Capitol City and Last Stop

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One last stop before I head down to Indonesia. I have heard mixed reviews on Vientiane. Most backpackers said it was not that great. Nothing to do. I say to hell with what the other backpackers say about this place. I'm me... I create the journey.... We'll see if I can find some redeeming qualities to this "not so great" stop on the Laos trail.
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I’m learning so much about writing while on this trip. My strengths in school for many years were always in the math and sciences. I was always able to learn and adapt in my courses outside the realms of math and science to a point that was acceptable and often times high quality. But the truth of the matter is I feared writing and never allowed myself to enjoy the process. Reading was much the same way for me. If it wasn’t a textbook I generally didn’t like it. Being on the road really has awakened a creativity in me that has made me passionate about reading and writing. I read books for pleasure and to learn different writing styles. I practice journaling, blogging, and as of lately creative writing. I recognize this as such a gift. If all this trip has done for me was to provide a platform for creativity to be inspired then it was worth it.

For example I am learning that to write about experiences in my life, during the process, after the fact, and many weeks removed from the experience all require a different approach and yield different recounts of the same events. Why am I bringing this up? It is June 18th and I’m writing a blog today about the events of May 13th, 14th, and 15th. It is a month after I was in Vientiane. Many of the memories I have of the place are still fresh in my head, while some are not. I do have my trusty diary that I keep my daily entries in so I can reference what I did there. I can recall from those diary entries some of the details, perhaps some of my feelings, and with that, piece together a blog. But a month is roughly a quarter of the time I have been away from home. So much happens in a day out here. In a month my brain starts to hurt thinking about how to catalogue everything that has happened to me, the lessons I’ve learned. This becomes important in writing because there is surely no way that I can go back to the moment I was in Vientiane and write a blog based on the collection of experiences in my life to that point. I have one month of experience in Indonesia that is influencing my writing. Does this present a problem? Not really… but the blog I write today is different than the blog I would have written the day after I left Vientiane... and most certainly different than one I could write in one months time about Vientiane.

Choices have to be made. Do I write about one particular day, giving you details of how that day unfolded, the people I met, and the feelings I had? Is a thumbnail sketch of my 3 days the style that I should follow? Perhaps I should pick one thing that stood out for me and write as much as I can about that. The possibilities are far wider than what my brain is allowing me to comprehend because I’m such a young inexperienced writer.

So to begin the blog is a challenge. Look at how much I’m procrastinating by giving this long introduction. OK… I’m settled and here it goes… hope you enjoy.
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The first sip of the day is always the best. Well, sometimes the first sip is too damn hot and you burn your tongue and you curse the gods and pray that the burn is only mild and will still allow you to enjoy the rest of your morning brew. How does it go? “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup….” Replace Folgers with Lao Coffee and I’ll subscribe to that jingle. Laos is known for producing some of the best coffee in the world. The blends here are much richer than anything we are brewing in the states. Furthermore, it takes a true practitioner to brew up a good cup of the stuff. I’ve had some awful cups of Lao coffee, cups that had me craving that wretched stuff called Folgers. But then I’ve had some cups of Lao coffee that were simply divine. And so I arrive this morning in Vientiane at my morning coffee stand. The street is not incredibly busy at this time of day. Some motorbikes pull up out front, some drive buy, women walk buy carrying heavy baskets over their shoulders, stopping at various businesses to sell their produce goods. You may be asking why I’m describing the street when I just said I was at a coffee shop. Well the answer is that there is no clear division between the street and the coffee shop, aside from a street curb that is far to big a step to pass any US safety codes. That is to say that I have just sat down in the city, on the side of the street, to enjoy your morning coffee. My table is about 4 steps above street level on what I can only assume is the storefront to some long ago shut down business. Three vendors control this sidewalk establishment. There is a man and a woman who are brewing up large pots of soup broth that they mix with a combination of noodles, veggies, and meats for their customers. Just between them is the third vendor, a woman who is serving up delicious tea and coffee. She has two small pots that have cloth strainers in them where she has a very rich brew of tea and coffee. When she pours my glass she removes the cloth strainer from her coffee pot and lets a thick stream of highly concentrated coffee drip into a small glass (not a mug, but a clear glass so you can see the goodness you are drinking). Half full and she replaces the cloth in the pot and ladles boiling hot water into my glass to fill it up to the top. Two small scopes of instant creamer (Coffeemate) and my morning blend is ready. But that isn’t all that comes with it. There is always a complimentary cup of tea that you drink following your coffee. Plus a big basket of savory donuts is dropped in front of me.

