Talat Sao
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.0
117 reviews
Excellent
10
Very good
27
Average
55
Poor
20
Terrible
5
milliesmum2016
Christchurch, New Zealand1,771 contributions
Jan 2020
This is a shopping mall come market, in fact, it spills out into the morning market next door. You can get anything here, whether you are a local or a visitor. It is set up for local business rather than tourist trade so there are lots of shops/stalls selling electronics, traditional and western clothing, food, cosmetics , footwear. Of most interest is the second floor (first floor if you are an Australiasian i.e. up one flight of escalator) where the jewellery dealers are. There are amazing silver shops with tribal and traditional jewellery as well as modern copy pieces. Most of the dealers and shopkeepers are very welcoming and happy to discuss their pieces. Do ask for business cards with details and prices of items as it becomes confusing as you visit more and more and see pieces which you may want to come back for. I found them mostly to be quite fair and honest. Do haggle but remember that gold and silver have international fluctuating international prices scales, so don't expect ridiculous knockdowns. Ask the dealers to test the pieces in front of you so that you can see you are getting true metals. They don't mind and do expect it.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rain T
Singapore, Singapore513 contributions
Nov 2019 • Friends
Mainly a all-in-one shopping centre selling local items and food , with many stores selling traditional costumes. You can almost anything you would need here from household appliance to mobile phones and clothes etc Things are not very cheap though and look like can bargain a little . There is a food court on the 2 or 3rd floor
Written November 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
the_goodsoil_family
Vantaa, Finland12,361 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
I actually have no idea why the Hobo Map calls Talat Sao the Morning Market. We went there twice in the morning and did not see anything particular while the shops appear to be open all day.
Facing the Khou Viang street is the fairly tall air-conditioned Talat Sao Mall building. However, only two floors are occupied with mostly gold shops (and the toilet! - 1000kip) on the second floor. Once you go through the mall you enter the old Talat Sao which is a covered market without air-conditioning. You can enter it also from Lane Xang, Hatsady and Nongbone streets, though. It is a maze of small shops selling all kinds of stuff ranging from stationery, home appliances, silk, clothing, shoes, phones, etc. to gold and souvenirs. It is not a fresh market although you can find stalls selling fruit etc. outside the mall on Hatsady street.
Inside the old market is a huge mall building which seems to be largely unoccupied with only two floors having shops and about half of the building totally empty. This mall has a bank and modern coffee shops with WiFi in addition to the shops selling goods and seemed to be a bit more high-end operation than the mall facing the Khou Viang street.
Some reviews claim that the prices are higher than in other outlets in Vientiane. However, the place is clearly geared for local customers so the price differential hardly is unwarranted if the shops stay in business. We bought a piece of Lao cloth for use as a 'sarong' etc. for 125,000 kip. Later a Lao acquaintance declared that to be a fair price, although we saw cloth intended for the same purpose selling at 40,000 kip at the nearby Khou Din Market. However, the material was not the same. We also received a piece of sticker shock at the market: a comparable piece of cloth from real silk would have cost 17.5 million kip (7000 baht).
Facing the Khou Viang street is the fairly tall air-conditioned Talat Sao Mall building. However, only two floors are occupied with mostly gold shops (and the toilet! - 1000kip) on the second floor. Once you go through the mall you enter the old Talat Sao which is a covered market without air-conditioning. You can enter it also from Lane Xang, Hatsady and Nongbone streets, though. It is a maze of small shops selling all kinds of stuff ranging from stationery, home appliances, silk, clothing, shoes, phones, etc. to gold and souvenirs. It is not a fresh market although you can find stalls selling fruit etc. outside the mall on Hatsady street.
Inside the old market is a huge mall building which seems to be largely unoccupied with only two floors having shops and about half of the building totally empty. This mall has a bank and modern coffee shops with WiFi in addition to the shops selling goods and seemed to be a bit more high-end operation than the mall facing the Khou Viang street.
Some reviews claim that the prices are higher than in other outlets in Vientiane. However, the place is clearly geared for local customers so the price differential hardly is unwarranted if the shops stay in business. We bought a piece of Lao cloth for use as a 'sarong' etc. for 125,000 kip. Later a Lao acquaintance declared that to be a fair price, although we saw cloth intended for the same purpose selling at 40,000 kip at the nearby Khou Din Market. However, the material was not the same. We also received a piece of sticker shock at the market: a comparable piece of cloth from real silk would have cost 17.5 million kip (7000 baht).
