Vientiane

Shortly after I posted my last blog, I was walking through town and bumped into the Calgarians. They are named Ross (aka Rossco) and Willy. As it turns out, they lost some some money on the river when they were doing the drunken tubing thing, as well as Willy's watch (and who knows what else). Given that I had found their money and used it to buy drinks for other tubers, I felt it only fair to buy them a drink or two. We picked up some wine and had a lovely time drinking in the courtyard garden of my hotel. We later went out for dinner and hit some bars. I'm not sure of all the details, but despite their tattoos and soul-patches they turned out to be perfect gentlemen and got me home to my hotel safe and sound. Since then I keep passing bars in Vientiane that look vaguely familiar and have to assume that I've been there before.

The following day, despite a somewhat thick head, I rented a bicycle and toured some of the outer reaches of the city. I also saw more of the downtown area and booked a few other trips. After dinner I went for a foot and leg massage (heavenly!) and to bed early.

Yesterday I took a hired car and headed south of the city to the Bhudda park. This is a park filled with statues of Bhuddas and Hindu gods, created in the 1950s by a guy who felt that the two faiths should be able to co-exist. It's really a lovely spot and the statuary is fabulous.

Following my return to Vientiane, I took in the market which is spectacular. I'm really having a hard time resisting the urge to spend, spend, spend here. There are aisles and aisles of silver and gold of varying levels of quality as well as all kinds of textiles. My biggest temptations are statues, carvings and other pieces of art which weigh a ton and would cost me a fortune to get home. I may have to come back just to shop...

I had a quiet dinner alone, went for a traditional Lao full body massage and then to bed early. Anyone notice that was two nights in a row?!?!

Today was also quiet. I had to draft our official complaint letter to our trekking company regarding the Bhutan trek, so spent part of my day on the internet. I also sent out a few postcards and otherwise got myself ready to leave. My flight tomorrow to Siem Reap is ridiculously early so will plan on another early night tonight (yes, 3 in a row).

My next post will be from Cambodia with news of Angkor Wat. I'm very much looking forward to that.