Three days of the rat race of Kuala Lumpur was about all that we could handle. Now, don’t get me wrong, we really enjoyed the sights of the huge bustling city, except of course for having our smartphone/camera ripped off. For details see our previous post. We should also plug our accommodations at the Crossroads Hotel, full of friendly and helpful staff and a very charming rooftop cafe. Order the Mamek Mee for dinner, it was delicious. So, it was time to move on to our next planned destination, the capital of Laos, Vientiane. As this was my first visit to a ‘Communist’ country, I had no idea what to expect.
Our room at the New Lao Paris Hotel
Carrie booked us a room at the New Loa Paris Hotel, pretty much in the center of the ‘hip’ area. We were ready with our passport photos and $35/each for our entry visa. We boarded our flight pretty much on time and 2.5-hours later landed in Vientiane.
How about this for your lunch table?
It was about a 15-minute taxi ride from the airport to town. Our cab driver was about my age, so I asked him if he spoke French. “ Un petit peu”, he said. Turned out that his father was French and mother Loa. So, we had ancestry in common. Carrie’s post covered the charming aspect of this quaint, laid-back capital city, so you already have a feel for the vibe. My favorite foods were local pork sausage and laab. The food was awesome and we did note a heavy dose of capitalism.
Enough talk. Here are a few pictures that hopefully will provide you with a feeling of the cities charm.
Hike Drink Live Laugh…
So, get out there and see the world!
The Vientiane Arc de Triomphe?
Sunrise at a temple gate.
Don’t really know who this guy is, but he had a prominent position in the park. Sunrise.
Pat……Thats a bummer that your smartphone was stolen. I had a similar experience once when I was on a vacation. Otherwise, it appears that your journey is progressing quite nicely. Just wanted to tell you that our old buddy, Buster McCarthy passed away recently. I read something on Facebook about it that LJ Fortier posted. I remember him 40 years ago, but havn’t seen him since then.
I’m still discovering new music on the Zen you sent me. Thanx ! Maybe talk to you again on your next post. Later.
R.
Hey Ron,
Nice to hear from you. Yes, the journey is now progressing nicely after a rough start. Glad you’re enjoying the Zen! Let me know what new music you like the best. Yeah, I heard that Buster had passed. A really sad thing. He and I spent a lot of time together in our younger days.
Keep in touch,
Pat
Really enjoying reading of your travels!! Have fun in this new city! I could really go for some good street food right now!
Hi Andrea,
Glad you’re enjoying the blog. It sure is fun writing them. Yeah, the street food has been awesome. We’re currently in Luang Prabang and the street food is even better. They have a morning and evening market with an amazing array of meat on a stick, dumplings, and great desserts.
We’ll post more soon
Take care and say hi to Charlie and Pumpkin,
Pat