Vientiane

---

I arrived yesterday in Vientiane. The trip was uneventful which is good especially when you are traveling with a bike. I was surprised that my bike weighed in only at 11kg! Usually the bike and the other gear I manage to stuff in the box weigh in just over 20kg. I guess having the smaller box, although a pain to pack, prevented me from "padding" the box, therefore keeping the weight down and the cost - no need to pay for excess luggage and I was able to check my other bag with all my gear as well - bonus : )

Having forgotten that I was to have American dollars to pay for my Laos visa at the airport, I was sent downstairs, (past immigration!), to get American dollars for the visa. I only had Chinese rmb and although China is a neighbor country the exchange counter did not have an exchange rate posted for rmb! After lying and saying I did not have a Visa card, (my wallet was stuffed with rmb especially withdrawn for this trip), they decided to exchange the rmb for me. I have no idea what the official exchange rate is and if I lost a bunch of money but the it was convenient. They told me that the banks do not exchange rmb and that I would have to go to the Chinese black market to change my money. It was also the weekend, so no banks open for sure. Tracking down the Chinese market didn't sound like fun, so when exchange clerks offered to change all my rmb for me I gladly accepted. I trusted the innocent smiles and went for it. Now, I carting around all the money I brought for my whole 3 week trip : (

The hotel arranged a driver to pick me up at the airport which is also great to have when arriving with awkward gear. The Vayakorn has simple rooms and very clean, great central location too. The people are very nice and I am happy with the service. After a short nap I went out and explored the neighborhood. I ran into a guy from Ghana and we hung out for the evening.

Today, I hooked up with Andy and he took me to That Luang Temple where I took over 50 pictures! How does that happen in such a short time? Vive le digital camera! : ) Later, Andy took me back to Venus' place where I ate home cooked Laos food - very good - spicy! Andy showed me one of the local markets, I walked around there for a bit then road back to my neighborhood to finalize the arrangements for my very expensive private boat ride up the Mekhong and NamTha rivers. I'm glad that's all settled! I'm happy to be able to afford the trip. I've already been thinking about my 2-year travels and how I will be doing things differently on a very restricted budget : (

---