What Lurks in Laos?

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We walked this morning because the trash fire smoke and exhaust was still hanging in the air. An iron-lung might be a helpful travel aide while in Laos. Our morning exploration only confirmed that we were in a very, very rundown city. Vientiane is actually the capital of Laos, but we saw nothing capital about it. We did run into a river-side, open-air dance hall of sorts. The locals were doing something in the vein of aerobics. As we continued, paralleling the Mekong River with Thailand on the other side, to our delight we spotted the morning monks, and much to our distaste we encountered smells that were both foul and unbearable. We decided that we would leave Vientiane today. There were two buses out: 10a and 2p. I was thinking the first one, but Barbara thought we should take a look at what limited sights there were to be seen and head out on the afternoon bus. It turned out to be a really good idea.

We made our way to the center of town, a fountain that used to be a full round-a-bout. It’s been partially blocked to limit the traffic flow. And, oddly, given the nastiness of what we saw and smelt on our walk, there are several Euro-style cafes and restaurants around the fountain. We stopped in on JoMa, a Canadian run bakery. Previously thinking that we’d found ourselves in the most seedy and rundown town on Earth, this restaurant could be relocated to any upscale neighborhood in the world and still do great business. The place was sparkling clean, air-conditioned, and smelt like chocolate croissants. Breakfast was yummy and Vientiane was looking better already.

There aren’t too many sights to be seen, so we thought we could hit them all in the four hours before our bus was meant to leave for Vang Viang. Wat Sisaket was loaded up with Buddha statues from all over war torn areas of Laos. Our self-appointed guide said there were some 10,136 Buddha statues here. He also said that at one point, Laos had more Buddha makers than any other Buddhist nation. We went to the National Museum, Haw Pha Kaew, which ended up being a temple with very few pieces of national keepsakes. Laos was really ravaged by the Indochina Wars and left poor and destitute… making the things we saw in the morning make a lot more sense.

As a former French colony, the French attempted to duplicate impressive bits of Paris here in remote Laos. They built a street, Lane Xang, which was to mirror the Champs Elysees and Patouxai was to be its Arc de Triomphe… which was said to have been constructed with concrete donated from the US for their airport… the locals like to refer to it as “the vertical runway.” We walked down the Lane Xang and happened on the Talat Sao (morning markets) and had a good look around as we shopped with the locals. I bought some spring rolls and a monster-sized grapefruit for the upcoming bus ride. Once we were really hot, sticky, and sweaty, we reached the Patouxai and had to climb to its top. So glad that we did… the view of Vientiane is amazing. I would never have known it to be so large a city.

Another French leftover: Baguettes. They are seen and sold everywhere.

We ventured back to the Nam Phou (the fountain near the yummy bakery) and found the Scandinavian Bakery. We both had these gorgeous salami and cheese salads with the freshest of vegetables, no doubt purchased at the morning markets, and served with a baguette.

With a half hour to spare, we ducked into an air-conditioned internet shop to connect with friends and family back home.

LESSON: Never judge a city by its initial smells and sights.

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