17 October As we are booked in as bed a breakfast we pulled ourselves out of bed, still feeling jet-lagged, and sat down to breakfast. A Laos breakfast - only rice or noodles (which is hard to face at 9 in the morning) or fried egg and a slice of bread.
As Shaun is still really jet lagged we went back to sleep and didn't make it outside until gone mid day.
First stop was a traditional Laos massage for 50,000 kip (£4 each) for 1 hour. O MY GOD it was like being tortured!! We thought she was actually trying to snap our backs and pull our heads off!! Really need a proper massage to recover from that ordeal!
Eager to learn the history of this beautiful country we headed over to the Lao National Museum. They had dinosaur bones, caveman tools and Iron Age pottery and a huge section on the very recent war. It is scary to think that it really wasn’t that long ago and Laos has only been opened up to the rest of the world for the past 20 years.
In the evening we ate at KPP Restaurant and had some amazing food. As darkness fell we took a stroll along the river. The streets still alive with a carnival spirit - playing games, eating lots and getting drunk!
18 October We decided to skip breakfast this morning so Shaun went off to the shop for Kellogs and milk. How English are we!
The hotel offered to take us to the Vietnamese Embassy for free so we could apply for our visas. These cost 50 dollars each and should take 24 hours to process so we will spend another night here. Whilst in the middle of the city we went to see the Patouxay, The Victory Gate of Vientianne, a replica the one in France. We were not that impressed as it stands unfinished.
Searching through Lonely Planet we went in search of Thatluang Stupa but took some wrong turns, and as you can see from the photos, we got filthy as the heavens opened. As we were approaching the buildings didn’t look all that impressive, then we saw the massive gold monument next to it. It is absolutely beautiful shimmering gold. Unfortunately up close it is a bit grubby and unkept.
After a tuk tuk back to the hotel for 20,000 kip and a good scrub in the shower we headed back to KKP Restaurant. Tonight the town came to live as a build up to Vientianes’ Annual Boat Racing Festival taking place in the Mekong River. Unfortunately, we leave the day it begins but 4 days in Vientianne is more than enough.
A la perchoine, Jodie & Shaun
