Traditional Lao medicine for sale outside the temple
The mighty Mekong
The night bus from Pakse was a very uneventful affair - although of note they did have fully flat beds and because the bus was not full I had the space equivalent to a double bed all to myself!!!! Needless to say I arrived in Vientiane not too grumpy. Since we arrived at 6.30am all of the guesthouses were booked out from the night before so Xavier and I walked a little out of town to find a room. It was a very simple room but a room all the same.
Vientiane is quite possibly one of the most chilled out capital cities I have ever been too. Together with the large French boulevards, french bake houses and their welcoming smells and river front restaurants this is one nice city.
I had heard from a lot of travellers in the south that the north of Laos is exceptionally cold at this time of year so I headed to the local market and invested in a hoodie, a long sleeve top and some track pants - but I am happy to say all of which I would wear at home so it was not a complete waste of money. I am not entirely sure where my first day in Vientiane went to... spent some time hanging out and exploring with Reuben, then met up with Xavier in the evening for what can only be described as a feast at one of the local riverside restaurants. Vientiane is also the first place in Laos where i have encountered 'lady boys', prostitutes on the street corner wearing next to nothing and women generally being more revealing in their dress showing their shoulders and wearing considerable amounts of make up. Shops are scattered in designer labels and accessories are big - there is even a shop designated to playboy and Levis (what a combination!)
Although the city was nice I decided that it was a one night affair as I still really wanted to get up north. The morning of the 21/1/2009 was spent sight seeing the Pha that luang which was absolutely beautiful in the midday sun. On the way up to the wat I walked past the patuxai which is the Lao equivalent to the arc de triumph (well from a distance anyways - up close it it not that impressive and barely finished).
I opted for the local bus trip that afternoon up to Vang Vieng... this was not as bad as I expected. Having my bag strapped to the roof of the bus was a little unnerving but all good. There was a bush toilet stop and regular stops in the middle of what seemed to be no where for people to hop off and on the bus. It was an interesting insight if nothing else.
Vientiane is quite possibly one of the most chilled out capital cities I have ever been too. Together with the large French boulevards, french bake houses and their welcoming smells and river front restaurants this is one nice city.
I had heard from a lot of travellers in the south that the north of Laos is exceptionally cold at this time of year so I headed to the local market and invested in a hoodie, a long sleeve top and some track pants - but I am happy to say all of which I would wear at home so it was not a complete waste of money. I am not entirely sure where my first day in Vientiane went to... spent some time hanging out and exploring with Reuben, then met up with Xavier in the evening for what can only be described as a feast at one of the local riverside restaurants. Vientiane is also the first place in Laos where i have encountered 'lady boys', prostitutes on the street corner wearing next to nothing and women generally being more revealing in their dress showing their shoulders and wearing considerable amounts of make up. Shops are scattered in designer labels and accessories are big - there is even a shop designated to playboy and Levis (what a combination!)
Although the city was nice I decided that it was a one night affair as I still really wanted to get up north. The morning of the 21/1/2009 was spent sight seeing the Pha that luang which was absolutely beautiful in the midday sun. On the way up to the wat I walked past the patuxai which is the Lao equivalent to the arc de triumph (well from a distance anyways - up close it it not that impressive and barely finished).
I opted for the local bus trip that afternoon up to Vang Vieng... this was not as bad as I expected. Having my bag strapped to the roof of the bus was a little unnerving but all good. There was a bush toilet stop and regular stops in the middle of what seemed to be no where for people to hop off and on the bus. It was an interesting insight if nothing else.
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