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Published: March 2nd 2016
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Monument in the Captial City
Was made to replica the Arc de Triumph We arrived around 6 p.m. to the lazy capital of Vientiane! They refer to the city of one million people as lazy because it is very laid back and not busy at all compared to other capital cities of this size.
I thought I would mention a little about the history of Laos in this blog. In 1863 France invaded Laos and took the country back from Thailand. Hence the obvious French influence seen here. In 1954 a civil war began between the Communists Party and the French Royals. The communists won the war and the Royal Family was kicked out and headed back to France. The result was The New Republic of Laos which is based on a moderate form of communism where the government rotates its leaders.
One of of the laws in the capital city is that all restaurants and bars must be closed by midnight. Because of the past French culture there are many wonderful cafes and bakeries. The coffee is outstanding and is as good as Starbucks if not better! Apparently a local Laos woman started a successful coffee business not long ago. The mountain areas are perfect for growing coffee and she has
Fresh Garlic Fish
My favorite meal in Asia! become very rich. We passed her mansion (or shall I say palace!).
We took a tuk tuk tour of the city highlights visiting impressive and interesting, palaces, theatres, temples, museums and government buildings. We also did lots of walking and enjoyed the city sights. Another interesting place we visited was a government run workshop and museum dedicated to those people who have lost limbs due to land mines and/or birth defects. It is amazing all the prosthetics that have been made and helped people to improve their lives. It was very heart warming but at the same time so sad to see the number of Laos people injured from land mines that were used during the war.
We left Vientiane around 4 p.m. the next day and crossed the border into Thailand to board our overnight train to Bangkok. The overnight train is certainly a unique experience for us westerners!! It's very efficient. Your seat turns into sleeping berths (one upper and one lower). Your bags and suitcases are stored neatly in a rack. First thing you order your supper from the waitress which is delivered to you. A portable table is set up for your dining pleasure!
At about 9 p.m., the porter comes around and sets up your bed. The clickety clack clickety clack for 13 hours makes for a great sleep! They provide nice clean sheets, and pillows and the bed is very comfortable. Probably the only drawback would be the bathroom but what can you expect?? It wasn't too bad and was flushed onto the tracks! They had a couple of sinks so you could wash up and brush your teeth. We arrived in Bangkok bright and early at 6 a.m. We spent the day in Bangkok as our flight to Krabi was not until the next day. We walked quite a distance to the big shopping district of Siam. We enjoyed roaming around the enormous malls. We encountered a big rain on the way back so had to take a tuk tuk. That was quite the ride through the traffic and rain!
Tomorrow we leave for the island of Koh Lanta for the next 4 weeks to enjoy the beach and ocean. I won't do a blog from there as I have done a few on past trips. From there we will go the Ao Nang (beach town near Krabi) which is
Overnight train
And a great sleep! a new destination in Thailand for us so may blog from there.
Thanks for reading our blog. We do appreciate it as well as your comments.
Mallory and Warren
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