Our Vietnamese visa ran out on January 8th, and after squeezing in the trips to Sapa and Halong Bay we didn't have time to reach the Laos border by land - so we hopped on a Lao Airlines 'Aerocopter' (a new word Hazel has made up!). It's a cross between a blender and a glider!
Here's Pete pulling the international sign for 'I'm an idiot, please take my photo!'
We'd heard that the rules for Thai visas had changed recently, meaning we'd need to make a trip to the Consulate to get a visa for the last stage of the trip. We turned up with only 1 passport photo each to accompany our applications, only to be told that 2 were needed, and that, sorry, there isn't a photo booth here. Some enterprising tuk-tuk drivers outside the Consulate offered their services as photographers - here's Hazel posing in front of a car door!
It all felt a wee bit amateur - especially when his camera battery ran out, which was after we'd spent 10 minutes haggling with him over the price. So we upgraded and went to a 'proper' photo shop. Whether it was the travelling catching up with us or the stress of dealing with annoying tuk-tuk drivers, this session provided us with the least flattering photos of us both we'd ever seen!
[No, this isn't Hazel in the process of exploding - just managed to catch his flash at the same time.]
We both felt, from the moment we got off the plane, that being in Laos/Vientiane was a real breath of (relaxing) fresh air in comparison to the relatively hectic pace of life in Vietnam. There's also an abundance of old-school Beetles around the place. Very classy!
Later in the day Hazel got accosted by a Chihuahua, which took a very keen interest in her ankle!
We finished up the day with one of the tastiest and most memorable meals of the trip - a Chinese restaurant whose speciality was Nam Neung
By Saturday, with our Visa exploits out the way, we were ready to see some of the sights of the Capital. After some fruit shakes at the breakfast cafe opposite our guesthouse we hired some bikes and set off.
Just up the road we passed the 'Patuxai' - modelled on the Arc de Triomphe. Made a few years back with concrete that was supposed to make a runway at the airport, they just couldn't resist it!
From a distance it looks pretty nice; up close is another matter. :-(
At the top of the hill we finally arrived at 'That Luang', which is probably the most well-known sight in Vientiane - and probably the most important National monument for Laos people.
Here's Hazel working on her 'Diana pose':
Pete jumped in for the couple shot:
Like many places in Laos, we often found people had laid bits of sticky rice all over the place (you can see the white spots in the photo here). We never got to the bottom of why, but I guess it means you never have to go hungry if really desperate!
Later in the afternoon we took our bikes down to Wat Sok Pa Luang, which had a lovely woodland setting
We'd read in our guidebook that on Saturday afternoons between 2 and 4, tourists can join in with the meditation sessions led by the monks, so we thought we'd give it a go. We arrived a bit late to find they'd already started, to see a scene somewhat reminiscent of a zombie movie - people walking around v e r r r r r r y s l o o o o o o o o o w w w w l y... Thinking we would probably start giggling if we joined in at this point, we figured we'd leave them to it.
In the adjacent building we could see (and hear) some chanting going on. One thing we've realised about Bhuddists is that they love repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition repetition...
The next day was market day, so we hired the bikes again (only 80p a day!) and set off. Here's a shot of your typical T-Shirts-for-Tourists stand, all of which are 'same same but different'.
Just round the corner we stopped to see why a small crowd had formed. You may be able to make out the cat watching warily from the left:
We went back to Wat Sok Pa Luang again, because on its grounds it also has a herbal sauna and massage - all for the grand sum of $3 - and situated in a beautiful tree house as well! The challenge was to find yourself a seat through the steam without falling over one of the twenty other people already sat in there!
Monday came around, meaning we could pick up our Thai visas from the consulate.
Access granted! Phew, no more visas to worry about now!! :-)
We stopped by at a lovely local art gallery, showing some works by Marc Leguay.
We also went back to the '???' as it was closed last time we were here. Hazel (again) was at her 'Diana pose', this time with her knees pointing to the right, in a ladylike fashion.
Catalogue man.
All in all, Vientiane is a very chilled place to spend your time!
Namaste!
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