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The Tiniest Capital in the World
Luang Prabang -> Vientiane, 29th April 2002
Early start today to get to the bus station in time for the 7:30 bus
to Vientiane. I timed it perfectly. I woke at 6am, had breakfast at
6:30, then got to the bus station by 7am, just in time to get one of
the last seats. If I was any later, I would have been standing, or I
would have had one of the classy plastic chairs they fill the aisles
with. Not very nice for a 9 hour journey!
The journey was fairly uneventful and was plain sailing. I was
sitting next to a young Buddhist monk for the journey. Everyone kept
giving him food & water, common practice in Asia. He was very
generous with his food, and offered me a bit of everything he was
given. As we'd say in England, he was a thoroughly nice chap!
We reached Vientiane by about 5pm and after bringing my butt back to
life, I took a tuk-tuk in town.
It was amazing to be driving on flat roads, and I even saw a set of
traffic lights, a first in Lao! We soon reached the fountain, the
central point of town and quickly hunted out the Sabaidy guesthouse,
the cheapest place in town. Most guesthouses charge at least US$8 in
Vientiane, but dorm beds are only 15000Kip (US$1.50).
It was weird to be back in a dorm again after spending so long
staying in private rooms. But after I got over the Nostalgia &
brooded over the memories of hostelling in Oz, I set out to explore
the area around the guesthouse.
Vientiane is quite a small town. It's the tiniest, quietest & most
laid-back capital city I've seen! You can easily walk around the
whole town in under an hour. There is little traffic or pollution,
and it's got a nice ambience about it. (But Luang Prabang is better
by far).
I had a walk along the riverside before stopping for dinner in an
Indian restaurant. I know I'm in Lao, but I had an urge for a nice
Chicken Tikka Massala & Naan bread!
After surfing the net for a bit, I returned to my room to do a bit
of reading & diary writing before going to sleep.
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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