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Vientiane - A Burrito, A Baguette And A Bordeaux February, 2008 |
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We had arrived in the small cosmopolitan town of Vientiane, a former French colony, after a short bus ride over the Friendship Bridge from neighboring Thailand. With a quick stop at Thailand immigration, then another quick stop at Laos immigration, we had our passports stamped and were on our way. It turned out to be a busy week in this part of the world because of Chinese New Year. Accommodations were challenging – that, plus the fact that this town is littered with cheap backpacker places, so there were many people in search for a place to crash. We ended up at this nice hotel; Marge thought it was nice, I thought it was a little dark and depressing. Maybe that had to do with the fact that as you opened the curtains on both walls of the room, you looked out into gray concrete walls, a consequence of it being sandwiched between two other buildings. We loved
Vientiane. The town sits along the Mekong River, and there are many nice
accommodations and a lively night scene. As far as attractions, we did not do much other than hang out and window shop. We did put together a package that we sent back to the states. Curiously, this area used to be a haven for opium dealers and smokers (see Paul Theroux, The Great Railroad Bazaar), so in the antique stores around town, you can find these old opium pipes which you can purchase quite cheaply (I bought 4 – thought they were great souvenirs). There are quite a few Laotian Wats scattered around town, but unfortunately, they are not as nicely maintained as the ones we saw in Thailand. Laos is a very poor country and just recently became a democratic republic, having been communist for many years. Only within the last twenty years have foreigners been granted visas for tourist purposes and aside from Vientiane and Luang Prabang, the other towns and villages are rural and very poor with per capita income per family of under $600/year. We plan on spending 3-4 weeks in the country, coming in from the south and exiting in the northwest back into Thailand.
We both rank this wonderful town high on our list of favorite places so far on our journey, and trust that you’ll always be able to find these three things in this charming destination. Next stop, the adrenaline charged hamlet of Vang Vieng, a three-hour bus ride north of here. A few modifications to the blog – first off, we started a list of all the places we have stayed so far under ‘Collections’ on the right hand side. I’m still trying to figure out a way to arrange them in chronological order, but no luck. Marge and I have become very, very adept and lucky at sniffing out charming places to stay along the way – we avoid the obvious $5/day backpacker haunts, and spend $10/day more on upgraded, more atmospheric places. So any place listed gets our highest recommendations. I’m also, starting today, going to update the picture at the top to reflect where we are that day – it may be a picture of the both of us or just one of us, or maybe a funny picture, but at least you’ll know where we are. That’s it for now…
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My
eyes moistened as I surveyed the gastronomical landscape scattered
around the fountain in downtown Vientiane. Our bus had just dropped us
off in this Laos capital after crossing over the border from Thailand. A
lively scene presented itself, as people milled around the town square,
munching away, sipping coffees, and enjoying the sun. After weeks of
night markets and Asian food I hadn’t been so excited about eating since
we were in Georgetown, Malaysia. 
At
happy hour one night we met a fellow traveler from Canada who steered us
to where he was staying – Auberge Sala Inpey – a lovely bungalow style
guesthouse on a quiet street run by a local family. Fortuitously, we
checked out of the cave and ended up staying there for 4 nights. An
added bonus was the very popular French restaurant 200 feet away. And
speaking of French, there are many, many French people who come to
vacation here, so I can see why the food and wine is a cut above
normal. 
But
back to the food – it was outstanding, one night a burrito carnitas,
another night pizza (which was pretty decent), another night fettuccini
alfredo and homemade raviolis, then beef fondue at the French
restaurant; baguettes for lunch and croissants for breakfast - just say
there was great variety. 
