Advertisement
Published: March 3rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
So now, I have a head cold!! Honestly, with this trip if it’s not one thing it’s another!!!
This morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading off with Kerry for a bit of sightseeing. We walked from her house to Vientiane’s most notable monument, Patuxai. The name translates roughly to Arch of Triumph and, it has to be said, that it is remarkably like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Apparently the monument was constructed with cement that the US purchased to build a new airport!!! The monument has therefore earned itself the nickname ‘the vertical runway’!! Filled with gardens and fountains the area surrounding Patuxai is a charming oasis that was very popular with locals and tourists alike on a hot and sunny Saturday.
From Patuxai we walked to the Black Stupa (That Dam). That Dam sits at the centre of a quiet roundabout quite close to the centre of Vientiane. According to legend, the stupa was once coated in a layer of gold that was removed by the Siamese when they invaded the city in 1828. To commemorate this dark event in Vientiane’s history the stupa earned the title of the Black Stupa. Or, if you
prefer, That Dam is home to a dormant seven-headed dragon that protected local citizens during the 1828 Siamese-Lao war, but could not stop the Siamese from making off with all the gold that originally coated it!!
After the Black Stupa we walked the rest of the way into town to have some lunch at the Full Moon Cafe. It was a blessed relief to step into their air conditioned atmosphere! Kerry and I indulged in the most spectacular looking iced cappuccinos that came served in half litre wine carafes! Over lunch Kerry told us more about the trip that she took with her friend, Marcie, last weekend to Phonsovan to visit the Plain of Jars. While planning our trip we had considered a side trip to Phonsovan, but we gave up on it because it all seemed too hard to actually organise it.
By the end of lunch Kerry had convinced us that we should take the opportunity to travel up to Phonsovan because we may never be so close again to this mysterious site. So, a quick trip to a travel agency and we were both booked to fly up to Phonsovan on Monday afternoon and
return on Tuesday afternoon in time for our scheduled flight to Luang Prabang on Wednesday morning. It only takes about 35 minutes to fly between Vientane and Phonsovan - a much more attractive prospect than a nine hour road trip from Vientiane or a seven hour road trip from Luang Prabang!!! And, if you take the road trip option, you have to drive all the way back again - basically a waste of two days getting there and getting back again!
Kerry and Bernie decided that we should go home after this because of my cold. They reckoned that if we did any more sightseeing that they would have to listen to me complaining later on about being completely worn out from being dragged to all the sights when I was battling with a head cold??!! I’m not sure why they both think I am such a whinger??? So we had a very quiet afternoon and ate dinner at home tonight.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.047s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0273s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
Sandra
non-member comment
thank god you didn't pass a grass - especially after all the stomach problems you have had!! he he