The street is getting a bit livelier as I sip my cup of coffee. In between raising and lowering my glass I’m writing in my journal, cataloguing the events of yesterday. I take time every few moments to look at my surroundings, people watch. While the street is busy, there are a handful of people drinking coffee and having soup that seem to be in no rush. They sip sip their coffee, have a donut, read the paper, and let their body, mind, and spirit unite for the day ahead. No one is rushing to get to the next thing in life. No venti caramel lattes, to go, so people can drink their gigantic sugar drinks on the way to the next item on their agenda, only to leave their mind at Starbucks and their spirit at home, never to catch up with their body for the remainder of the day. Rather here in Vientiane people are just sitting down to enjoy one of the pleasures in life. I am there with them and my heart opens into gratitude for this morning and opportunity.

Eventually my glass would run empty, the tea would vanish into the pit of my stomach, and the donuts I never touched got moved to the adjacent table. I’d pay up $1 and be on my way. This was the morning ritual. Mornings have become such an important time in my day. I like having some ritual to follow. It gives the body and spirit time to connect. I find balance in those early AM hours and it propels me throughout the day. Whether it is a morning cup of coffee in Vientiane, a journaling session on the beach in Thailand, early morning walks in Indonesia, these all sustained me through my travel days.

The rest of my days in Vientiane were spent doing a variety of different things. There was the requisite sight seeing that had to be done. It is the nations capitol and there are some amazing monuments, French architecture, and religious buildings that most certainly deserve some attention. There was also the fitness center that I found that charged me 5 dollars for a day pass that included a fully equipped gym, a pool and restaurant, and a free one-hour massage. I’ve paid almost that much just for a massage and to throw in a pool and some gym time…. not half bad. I also had rented a bicycle for the three days I was going to be there and with the nice layout of the city I was able to explore all over town on my bike and really feel like I got to know the place. I had amazing BBQ lunch and dinner meals along the river every day. For about a half mile of river front there is one restaurant after the other all serving up delicious BBQ food. I was partial to the whole BBQ fish preparations and BBQ chicken legs. I would order each with a cucumber salad (a papaya salad substitute cucumber).

On my afternoon in Vientiane I had one of the more memorable experiences of my stay. I had read in the lonely planet that there was a Buddhist temple in town that you could go to and they offer a herbal steam and massage for about 6 dollars. Sounded like a pretty good way to kill a few hours. So I hopped on my bicycle and peddled through the city in search of the temple in the jungle. This was what the temple was really called as it was hidden away in a jungle. As a result the place was not easy to find. Once I made it onto the grounds it took me a while to find the right building. I rode around on my bike until someone yelled to me to park it and come up for a steam. This was my introduction to the woman who ran the place. Her name was Noi. “You been here before? I know you,” yelled Noi from upstairs as I put my lock around the front wheel of my bike. “Where you from, Italy?” That always makes me feel quite good. I’m sure my Dad would be proud to know that someone out there is mistaking me for an Italian.

The place I arrived at was beautiful. Lush jungle was set all around a small wooden building that was raised up on stilts. Up the stairs you are greeted warmly by Noi and her assistants who will hand you a sarong and ask you to change out of your cloths. From there you walk into a dark and steamy room to relax into you herbal steam. A gigantic fire rages beneath the floor boards that fuels the endless steam and herbal aroma that comes through the ground. Noi will likely come in and join you for some conversation. The rest of the cast is a mixture of local Laotian people, some expats, and backpackers. The herbs are wonderful and relaxing, the steam is not too strong and pleasantly relaxing. You go in and out as you please for as long as you want and when you come out to get some fresh air there is tea waiting for you that is brewed from a medicinal root that also helps you relax. The conversation around the steam room was terrific. Noi was the most talkative Laotian woman I have met. This helps to keep everyone at the place happy, friendly, and talkative. If you plan to go you are bound to meet some good people and have great conversation. After about 2 hours of steaming, relaxing, sipping tea, and more steaming, I laid down for a Lao massage. This took me right up to closing. It was 6pm now and everyone was leaving for the night. Noi and some of her friends that I had been introduced to invited me to come out to dinner. This was great. She told me to put my bike in the back of her truck and she would drive me. Since it had gotten dark by now this was a blessing because I may have never found my way out of that jungle and back to my guesthouse had Noi not given me a ride.

