Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
A day in the capital.
We arrived at the Vientiane bus station around 4:30 in the morning, happy to be in one piece, and to find out luggage still on the roof. A tuk-tuk style truk dropped us off in the middle of the city, but it may has well have been the middle of nowhere. Everything would remain closed and boarded up until 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning.
We camped out on a park bench at the fountain, and waited for the sun to rise. By 5:30, we were surrounded by locals, mostly women, jogging around the circular block, and stopping near the fountain to do their stretches and sit-ups. Soon after, bakeries and coffee shops started waking up, with lights coming on, and tables getting setup. It was pretty neat watching the city come to life. Not being a morning person, this is a rare sight for me.
By 7:00, the guest houses were opening up, and we were able to check into a room. We passed out for about an hour, before taking on a day of sight seeing. We walked through the day market, and enjoyed some incredibly delicious spicy soup with the locals at a hawker stall. We then wandered up to the Patuxay, for some spectacular views of the city. Another few kilometers of walking took us to the most holy of temples in Laos: Pha That Luang, which is incredibly photogenic. The young monks there love to talk to visitors, and practice their english. The one fellow we spoke to had excellent english. He listens to the BBC news every day to master it. His dream is to go to Canada for a year to study.
After the sights shut down, we all treated ourselves to a traditional Lao massage, which is similar to Thai massage. I think Dave still swears that it was the best massage of the trip. For less money than in Thailand, we felt like we were in a luxurious spa at a 5 star hotel. Beautiful decor, relaxing music and running water. It was a royal treatment. We finished in time to watch the sun set over the river, sipping Lao beer, eating spicy green papaya salad.
The next morning, we would rise early again (5:00) to catch a flight to Siem Reap.
