Vientiane – we’ve talked about it, read about it and at last we are here. It’s just like home – grey and chilly. We’re booked into a hotel for one night so wrapping up warm we take a stroll. It is the coldest it has been in Laos for 10 years and even the dogs are wearing jumpers !!! In fact it is about 60 degrees although the locals have dug out coats, scarves and gloves.
The town is very multicultural with every kind of eatery you can think of, the street sellers let you pick from an abundance of frogs that are killed, prepared and cooked in every way possible – mmmm. Not surprisingly, we didn’t bother- as couldn’t find any nice big fat ones.
We settled for a meal in a little restaurant that the Lonely Planet said was good. John decided to go native and ordered a traditional Laos dinner which included a Lao whisky - not sure if this was to get rid of the taste of the bony sour fish soup or the spicy papaya and beansprout salad (papaya salad sounds cool and refreshing – but it comes with an adjustable chilli setting of 1-5 + dynamite). John ordered a weedy factor 2 and given the pain and distress he was in, I dread to think what a 5 would have been like. Luckily the Lao Beer is cool and cheap and made the remainder of the meal edible. A minced spicy chicken and herb dish was followed by a sweet which I can only describe as something for filling holes in the wall.
Lao whisky must be made from dynamite chillies and petrol - after numerous attempts John admitted defeat and left it - a guy we met on the train joined us and he too failed to drink the spirit and I certainly wouldn’t have lit a cigarette near it.
After a good night’s sleep we packed up and moved to the Hotel Beau Rivarge which sits opposite the Mekong River. Nice and friendly, with an amazing room looking directly onto the river our new hotel is lovely. The temperature has improved and we are now back into the 70s - strolling around we found a little French café were we met a guy from Hereford and girl from Brisbane who had driven to Laos from England. Their journey through Europe, Iran and China sounded like an amazing adventure and not for the faint hearted, particularly as he was in a wheel chair. Their Ford Transit was in for repairs so they are temporarily stranded in Vientiane - something to do with dodgy diesel bought in Iran.
In the café we also met a lady who lives here and who gave us lots of pointers of where to go. John got very excited when she recommended a trip to the Lao brewery. Apparently, the brewery plies visitors with free drink although why the lady went there with someone who didn’t drink beer and a recovering alcoholic was not explained. I guess you will find out more about that experience when we next blog.
From our Asia Correspondent
Keep warm in Blighty xxxx
To the asian correspondent..can't keep up with these blogs..Looks as though you are having a whale of a time,eating and drinking If I was there I would be like a stick because none of the food mentioned appeals to me..it sounds awful fancy eating a frog out of a bowl ugh!!the little dog looked nice in his pink coat and you are both looking good in the photos: Now you have seen Vientiane you can move on to warmer climes..We are all ok still have snow and more is forecast..blog soon love mumxx
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