Vientiane

The next morning we hopped on another minibus, this time to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.  We could have taken the 'kayak to Vientiane' option but after the ordeal of our last kayaking adventure the general consensus was that the bus was the 'safer' option.  I'll use the term 'safer' loosely as the road, once again, was windy and bumpy, with sheer drops over cliffs an ever-present threat!  However, we reached Vientiane in one piece.  This time, when we got to our accommodation, the ladies told us that they had let out Yvonne and Sebastian's room as the current guest decided that he wanted to stay another night.  This was despite the booking they had made.  The hotel was now fully booked but they transferred Yvonne and Sebastian to another hotel and we agreed that we would meet them for dinner later that evening.

 

That afternoon Rob and I had a little wander around Vientiane city.  We quickly noticed that there were Japanese restaurants everywhere - jackpot!  We were delighted and immediately headed for the nearest ramen restaurant, where we had amazing ramen that would rival any ramens that we ate in Japan. (I think we might open our own ramen restaurant back home!).  I later read that the Japanese government had provided a lot of the funding to build the roads network around Vientiane.  They had sent over many teams of engineers and construction workers, who had stayed and as a result an expat community had grown and with it the demand for Japanese cuisine.  We certainly couldn't complain about that!  That evening, we met with Sebastian and Yvonne and dined at a sushi restaurant.  The food here also matched what we ate in Japan.  We had good food, drinks and good fun and then it was time to bid farewell as they were leaving very early the following morning to catch their flight back to Germany.  We really enjoyed their company for the week and we were sorry to see them go.

Rob, Yvonne, Sebastian & Claire

The following day, we crammed in most of Vientiane's main sights.  A visit to Patouxai, Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe was first - no doubt inspired by the French colonial occupation.  Apparently a lot of money meant for aid to the Laos people was instead ploughed into this monument...who needs food when you can have a big arch, right?  Next we cycled to That Luang, supposedly the most important stupa in Laos.  It was golden from a distance but fairly dirty up close, and probably wasn't worth the trek up to get to it.  The buildings beside it were more impressive.  We did also find a reclining buddha monument, which doesn't exactly make up for not making it out to the Buddha Park, but it's close enough in our book!  We saw some monuments (names unknown), went past the Presidential Palace (closed for renovations) and cycled along the promenade (not yet finished, with a view across a murky river, possibly the Mekong, over to Thailand).  We also went to the entrances of some Wats but decided we weren't interested enough to actually go in.  We're a bit templed out at this stage and there are only so many 'wat' jokes you can make!  Our whistle-stop tour of Vientiane took about 3 hours (with a delay in the middle to change a flat tyre).  We then had some coffee and cake and more ramen (can't get enough of the stuff!) before heading to the airport for our flight to Hanoi in Vietnam.

Rob at Patouxai (also a little like India Gate)

The Golden Stupa

The reclining Buddha (and building site!)

Wat That?  Yes, that is its name

Laos Parliament Buildings

Claire & A.N Other temple

Looking over to Thailand...beautiful

We both really liked Laos, notwithstanding the dodgy food we ate in Vang Vieng and resultant bed day.  Luang Prabang was picturesque and Vientiane, while not exactly the most visually pleasing of places, had a good vibe and great food.  The people were unassuming and incredibly polite.  But, best of all you could wander around a market in silence, without every second person shouting, "Lady, lookie, lookie", "Boss, you come look at my shop, I give you good price".  Those moments were golden!