Vientiane wakes up early and goes to bed early. The night winds down by midnight in most places, and on Sundays many bars close. That said, the riverside, the lanes around Nam Phu fountain, and a handful of expat-favoured bars keep things interesting most evenings.
Beer Lao costs about 12,000 kip in a bar, half that on the street. Cocktails are cheap by any standard. The cafe scene is unexpectedly good — French colonial habits never quite left, and a wave of younger Lao baristas have brought third-wave coffee in too.