The sleeping capital

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As I write this, I sit in the foyer of our lovely hotel in Siem Reap, in Northern Cambodia. Robin did request a ‘food blog’, although I may wait until leaving Cambodia before doing so - it should be far more interesting, as if something moves, the Khmers will eat it. Therefore, I’ll try to stick to the events of the past week. We arrived in Vientiane in Laos. Which very much lives up to its billing as a ‘sleepy town’. With a population of 400,000, it is very different to the other capitals we have been to (Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur). Yet, is was a nice time to have a bit of a break, do not so much, and take things at a slower pace.

By far the most interesting visit was to the COPE visitor centre. COPE is an organization which helps those affected by the many landmines still sitting in Laos as a result of US bombing in the mid-70s. As the trade in scrap metal is worth up to $3 a day (3 times the average in rural Laos), many people are attracted to collecting scrap metal left by exploded US bombs (Over 18 million bombs were dropped in Laos between 1970 and 1975). However, as some remain unexploded, this has lead to 3 thousand tragic accidents in Laos each year, involving mainly death or severe disability. COPE provides prosthetic limbs for amputees, and gives them practical support so they can carry on with their life. The visitor’s centre was a fascinating glimpse into both the problem of unexploded bombs in Laos and what COPE is doing to help.

Other activities in Vientiane included trips to the many other temples in the area. Pha That Luang (pictured above) is by far the most impressive, and is the national symbol of Laos. Its golden towers are a unique sight, and it is regarded as a very holy place by many Laotians. Indeed, the Saturday we went, the place was heaving with people, with monks holding various ceremonies in the concourse leading up to the Stupa. Indeed, talking of monks, on the way back that evening, we were wandering through a temple complex, and I was not entirely confident of our exact location. Seeing at me turning the map whatever-which way, a monk came up and gave us some help trying to find where we were going (which was only bout 100 yards away…). However, the situation became bizarre when it turned out he had a keen interest in tattoos, and was very keen to hear the details of Sarah’s tattoos.

Besides visiting various other interesting temples in Vientiane, we also visited the morning market, where as usual, you could buy a whole range of both counterfeit and real goods. I managed to bag a Family Guy series box set for 7 pounds, and although tempted, I decided against purchasing a shish kebab from a street vendor. The difference with this kebab was that the meat used was fried cockroaches, still in their shells.

Currently we are at Siem Reap, home of Angkor National Park, before heading north east to Ban Lung in Rattanakiri (11 hour drive, very expensive, joy!). I am told that internet connections there exist, although the price is high and the connection is slow, so I shall blog on my last day in Siem Reap(where I will also be keeping a keen eye on the County Council election results), and then when we return to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

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