Before leaving LPB there was one last thing to do…ride bikes! We took some ancient bikes from the hotel & rode around town, with me ringing my bell & waving at everyone. Saw the most random sight – a lady selling goldfish, in tanks, from a pushcart on the side of the road. Hilarious! Our ride finished when Lorraine encountered a flat tyre. And she calls herself a cyclist…
We had also seen the locals at the temple during the day, but the night before we left, we got to see the celebrations at night. It was great! People had been pouring water down a funnel so that the water was tipped over a giant Buddha statue, but what we had missed, was that people then went around to where that water was being drained off, collected it, and dabbed it on their heads. The water was now holy water, as it had washed over Buddha. Some collected it, presumably to take home to other family members. There was also a performance by a group of dancers, and carnival games put on by locals, to raise money for temple reconstruction. So interesting!
Waiting at the LPB airport, it was a sea of ‘Beerlao’ tshirts, the most popular tourist item here. Spot the tourists. Arrived at Vientiane to 36 degrees. HOT. A different heat from LPB. I feel like I am walking around in an oven. Luckily our hotel is fantasic, and the first thing we did was have hot showers. 3 days without water (at least to shower in!) in LPB was too much!
Drinks along the Mekong River at night, and it would be a beautiful sight…if the Mekong was at its peak. At present it is maybe a quater of of what it could be, meaning we had cocktails overlooking a mainly dry river bed. Not quite as appealing. Very bizarre to sit & think that on the otherside of the river is another country. Thailand is right there. You can see the buildings, and the cars driving past.
(View across to Thailand, with the sand castles left over from New Year).
Vientiane, like many places here, has such a French influence, bakeries, the buildings & …the Arc de Triumph. Yep, they have copied the Arc from Paris, and it sits in the main street of town. Built from concrete that was donated by the USA for an airport runway, it features as a main focal point, and offers a great view of town. Even the main street is French. The traffic here is a little less tourist friendly, not waiting for you at the lights. Crossing the main st (4 lanes each way), is like playing that old computer game, Frogger, where you cross one lane, wait while cars wiz past, the cross another.
Also checked out the main temple here. A gold building, that has been rebuilt several times over the years (once due to wars, and the next time because they just didn’t like the new one!). More impressive were the surrounding buildings. Well maintained, the temples are intricate & ornate. Sat & watched some monks & people preparing for something. Procession or festival maybe? Stapling fake money to fake trees. Would have been good to understand it all!
So Tuesday night we looked for somewhere to eat & came across the Blue Banana. At a loss of where else to eat & ventured inside. The place was crammed with what looked to be the entire expat staff of a mining company, located in Vientiane, celebrating the bars birthday. Consequently, we crashed dinner & drank too much. Fun night had by all.
Wednesday we took to the streets again on deadly treadlys (aka bikes). Little more traffic here than LPB, so we attempted to stick to quieter roads. Got a couple of hours riding in (happy to report no flat tyres this trip) before the heat was too much. We seem to manage to do these activities in the heat of the day…not so smart!
The markets here are good, and seem to be less touristy & more local. Found ourselves looking at whitehoods at one point, but decided our luggage was heavy enough! Did spend quite a bit of time looking at the gold jewellery. It is so prevelant & cheap here. All the gold is 24ct, so a very strong yellow, not quite what I’m used to. You can pretty much buy anything you want at the markets – it is a maze of stalls. Way less pushy than Thailand, and even Cambodia.
Yes, the last photo is of ONE many of the DVD stalls…
So, today is our last day in Laos, as we fly into KL tonight. After dragging Lorraine around to most of the NGO/Charity/NFP stores/offices around the countries, our last stop this morning was MAG – the Mine Advisory Group. This group clears unexploded bombs that have been left around the countryside. Laos is the most bombed country in the world, per head of population. On average, 1 person is killed or injured per day, by unexploded bombs, dropped in the 60’s and 70’s (the US dropped around 1/2 tonne of bombs per person at the time). MAG get teams of people to literally mark country fields, in 1m lanes, and walk them with metal detectors, looking for unexploded material. It’s a serious problem here, as scrap metal collection is often the only way that poorer rural communities can make money. At the current rate of clearing, it will still take 100 years to clear that land. It’s important that they do, as the rural villagers need to use it for farming. So, we purchased our super cool tshirts and made donations. Such a good cause. (Ps – if you are interested, check out www.maginternational.org/laopdr).
So, in a couple of hours we are off to KL. Sunni K is coming in tonight from China, Ange and Steph tomorrow, then Annabel Saturday. FUN! Very much looking forward to catching up with everyone…Saturday night could be large…
Sunday, Lorraine and Sunni fly home, while the rest of us hit the beach in Borneo. Some serious relaxing time, and less tourist time is in order.
PS – I’ve put the link to my little brother’s wedding video on my FB page for those interested. I love it!
