I spent the majority of this morning in Vientiane checking out all of the boutique-y shops selling beautiful silk weavings and the patisseries serving Lao coffee and fresh croissants. Wonderful.
In the early afternoon I explored the main market. There were several stands with jewelers making items out of gold right before your eyes. Very cool. I watched them melt down chunks of gold and pour them into moulds, and set stones in rings. None of the pieces were very attractive though, at least in my opinion. What was so fascinating was how primitive the jewelry-making tools were. My school has an infinitely nicer and more advanced setup, yet these guys were working in GOLD. I thought they were probably working in some sort of faux-gold, but my Lonely Planet said they were gold jewelers, and obviously Lonely Planet never lies, haha.
The other interesting section of the market was the apothecary section, which sold more herbs than I knew existed, as well as various animal antlers, horns (HORNS! - I still don't know what animal they came from), animal skulls, and miniature fists carved out of stone. I would have loved to find out how and for what ailments the horns and skulls are used. I felt like I was in rural China. (I'm not that far from the China border though).
After exploring the market, I decided to rent a bike for 8,000 kip ($1), and explore the rest of the city. About a half hour into my bike ride, a petite Lao woman approached me and asked "where you go?". I responded with hand motions that I was just biking around town. She then pointed in a direction and pointed to the seat on the back of my bike (the bike has a passenger seat). I understood she was telling me she wanted a ride home, and so I let her hop on the back of my bike and point me in the direction of her house. As I biked, she talked, very quietly, but nonstop, in Lao. Who knows what she was saying. She sure as hell wasn't giving me directions, because every time there was an intersection I had to ask her which way to go. As we biked she got friendlier and put her hands on my waist - typical for somebody riding on the back seat of a bike. But then she put her arms around my waist - not typical for someone on the back seat. Well, she directed me onto a side road, past some surprisingly nice houses - nice even by U.S. standards, and to a house under construction. I figured this was where I dropped her off.
When I stopped, she seemed flustered, and talked to the construction workers for a few seconds. It seemed almost like she was asking directions. Who doesn't know how to get to their own house? Well, she pointed along a path that went through a field behind the house, and i thought that was a little weird, but there were people around, so it seemed safe enough. Then she stopped to pee. What? I parked my bike around the corner of the house and waited, and when she walked back to the bike she hadn't bothered to button her skirt back up (she was wearing underwear though, just to clear up that picture).
So, now I'm really weirded out, and we bike through the field to another road, a highway (a Lao-size highway, not like the U.S.). We keep biking, and she starts resting her head on my sweaty back. Really freaking weird. She seems to have no clue where she's going. One second she would point for a turn, and then change her mind and decide to keep going straight. At this point, I figure this girl is either a prostitute or absolutely crazy, and I can't tell because she doesn't speak any English! I keep biking because I want to see where she tries to take me. Well, we bike past a dirt road with a sign that reads "YouMe" - I couldn't tell if it was a sign for a sex motel or a music store, because the sign only read "YouMe" and had music notes around the name. I said I didn't want to go there, and she was fine with that, so we kept biking.
Well, at this point we're at the airport, which is a solid 3 miles from where we started (I later traced my route on a map). At this point I'm positive she's a prostitute, and I don't feel like biking her around any more. Besides, I'm wondering if biking around a prostitute in Laos is illegal, because I read that you can be deported for merely leaving a bar with a Lao girl, and you get fined for being in the same room with a Lao girl. Not worth it to leave because of biking around a prostitute.
When we get to the airport, I stop biking and tell her to walk (making a walking motion with my fingers). She hops off the bike and asks for money! What? She first says "money", and I tell her I have none. She then looks in the basket of my bike, presuming my wallet is there because I'm wearing shorts with no pockets, but my wallet is covered in papers so she doesn't see it. She then says "bank". No way girl! She acts upset, but I just bike away, and that's the end of the story. It may be that she wasn't even a prostitute, and was just really into stroking my legs...but I'm pretty sure otherwise.
I biked (alone) the longgg ride back into town, and stopped for dinner at a little restaurant located on the side of the Mekong river. I ordered their specialty, which was essentially more Pho. Just what I didn't need more of - Pho.
Well, that's the end of today. Luckily that prostitute(?) gave me a good story or this would have been a very boring day to blog about. Tomorrow morning I will get up early to catch a public bus north to the town of Vang Vieng!
Laos' Flag
Map of Laos