Written March 2, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jobst56
Hamburg, Germany1,670 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
Talat Sao (or morning market) is a strange mix of (an inside) shopping mall, Thai-Western style, and a fruit-vegetable-meat market.
I'm sure you'll get almost everything you want here.
Beware - lots of beggars.
I'm sure you'll get almost everything you want here.
Beware - lots of beggars.
Written January 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ArghyaKolkata
Kolkata3,946 contributions
Sept 2017 • Solo
Despite looking like a shopping mall in a provincial town rather than the flagship shopping destination of a capital city, Talat Sao mall is still a breath of fresh, air-conditioned air to many tourists battling with the tropical heat outside.
Talat Sao is split into two distinct sections: The air-conditioned shopping mall (the only one in Laos) is the place to find electronics, sports equipment and jewelery, while the cavernous original Morning Market is fairly overflowing with mass-produced silks, cheap T-shirts, trinkets and other souvenir type items.
Talat Sao is split into two distinct sections: The air-conditioned shopping mall (the only one in Laos) is the place to find electronics, sports equipment and jewelery, while the cavernous original Morning Market is fairly overflowing with mass-produced silks, cheap T-shirts, trinkets and other souvenir type items.
Written November 24, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mitchell1944
San Francisco, CA25 contributions
Jan 2014 • Friends
The appliance shops in the older part of the Talat Sao are more for local Lao people and the foreign resident community to shop for items for their homes in Vientiane. The talat Sao has a number of banks for currency and traveler check conversion into the Lao Kip. The Lao Government discourages people from using foreign currency to make purchases in Lao shops, although some shops will take Thai Baht.
The Talat Sao building on the river side or south side of the structures has on the 3rd floor an interesting Food Court of Lao food shops with inexpensive food concessions. The Lao food is good. The 3rd floor has many shops selling Lao music and movie DVDs. The top floors of this building contain a parking garage for the cars of the shoppers.
THe new main building is slowly being finished on the upper floors as funds and new tenants are found. The person looking for the Monument Bookstore can find it near the National Culture Hall.
The Talat Sao building on the river side or south side of the structures has on the 3rd floor an interesting Food Court of Lao food shops with inexpensive food concessions. The Lao food is good. The 3rd floor has many shops selling Lao music and movie DVDs. The top floors of this building contain a parking garage for the cars of the shoppers.
THe new main building is slowly being finished on the upper floors as funds and new tenants are found. The person looking for the Monument Bookstore can find it near the National Culture Hall.
Written December 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Puppy
Christchurch, New Zealand828 contributions
Jan 2014 • Couples
The mall is mediocre selling some interesting products like gold. Its an OK place to watch people but before you enter there are a number of Hmong women selling elephant ivory, rhino tusks and other rare animal products along with 'healing items'. Don't buy these items as you are only adding to the trade in endangered wildlife. Most countries will not allow these items into the country so don't bother supporting this trade.
Written April 1, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Virginia D
Ao Nang, Thailand1,793 contributions
Oct 2019 • Solo
Principally, there is a Shopping Mall here which spills out into a Market so that the two almost intermingle.
Here you get a true taste of Laos, with beautiful Materials, jewellery, basket ware, exotic foods and so much more.
Be sure not to miss this place and be prepared to spend a few hours wandering around.
Here you get a true taste of Laos, with beautiful Materials, jewellery, basket ware, exotic foods and so much more.
Be sure not to miss this place and be prepared to spend a few hours wandering around.
Written October 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nellielim
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia4,022 contributions
Nov 2017 • Family
A pretty run-down mall close to the bus terminal. Only advantage here is the air-conditioning. Shops here sell mainly bazaar like items with gold-smith shops on the second floor.
Written November 27, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yong M
Singapore, Singapore150 contributions
Jan 2017 • Solo
The Talat Sao Shopping Centre consisted of two buildings located right next to each other along Ave Lang Xang. Building 1 is older, non air-conditioned but offers a food court on level 3 selling mostly local food at reasonable Laotian prices. You first need to change your LAK into coupons to purchase food from the stall. Change about 50,000 kips for both food and drinks per person and the unused coupons can be exchanged back to LAK upon leaving the food court. As for the shopping itself, there is really nothing much to buy for tourists unless one is looking for needed services such as money changing, topping up SIM card, etc. Building 2 is air-conditioned, more modern and again the shops are not suitable for tourists. There are many goldsmith shops in both buildings largely catering to the locals with their fondness for collecting gold ornaments.
Written February 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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