Fri 6th Mar – Vientiane
CR: We were warned by many a guide book that there wasn’t much to do in the Laotian capital. It’s a bit of a sprawling mess. Along the Mekong, which establishes the border with Thailand, there is the skewer district and the carnival and night market. Going away from the river is a confusion of residential and shops. And then further out than that are things like embassies and bank headquarters and a few museums.
Today we see all that with a long walk around all this that gets increasingly difficult as the sun rises. It’s only low 30s but it just feels so exhausting walking in the middle hours of the day. I guess it’s the humidity.
There is a killing time vibe to today.
DW: It is my last full day on the holiday so I feel a bit confused. We make the most of the day though and get a good feel for Vientiane operates. It is reassuring that the same level of abysmal driving present in the rural areas is also found in the capital.
DW: It seems like the French influence is responsible for some of these trendy cafes. They are very chic. There are proportionally a lot more European tourists in Laos than American ones as well.
DW: Caitlin obviously didn’t read the signs. The French Patuxai (as they refer to the Arc de Triomphe) is completely different. It only has two arches (this one has four) and no roof structure.
DW: Don’t let the lotus get bruised, don’t let the water get cloudy.
CR: Like the stalls at the night market and the shops in Luang Prabang, there is a heavy amount of repetition in the information tiles of the museum. There’s a lot of ‘this helped the Laotian spirit later in the battle for independence’ and much ‘puppet government’ rhetoric. Some of the literal events are repeated three times which makes me feel like I am going a bit crazy.
However, it does provide some information and a timeline of Laos’ political developments, so it ends up being the best one we’ve visited while we’ve been in the country.
The summary of the modern history: France dominated Laos twice, then American interests under a ‘puppet government’ supported by the royals. During the American influence, Laos ‘puppet government’ bombed its own country to try to eradicate the Ho Chi Minh Trail (which partly wound its way through Laos). This was extremely unpopular and when the Vietnam War ended the royals, who sanctioned the American interests during the war, were removed from power. Since then Laos has been Laos People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), and is socialist.
The last day of a holiday can often make you feel a bit sad.
Slime grows extra fast in hot weather so any fresh water fountain or pool will be difficult to keep clean.
If I don’t make it into heaven I have a belief that I will have to spend eternity using outdoor exercise equipment in the middle of the day every day somewhere in Asia.
The last sunset photo perfectly captures the tone of your adventures.
Sorry to see Declan leave and will be interesting to see if the quality of the blog changes after his departure.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but going to Cambodia actually makes me feel slightly better than you going to Laos
No music no life
Kiss all the time. Disco occasionally.
That is my comment.
Dad: I hope I can keep the blog going singlehandedly! Back to its roots.
Mum: For the first week I had the Lily Allen album downloaded for the plane and when we had a bus transit. I’ll have to download the Harry Styles album now – I am sure we have long travel days ahead in Cambodia!
HS4 definitely rewards repeated listening. Don’t write it off too soon xx
I like the effort he is putting into his film clips.