Vientiane, Laos

Phillip and I have spent the past four days in Vientianne, the capitol city of Laos. We are here because we want to experience at least two cities in each country we visit. If we visit just one city, I might choose poorly and end up with an inaccurate perception of the country. We are hopeful that our next Laotian city, Luang Prabang, will improve our impression of Laos.

We did have a pleasant cooking class during our first day here. Madame Phasouk, a highly educated, English-speaking lady, operates a cooking class in her home, about 2.4 km from our hotel. We made, and enjoyed, papaya salad, chicken laab, and a Laotian pork vegetable soup that was flavored with lemon grass. Laotian laab, although similar to Thai larb, is seasoned with roasted, ground rice instead of peanuts. I liked that, alot. Madame Phasouk also showed us how to shred the green papaya with just a knife, that's what I'm doing in the picture.

Back to the city itself, for a capitol city, it appears that insufficient money is spent on infrastructure and maintenance in Vientianne. 

One of the major streets, the boulevard that runs from the presidential palace to Patuxai has those same littered, uneven sidewalks and very few trash cans. It was too hot yesterday (heat index: 113 degrees) to walk all the way to Patuxai, but we were close enough for a picture. Patuxai is a war monument, dedicated in 1968, to the Laotian independence from France. It was patterned after the Arc d'Triumphe in Paris. 

I booked our hotel close to the Mekong River. During the rainy season, the river is probably close to the hotel; however, this is near the end of the dry season. In the distance, about 300 yards across the undeveloped dry grassland, is the Mekong. The land on the other side of the river is Thailand. Because the Mekong here is a national border, no pleasure boats operate. 

Unfortunately, Laos can claim the title of the per capita most bombed country in the world. Between 1964 and 1973, over 2 million tons of ordnance was dropped on Laos. The US bombed Laos because the North Vietnamese were traveling thru Laos, the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, to attack US troops from the west who were south of the DMZ. It is estimated that 30% of those bombs did not detonate, leaving 80 million cluster bombs, referred to as UXO, still in the Laotian countryside. This unexploded ordnance is a serious problem, even 50 years later, as it can still explode when farmers till their soil or children find the "bombies" (tennis ball-sized individual bombs that make up a cluster bomb). We visited the COPE visitor's center. COPE is a non-profit organization supported by the US, Norway, Australia, and many more countries which provides prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation for Laotians injured by UXOs. 

I mentioned the unbearable heat index, that is a constant. Until today, when a front came thru and it's only expected to be 96 degrees, the temperature has been 106-107. As dry as the vegetation is, it seems amazing that the humidity is so oppressive here, reflected in that 113-115 degree heat index. At least this hotel, which was formerly a Best Western, has a swimming pool. Not as nice or a well landscaped as the one in Siem Reap, but the water is just as wet and welcome after walking in the heat.

Tomorrow, we fly to Luang Prabang, a 45-minute flight. We are flying because no other reasonable option is available to get there. That pesky infrastructure issue! I expect that, because Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it will be more welcoming to tourists. Perhaps the food vendors won't ignore us and the shopkeepers won't charge us double price for a bottle of water, our experience here in Vientiane. Phillip and I have had good food here, not all vendors won't interact with foreigners. We enjoyed these meat skewers and the mango with sticky rice, even if the lady tried to overcharge us. Unlike most vendors, she had her prices posted so I gave her what this totaled to, not what she said. She accepted the correct amount. 

On to Luang Prabang: a mountain to climb, a cooking class to attend, a waterfall to visit, and maybe a closer river to see await us!