Vientiane Aug 14 - 15

---

We arrived in Vientiene around dinner time and checked into yet another guesthouse. We were able to get a room with two bunk beds for the four of us. This guesthouse definitely ranked at the bottom of our list. The woman running it, barely attempted to answer our questions and when she did she blatantly misinformed us about bus routes and travel times. Luckily, as usual it was just a short walk to a tour agent, who was very helpful. Sarah and I booked our onward journey to Pakse in Southern Lao, and our British friends booked their flight to Hanoi. Sarah and I had originally intended to take the same route, but decided to explore a bit more of Lao. The people were so friendly and laid back and as a country Laos was good for our budget!

That night we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. The Lonely Planet (LP) explained that Vientiene is one of the most unassuming capital cities in South East Asia, but that one of its strong points were the range of cuisine available.

Having only one day to spend in Vientiane, Sarah and I headed off early, having a typically French breakfast of coffee and pastries and then on to the sites. We met up with Sarah and Vicky and went to a Museum of Lao art. Unfortunately, it was a big disappointment, even though it had been described by the LP as housing the ‘best of Lao art’. From there we passed by the Presidential palace and then down a wide street, a replica of the Champs a Lise in Paris. At the end of the road was the concrete Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe. As you got closer to the arc it looked less and less impressive. It had a plaque on it stating that the concrete was donated by the US for a new airport, however had been used to construct the monstrosity, a tribute to war veterans.

From there we went our separate ways, as the girls had to head to the airport to catch their flight to Vietnam. Sarah and I continued to That Louang, the most important religious building in Lao and also their national seal. Although we were a bit weary of site seeing, we were glad we walked on to That Louang, a huge golden stupa and quite a remarkable site. We toured around and then literally ran for sheltered as large storm clouds rolled in. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a café, actually attempting to read the paper and figure out what was happening in the rest of the world.

Later that night we embarked on yet another experience for the record: an overnight sleeper bus. Sarah and I were on the top bunk and basically shared a twin bed for the night. I was squished against the window, while Sarah clung on to the railing so as not to fall off into the isle below. The night began with some blaring Thai music videos, followed by the blockbuster movie, Hancock. Sarah and I tried to make ourselves comfortable and get some rest, but the unnerving driving and the constant honking made for less than ideal sleeping conditions.

We were dumped in Pakse, around 7am the next morning, bleary-eyed and confused. We hired yet another version of a tuk tuk, which closely resembled a rickshaw-sidecar, attached to a scooter. Sitting down at the guesthouse we figured out that we actually didn’t need to stay in Pakse overnight, but rather could continue our journey to Champasak. We intended to head south to visit some of the only Khmer ruins outside of Cambodia, before heading further south to Si Phan Don (4 Thousand Islands).

---