Vientiane:

February 14th, 2005 - February 15th, 2005

Well, we arrived in the capital city of Vientiane yesterday, via mini-bus from Vang Vieng. Nothing exciting happened on the trip such as brakes falling off or anything like that. I think we had to swerve out of the way of the odd cow on the road and we did go over a rather large pot hole.

That is about how exciting this capital city is. There are huge roads and hardly any cars or people on them. It is kind of sad in a way. However, the Lao people have been so nice and so kind to us during our time here. It has truly been the warmest place I have ever visited. I wish we had more time here to explore the south and the far north before it really opens up and becomes an offshoot of the Thai tourist circuit.

There were a few sights worth seeing in town including the mini Arc-de-Triumph (Patuxai) that they built using American cement that was supposed to be used to build an airport!

Also, the Pha That Luang was beautiful. It is a massive golden stupa down the road from L'arc and it is recognized as the most important national monument in the country. Besides that, we just enjoyed a couple of sleepy days here in town, waiting to fly out to Cambodia.

We leave tomorrow for Cambodia - Siem Reap to be exact - where we will spend 4 nights visiting the famous Temples of Ankor (see Tomb Raider, the movie, for more info)!

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