We decided to go to a Lao wet BBQ for dinner. This was something I have been wanting to do since Thailand where I first heard about it. What is a wet BBQ? You get served a large round metal grill at your table. It is somewhat crowned in shaped so it looks like a very large metal bowl that has been turned upside down. There are hot coals underneath it that make the surface fiery hot and perfect for cooking the thin slices of meat that you are given (very much like a Korean Style BBQ). At the base of that rounded hot surface is a circular trough. All the juices that cook out of your meats will slide down the BBQ and collect in this moat at the base. The moat is filled with a steaming liquid, in our case a chicken broth, and in this hot bath of liquid you can steam meats, fish, vegetables, eggs, and noodles. The meal is a buffet style. You can get as much meat, veggies, fish, eggs, and noodles as you desire. The broth that you create during dinner gets more and more rich as the meal wears on. As fat melts out of your beef, chicken, and pork, it rolls down into the soup of veggies at the base. Crack a couple eggs in the broth to thicken it up and you have one of the most flavorful broths by the end of the meal. I was in eating heaven. My hosts, however, were not aware of my passion for food and were really concerned I wouldn’t like what I was eating. They pointed me towards some of the pre-made items on the buffet table and suggested that maybe I just eat that stuff. They also wouldn’t let me take part in the cooking process. “We’ll cook, you just eat.” Under most circumstances this sounds like a very nice offer, but I wanted to get involved in the cooking. No matter, the food was great and for 5 dollars the meal was a bargain.

Afterwards they invited me out to the bar for drinks. We met up with some more of their friends and soon enough our party was 9 people deep. I was the only backpacker with the group. They showed me a good time. We went to a popular expat bar in Vientiane and the scene was a mixture of locals, backpackers, and expats. The bar was on the top floor of a large building that overlooked the Mekong River. The night was a joy on many accounts. I was happy to have met Noi, thrilled about my terrific dining experience, and still very relaxed from my journey to the steamy jungle. The day began with me reading about a steam room in the Lonely Planet guide. It ended with a handful of new friends and more than I could have ever hoped for in terms of experience. That is going with the flow and being open to new things. That is why I travel.

Three days in Vientiane wasn’t enough. The city had so much to offer. Finding the hidden joys of a city when most of the reports you have on a place are sub-par can be fun. You try to look in different places, you open your eyes to things that they might naturally close for, and you welcome invitations to things that you might otherwise refuse. And for my last 3 days in Laos, before heading to Indonesia, I was able to feel a sense of completion. Twenty great days in Laos, ending on a high note in Vientiane, left me fully prepared for the next step in the journey. Thanks for sticking with me through yet another country.

Loving you all, one country, one city, one experience at a time
Marcus

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Photos

Vientiane
This stupa is the most important landmark in Vientiane. Its long history tells the story of Laos in many ways. It was an accident that I wore this shirt on this day and for this picture. But I think it turned out so well. Somebody may have tried to plan out these colors and not been as successful.

Paris?
The French influence on Laos can be seen in the food and the architecture. This is supposed to resemble something in Paris... don't know, never been.

Presidential Palace
I have not been taking too many of these types of photos. The ones of big buildings that some guide book says are important. But I decided to take a few in Vientiance since it is the Capitol of Laos.

River Restaurants
Most of the places I have been in Laos are on a River. On each of those river banks you can find countless restaurants and eateries. Here in Vientiane things are no different. This picture shows you the setup. Good food, cheap eats, cold drinks, and a perfect atmosphere.

My lunch
A whole grilled fish. Some dipping sauce. A papaya sald is on the way. A couple of bucks and one happy stomach.

Brunch on the River
If you call BBQ chicken and a cucumber salad around 10am brunch then yes, I was having brunch. Just a photo of me with the Mekong and Thailand in the background.

Making the rounds
Women carrying fruit and other produce over their shoulders make their way around the neighborhood making sure everyone has the fill of food this morning.

Lao Coffee
Morning coffee, Lao style. They give you a strong cup of coffee and always a weak tea to wash it down with. I love finding a great place to have coffee with locals and relax into a new day. Nobody is rushing through a line at starbuck or peat's trying to beat the morning commute to a desk job.

Coffee and with snacks
They dump this basket of savory/sweet donuts on your table. Free with coffee. I didn't indulge so I can't tell you how they were. But they looked good and it just seems like such a cool perk to having a morning cup of coffee.

Coffe Shop Lady
This is the woman who made my morning coffee in Vientiane. I might miss this most when I leave.

Night out in Vientiane
With my firend Noi from the Herbal Steam and Massage. She took me out for a wet BBQ and drinks with her friends. Still all fun and games at this point.

Afterschool at the Stupa
These girls were riding around while I took pictures of the Golden Stupa. They smiled, laughed, and talked about me. So I took their picture. Fare enough.

My other new friends
At the rooftop bar in Vientiane.