Vientiane
Trip Start
Oct 10, 2007
1
41
78
Trip End
Jun 26, 2008
Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, January 20, 2008
We were still recovering yesterday, and after a lie-in (room with window ensured we arose before midday) we trotted across the road to 'Le Croissant D'Or' (so twee! so lovely!) for a coffee and baguette, before bimbling around the 2 or 3 main streets that make up the central area of Vientiane. We ventured into a mini-mart where I cooed over such things as Special K and Bon Maman jam (a favourite), and pounced upon tampons and conditioner with glee; starting to miss the home comforts now, and the mere sight of a Boots label sends me into raptures, even if it is on a box of non-applicator super-plus.
We bimbled along the edge of the Mekong river, watching people go about their business (some have little gardens right at the water's edge, and proudly tend them) and found a long row of kitchen shacks, each one cooking up a sumptuous-smelling barbecue of assorted chicken and fish, so we reclined ourselves on some triangle cushions (which Andy could not get the hang of at all, I don't think men in general can do 'reclining' on these with any grace or comfort) and had cold bottles of Beer Laos brought to us as we gazed over the Mekong and thought once again how lucky we are to be doing this!
True to form, Palin has decided to embrace local culture and in an effort to make our coffee arrive with greater pace and a smilier smile has applied himself to learning a few essential Lao words and phrases. The minefield of emphasis threatens once again to blow up in his face, a simple 'thankyou' conveying untold insult if said in the wrong tone, but as always a friendly 'morning!' in the local language is always appreciated, and even I am managing a pre-coffee "Sabaidee" with a grimace approaching a smile which says a lot for how friendly the place is.
Late yesterday afternoon we had a great meal of roasted barbecued chicken, sticky rice, and papaya salad, and some hours later rolled ourselves like weebles across the carpets into an upright position to view the spectacular sunset over the Mekong river.
Fortune favours the alcoholic, as we then managed to source a bottle of whisky for 60 pence; yup, a whole bottle, tasted great, made us tipsy, has no ill-effects today. The rest of the evening was spent supping and watching countless episodes of our Family Guy DVD we'd purchased in Hanoi. Each of the 4 discs contains 28 episodes, so that's, er, a lot of episodes! One of those perfect days, and really welcome after the past 48 hours.
We plan to spend another day or two here in the capital ( though Tokyo it ain't!) and then move further north to Vang Viang, where you can apparently sit in a rubber tube and spin 10km down a river, every so often swerving in to a riverside bar for a light refreshment. It's got 'health and safety nightmare' stamped all over it but sounds great fun, so it's a must do before we head further north and eventually cross over into Thailand, which we sincerely hope is not going to be either so tiring or so bloody weird as our last border crossing!
