Vientiane

I forgot just how much I liked Vientiane. I was beginning to see the whole trip as a bit of a chore, because I was so sad to be leaving Chiang Mai and didn’t relish the thought of a 14 hour journey, even if it was on a VIP bus. But actually, after the 17 hour red truck, VIP bus, local bus, tuk tuk, shuttle bus, tuk tuk and yet another tuk tuk extravaganza, I was across the border and firmly settled in Vientiane.

The city is an odd mix of French colonial architecture and very Lao temples, with tropical plants popping up in between the cafes serving fresh baguettes and croissants. The pace of life here is slower than Thailand, and I was perfectly happy in the afternoon just to stroll around, through the city and then along the banks of the Mekong.

Sadly, the cheap food stalls where you could sit on a mat on the floor and eat a local meal are gone because of a development project on the river. I’ve written about it before so I won’t dwell on it now – something I didn’t realise was that the project should actually stop the city being flooded, and there is now a lovely park where you can sit on a rusty swing seat and look at Thailand across the river.

For lunch I went to JoMa, Lao’s answer to starbucks and had a hoummus and roasted vegetable wrap (with olives – I nearly came) and an iced coffee. JoMa is pricey but it’s also epicly good, and I have been deprived of middle class food for months, so I indulged. I don’t think I’ll get a chance to eat the street baguettes, which are outrageously good – I even saw the Vietnamese ones which are one of my favourite asian snacks. If I have any kip left I’ll get one for lunch – I’m desperate to avoid taking any across the border because its’ impossible to exchange.

In the evening I ticked off the other things on my lao to-do list – laap, beerlao and sticky rice in a bamboo basket. Just for the record, beerlao is the most delicious, smoothest beer in the world and your life isn’t complete till you’ve tried it.

 And laap was more yummy than I remembered it – cold minced pork with chillis, spring onions, mint leaves and unidentifiable local herbs. Laos is one of the world’s poorest countries and often overshadowed by Thailand, it’s richer neighbour, but one thing Lao people are really proud of is that they make the best sticky rice in the world.

So after a delicious meal I crashed out pretty early, and then took advantage of the free breakfast this morning. I’m now headed to the bus station to catch a local bus across the border, and planning to chill out for a night in Nong Khai before heading to Bangkok and then HOME. Hopefully this journey should be a relaxed hour and a half, although I’m expecting the worst bus in the world, but you never know – Lao time is considerably slower than Thai time so I have no idea when I’ll eventually make it… currently though, I’m soaking up the relaxed pace of life and not bothered about that at all.