Vientiane

Only 1 Day

Up and packed early to wait for our mini-bus to Vientiane, we waited and waited and about an hour later it finally turned up and we were on our way to our final destination in Laos.

The journey was a shorter one but still the usual bumpy affair and after about 4 hours we were deposited at the coach park in Vientiane and were descended upon by the usual scrummage of Taxi drivers touting for our business, we eventually teamed up with another couple and shared the cost of a Taxi into town.

We were dropped in the main street and told our hotel was round the corner and after circling the block a few times we finally found it.  The hotel itself was more of a back-packers hostel to be honest, with shared showers, a very small room that had a hole cut in the wall so the room door handle could recede into it to allow the door to open far enough for us to get into the room.  However it was only for one night so we were not fussed.

Once we had ditched our gear we then headed out for a cold beer and a sandwich before going for a wander around the town.

 

There wasn’t a huge amount to do in Vientiane so we just wandered around the streets and took in a few of the many Buddhist temples in the area which were pretty nice but we had already seen so many and it was hot so we decided to find a café to get a cold shake after about an hour or so.

 

Whilst in search of a café we passed a large clothes shop so we thought we would check it our for some sandal’s for Shell and shorts for me.  Amazingly enough we found practically the identical Sandal’s that Shell has lost in the mud in Vang Vieng and they had her size, the only disappointing thing was that they were western prices. Anyway we bought them as Shell was happy to be back to her full complement of shoes again.

 

We then found a café and had some icy coconut shakes before returning to the hotel for a bit of a rest before going out in the evening.

On researching Tripadvisor we found that the number 1 restaurant in the town was an American burger joint, so we thought we would get our fix of western food (Sometimes you just need it!).  The restaurant was very busy and I was more than happy to see a burger with blue cheese on the menu, however the food was pretty average so we ate and had a couple of beers before heading back for the night.

As it was still early we decided to have a couple more beers outside the hostel and whilst we were sat there Shell had to go to the toilet, so I was sitting there on my own when a ladyboy came along and sat opposite me and propositioned me:

Him/Her:  ‘What’s Your Name”

Me:  ‘Glenn’

Him/Her: ‘I like you’

Me (Nerveously): ‘Erm Ok’

Him/Her: ‘You wanna come with me’

Me: ‘No, I’m with my Girlfriend’ (motions to second drink next to me)

Him/her sat there for a short while longer looking at me before heading off down the road, I guess Him/her didn’t like me that much!!

Anyway Shell returned shortly afterward and found this very amusing and we finished off our beers before turning in for the night.