Laost in translation

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Apologies for the title, I really shouldn't force puns on unsuspecting victims!

Anyway, so we're in Laos - cool! First stop was Vientaine (the capital). Quite hilarious leaving freezing Kunming and stepping out of a plane after a couple of hours into stifling heat and a wall of humidity .. unreal. We didn't really know much about Laos so we sort of sandwiched in a week here on the recommendations of some nice folk. Turns out they were onto something.

We'll probably appreciate it more as we go through the tourism madness that is Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand but this place is about as laid back as it gets. Cruising into the capital in a taxi, we thought we were passing through the outskirts of town only to realise that we were in the CBD. Kelly (who is well travelled .. and hot), suggested that it was reminiscent of Fiji. Andrew (who is just plain hot) had no basis to agree but merely smiled and ordered a Beerlao (the local brew .. good name eh?). Anyway, Vientaine is right on the Mekong and has all of 200,000 people, although even that estimate seems high.

First up was the food - even a simple lunch, grabbed at a nearby restaurant laid waste to memories of oily chinese food. Simple, fragrant and the chicken even looked like chicken! We were in town for a couple of days so with a combination of foot power and tuk tuk, we checked out a couple of temples, the local museum (with what we think were genuine packages of heroin and weed in glass display cases) as well as a cafe that made us believe we were somewhere on Ponsonby road .. except about 1/3 the price (which makes it expensive for Laos but at what price a good (and safe) ice coffee?). We also managed to squeeze in a riverside meal in a little bamboo/thatch hut .. best BBQ fish ever and cold beerlao .. can you tell we like this place?

Weirdest moment - Andrew meeting two people he studied with at uni. Random.

Jumping on a bus, we headed up to Vang Vieng, the local over-touristed spot. The recommended activity is jump in an innertube, float down the river and drink as much beerlao as possible on the way .. hmmm. We passed on that one, electing instead to wander around a little village nearby and get attacked by some angry fire ants .. probably not the best choice I know, but hindsight is 20-20 ...

One more long bus ride later and we're in Luang Prabang - apparently a UNESCO heritage site - although we're not quite sure for what reason. Its a beauty of a little town, with french colonial influences, distinctive Laos temples and the benefit of two rivers surrounding it. The french influence, extends to the food which means baguettes for breakfast and lunch, while dinner tends to be more on the Thai side of thing - Laos has a collision of a lot of different cultures which makes it an interesting place to be!

Apart from the ever-present rain (it is rainy season after all), we're having a great time and might even go bowling tonight (after the night market - amazing by the way - its one of the few places open late here).

Anyway. we don't have long here so we'd best be off to enjoy the relaxation before we plunge headlong into Vietnam.

Sabadee! (oh, and sorry about the lack of photos - if we're lucky we'll find a faster internet cafe or else we'll put some on facebook later)

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Comments

[Ryan]

We are the Laost ones
I just watched the season finale of Laost tonight. That is all.

[Jeremy]

Grrrr...!
You're lucky for my concern of parents and other respected elders ( and disrespected youngers ) reading this, because I have a few choice words to be said about all these puns!

[team shwinter]

C'mon
Just ask Ryan, I am being extrodinairily restrained .... even now I'm stopping myself typing three good'uns in this very sentence. Its all part of my personal growth, come August I may be pun-free entirely!