Laos Exodus

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After a longer-than-expected stay in Luang Prabang, I had to make up time on the rest of Laos. Truthfully, it wasn't that tough as nothing else really compared. My next stop was Vientiane, the political capital of Laos. There were some nice temples and restaurants, and guesthouses were plentiful, but for a bit more than LP. A lot of construction equipment was pushing dirt around on the Mekong riverbank, and I think in a few more months they'll have a nice little park-atmosphere going on there. Not so much right now, but the view of the sunset is pretty nice.

Also I want to plug a cool restaurant I found. It's a cause-organzation that takes in Lao street kids and teaches them hospitality industry - hosting, serving, culinary skills. There were a number of options along the street I found it on, and the cost was a bit more, but with all my years at the Y I figured ponying up a few more baht was the least I could do to support this worthy organization. First off, service was impeccable, and menu featured many great options. But the meal, well, was nothing short of stellar. It was a stir-fry of sorts, and was beautifully presented in front of me less than 5 minutes from ordering.

It looked so good I would have been one of those dorks taking pictures of every meal had I had a camera, and not feeling the least bit bad about it. And tasted even better. So much so I ordered dessert for the first time on my trip. Not really saying much as Vietnamese dessert isn't anything to write home about. It was incredible:

Needless to say, I highly recommend:

Makphet
Behind Wat Ong Teu,
parallel to Sethathirat Road
Vientiane, Lao PDR

There are also two sister restaurants in Phnom Penh, though they are closed on Mondays (the day I was there, Murphy's Law)

Romdeng (more upscale)
#74 Street 174, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Friends the Restaurant
#215 Street 13 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After Vientiane, I did two day buses, one to Tha Khaek, and a day later to Pakse, pretty far in the south - striking distance to Vietnam and Cambodia.

I did not enjoy Tha Khaek at all. Rooms were pretty lousy, especially for the prices they asked. I stayed at a big hotel and did battle with mosquitoes all night. And when I shut the steel bathroom door hard, the bottom fell open and these little red ants poured out. Class establishment for sure - avoid the Mekong Hotel. There is a nicer boutique hotel a few blocks away from $20 or so - in hindsight I'd suck it up and spring for that, as the group I arrived with looked for about 2 hours without success of finding a good, cheap room, LP in hand.

Pakse was nicer.

A side note, in almost all of these towns, there are two bus stations: North and South, and the N is the departure point for North-bound buses and the S the opp. Tuk-tuks are the taxis here - motorcycle fronts with tiny truck flatbeds in the back, with a loose metal pole cage to keep people in and goods on top. Usually not a bad deal, but I arrived in Pakse the only westerner and was convinced the best price I negotiated was a complete rip-off. (Bigger groups always help, solo negotiating power is reduced when they're the only shop in town).

Calling their bluff, I adjusted all my stuff to my big pack and walked towards town without a clue as to how far away it was. Took me about 2 hours to get there, at prob a 18 min mile pace. But the heat wasn't too bad, it was breezy, and it was cool to see outlying parts of the town that don't get many visitors. Kids were really friendly - would call out "hello!" and were super pumped to get any response.

Nice guesthouses in Pakse and tons of buses to Cambodia (and Vietnam). Just one over night, then a 15 hour bus to Phnom Penh, with a border cross in between.

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