past Talat Sao, to Anousavari, that fanciful blend of Arc de Triomphe and Lao motifs. For a few hundred kip, you can climb to the top, where on a clear day you can’t quite see forever, but you will see across the Mekong into Thailand on one side and across the plains to the mountains on the other. Thirsty after the climb? You can buy a soda at the small stall underneath the monument.

On the far side of Anousavari are three streets leading away from the giant roundabout. Take the wide boulevard on the right and you’ll immediately see That Luang in the distance. The slight rise up to this holy site is the only hill you’ll have to climb. It’s worth the small effort required. You’ll pass by embassies, government ministries and large houses as you bike under the trees. At the end of the boulevard, you’ll cross a huge paved area where the annual That Luang Festival is held in November. On your left will be the new chambers of the National Assembly.

Continue on to the That, which was built by King Setthathirath in 1566 to house a relic of the Buddha. The current structure is a 1953 restoration by the French School of the Far East. In front of the stupa is a modern statue of Setthathirath. For another small fee, you can visit the That and its cloister, except on Mondays and holidays.

When you leave That Luang, ride across the paved area to the far left corner (away from the National Assembly). In front of you is a road which leads diagonally away from the area. This is the only tricky navigation of the entire trip. Look on the WIG map if you’re not sure. You should head along this diagonal road which veers right into Thanon Nong Bone. If you’ve navigated correctly, after about a kilometre, you’ll find yourself with the towered Ministry of Interior and the rear of Talat Sao on your right and the flower sellers on your left.

Continue straight ahead until you come to a stop light and the bus station on your left. You’ve reached slightly under the halfway point of the trip (about nine kilometres). If you’re ready to quit, you’re only a few hundred metres from your starting point, Tat Dam. To return there, turn right past Talat Sao, left onto Lane Xang Avenue and right into the first small street, where you’ll immediately see the stupa.

If you’re ready for more, turn left at the bus station. You will immediately see, on your left, the city’s main fruit and vegetable market which can be reached over a small wooden bridge. This market is housed under makeshift wooden structures and is well worth the visit if you’re fond of local colour.

If you continue on the road past this market, you’ll shortly enter the second of our most beautiful streets, Khou Vieng. You are actually riding on the old city wall, an earthen, semi-circular fortification which used to have a moat on either side. Today, the remaining canal is used for crops like watercress, and the road is lined with trees which keep travellers cool even in the hottest weather.

You’ll pass by a number of traditional neighbourhoods as well as more modern structures. Some have suggested that Khou Vieng is such a unique vestige of the city’s history that it be preserved and restricted to three-wheeled traffic or less. Until that happens, you’ll see all types of vehicles on Khou Vieng from heavy trucks to trishaws and lots of bicycles.

Follow Khou Vieng for about two kilometres. Pay attention to the paved streets on your left. You’ll pass first a large one and then several smaller ones. You’ll see a sign for the Mennonite Central Committee, and you’ll pass Chaemchanh Guest House. Keep going until you come to the second large paved street on the left. Although it’s not marked, it’s clearly a major intersection, with lots of traffic moving in and out, unlike the smaller streets.

Here is another juncture where you can elect to return to town. If that’s your desire, instead of turning into the second main street off Kahou Vieng, continue on for a couple of hundred metres until Khou Vieng ends on Thanon Thadeua. Turn right, and it’s about three kilometres straight back to the Ekalath Hotel. /

If you want to continue the tour, turn left onto that second big street. You’ll know it’s the correct one because in the distance you can see the ornate gate of Wat Sokpaluang, which gives its name to this street. Sokpaluang used to be a forest temple, but it’s now in the city. It’s still a forested oasis of serenity, as a glance through the gate will show. The long road through the trees beckons you to enter. If you’re tempted and you’ve got the time, go in and pause for some peace and quiet.

As you ride along Thanon Sokpaluang, you’ll pass various embassies and a roundabout (keep going straight) with the Swedish Guest House on the left and a Lao Cotton outlet on the right. You’ll also see the Institute Polytechnique on the right. After a while, the road begins to descend slightly and curve to the right. Just as the curve is finishing, you will see a wide dirt road to your left (dotted line on the WIG map). Just opposite this road is a small stall with a tyre out in front.

You can turn left into this dirt road and ride for about two kilometres through rice fields and past nurseries for refreshing views of a more rural Laos. If you’d rather skip this part of the tour, proceed on the paved road past the new Russian Embassy compound to Wat Ammone, where the paved road bends to the left across a small bridge over the canal.

If you’ve taken the dirt road, you’ll come out just on the far side of this bridge. You’ll see the wat on your right, but you should turn left. The road past Wat Ammone ends on Thanon Thadeua.

If you’re really fit and it’s not too hot, you could turn left on Thanon Thadeua, take the left-hand fork at the roundabout down the road and go on to the Mittaphab Bridge site, the ferry, "Buddha Park" (Wat Xieng Khwan) and 555 Park, as described in the "Vientiane Guide". Depending on how far you go, it’s another 25 to 35 kilometres one way.

If you’ve had enough, turn right and return to town, passing UNICEF, the Australian Embassy Club, the new French Embassy School and the Prince’s Guest House where official government guests are hosted. It’s about five kilometres from the turn to the Ekalath Hotel along Thanon Thadeua. You’ll pass a water tower on the left. Behind it is a small bridge to Don Chan island. If you want, you can cross this bridge and wander through country lanes, seeing some of the farming communities which supply fruits and vegetables to Vientiane’s markets.

Across from the water tower on Thanon Thadeua is Champa Lane Xang Restaurant with its outdoor pavilions overlooking a small lake with paddle boats. Continuing on Thanon Thadeua, you’ll come to a "Y" intersection with a statue of King Srisavangvong, who reigned during and just after the Second World War, and Wat Simuang, home of the town pillar and therefore of Vientiane’s guardian spirit. Take the right fork into Thanon Samsenthai and continue back to the Erawan Hotel, where you started.