Royal Dokmaidaeng Vientiane

... par Gravol !!
J<arrive finalement a Vientiane a 9h le soir. Fait 3 ou 4 guesthouses tous plein. Je fini dans un hotel, bcp plus cher que ce que je paye d<habitude (i.e: 20 US$ alors que d<habitude de paye 5 ou 6 $ - pas de quoi fouetter un chat). Pas premiere impression de la ville N<est pas tres bonne...

Alors, tant pis, le lendemain, je profite de ma malchance en me prelassant dans mon lit confortable, a l<air climatisee et en coutant TV5 ou on joue ...

... br>
2. Pay credit card bill.

3. Take bike back.

4. Visit a place out of town (this proved to much and I purchased some converse for motorbiking instead).

5. Test visa advance.

6. Swop books.

7. Get passport back with new visa's

8. Book bus ticket.

9. Stop smoking (going well so far).

10. Watch sunset.

See its not all plain sailing. I lead a busy life. Visas needed sorting and cash flow ...

... spanish flags!

In a street side bar afterwards Dudley and I chuckle about my little incident in Barcelona as prostitutes dressed in minimal red attire parade every corner touting the passing men. These aren't women though, with broad shoulders and rather gruff voices these are our first 'ladyboy' sightings. We remember not to laugh though - According to my Lonely Planet Guide last year a man was admitted to hospital ...

... calling people ******* and such what. He was classic, wish I had a pic of him. His name was Tapeworm.

Adam and Michelle, coworkers of Wes', showed up. They are AKA Snurge, which is the term for a man that smells women's bicycle seats and Village Bicycle for Michelle. They are both cyclists, so the names are given to fit. Sir Cum Navigator travels a lot, as does his wife Globe Twatter. I don't know how Tapeworm and Numb Nuts got their names. Another 15 people showed up, and everyone ...

... so Erin and I expected another big Asian city full of hustle and bustle, but not so! It was like a ghost town. You could almost hear crickets and see tumble weeds blowing through the streets. We found an internet café and 'skype’ called our Aussie friends, Roh and Rob. We ate dinner with them that night by the Mekong River. They persuaded us to go down south with them, which was not our original plan, but that’s half the fun of traveling on an ...

Saturday 16th of May and we sadly left our favourite baguette and shake lady in Vang Vieng (who had a baby who did a crazy scary face). We grabbed a last quick breakfast from her and jumped on a tuk tuk to the bus station but we came across the bus bound for Vientiane on the way to jumped on it there. It was a local bus and once again the aisles were loaded ...

... to cleanse the Buddhas. At this Wat and all the others they have music playing and monks talking over a loudspeakers. We walked past the palace, Ho Kham. It is a large white and gray building that is behind a high white fence and gates. By the time we got to Haw Pha Kaew (Ho Pha Keo), the royal temple, we were completely drenched with some cold water from a passing minivan. There are many Buddhas on display here. On the outside of the main ...

The bus ride to Vientiane was rough. Having the mother of all hangovers probably didn't help! The 'VIP' bus was a shocker and I spent my whole first day in Vientiane feeling pretty rough! I had some good brekky in a little french patisserie/boulangerie. It was really strange seeing the French cafe opposite a buddhist temple. A real mix of cultures. I also managed to get to the museum and learn about Laos tough history - getting smashed by ...

Chuyện nói

Đi đâu cũng cần học vài từ thông dụng nhất: chào, cảm ơn, xin lỗi, có, không… V́ thế tôi lẩm nhẩm mấy từ thành vần cho dễ nhớ:

Ḅ: không, mi có, léo rồi,

Pay đi, du ở, ma về, kin ăn,

Lục con, xáo gái, xai nam,

Ải ông, mia vợ, hôm càn: cơ ...

... must be corrected immediately and at any cost, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Thus, it is said, a large expanse of secondary and primary forest is now being cleared in central Laos to build an industrial base. It is hoped that subsistence farmers and tribal villagers can be retrained and relocated to this area to form a new class of worker that will be 'economically mobile'. Tax hikes are being used as economic cattle-prods to ensure the peasantry get the ...