LAOS 2

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Temples abound in Vientiane, yet the municipal architecture is strictly French. Unlike Thailand's pseudo European functionalism though, these buildings look like they have been imported straight from Province, being as they are a hangover from French Indochina. Cafes and restaurants willingly perpetuate this theme.
Populated with a sombre collection of French ex-pats, various emissaries and successful Laotians one is rarely reminded that Vientiane is actually the capital city of Laos. Even the Mekong looks curiously sedate as it's huge mass moves steadily on its odyssey towards the South China Sea. The set up is different here. The action is tucked away out of sight. The bars are welcoming enough but as soon as you leave you are affronted with a curious stillness that dissuades you from perpetrating any drunken antics on your journey home. Consequently Laos attracts a different breed of traveller, a more interesting breed it could be said. You certainly don’t come across many 40 year old Bristolians with a penchant for opium in Thailand. Or maybe you did but you just didn’t know it?

No such show of neo-colonialism in Vang Vieng. Maybe the French deemed it to have insufficient "Je ne sais quoi", or maybe it was simply too small. Whatever, they missed out because Vang Vieng is a place of perfect beauty. Surrounded by cave-ridden mountains and a refreshingly diverse range of deciduous flora it provides a welcome break from the palm trees that so characterise Thailand in their ubiquity. The clientele is predominantly English, Canadian and mad Swedish {"It was so crazy, but it was a lot of fun"} but they do not number enough to force the locals into an unnatural role of economic subservience. Do not expect quick service here. Physically the Laotians are not as delicately pretty as Thais but are none the less a handsome people, although their dress sense can be just as scatological. Maybe less assured of themselves when dealing with felang than the denizens of south of the boarder, their good nature therefore just seems all the more atavistic. In an odd sort of way their whole approach seems a lot less contrived than it might in the more predictable tourist destinations of south/east Asia. Only the pimping of opium disturbs this serene idyll.

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