Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane, Laos :: May 23 – May 27

Ups, and downs…highs and lows…

As always, decisions on this trip and in life generally are made by gathering information and weighing the pro’s and con’s. In theory, taking night buses make a lot of sense, so we decided to take one from Pakse north to the capital city of Vientiane. Night busses are supposed to be comfortable, everyone gets their own bed, and it saves a nights accommodation in the budget. Although we hadn’t any specific interest there, geographically it lied a good distance to Vang Viene (where we ultimately wanted to go) which was too far to make in a single day. So why not visit the capital for a day or two. As always whilst travelling by bus, we reserved 3 seats…or beds in this case. On “sleeper” buses we reserve beds in the back of the bus, the 3 that are side by side so functionally, they form the equivalent of a queen bed. In making the decision we envisioned the 4 of us (including our 3 and 5 yr old girls) fast asleep together awaking only to discover that we had reached our destination. Unfortunately sometimes, best made plans go awry. Hindsight is 20/20, and it saw us get comfortably on the bus and the girls fall right to sleep. Shortly after our departure, the engine, which was right below us, started heating up. In no time we had the equivalent of a queen bed placed in the middle of an metal encased heat box – sauna! It became so hot that the metal ceiling literally began to drip. The metal walls were so hot, you couldn’t touch them or you’d be burnt. The windows would not open, and the bus kept stopping so the driver could pour buckets of water on the engine. With no “open” beds available elsewhere on the bus, we were forced to try to reason with the bus driver, in the middle of the night, in the middle of Laos. We were stuck, the only solace was that the girls, still breathing, slept on as they they always do. We fanned them, woke them momentarily to drink water, and counted the minutes until morning. Eventually we made it. The girls woke, full of energy (AS ALWAYS), and we limped off the bus.

Once in the capital, we started down the main road (by foot) where we knew a lot of hotels were. We came across a hostel named the “Funky Monkey”, slightly off our game, we decided to investigate. They showed us a family room with two large beds, told us the price, and mentioned that breakfast was included and we could check in right away. Looking rest straight in the eye, we succumbed to a place that raised suspicion and broke out the iPad for the girls to watch as we had a sleep to recover. Continuing to limp through the rest of the day, we took a short walk and discovered a hotel, slightly over our ideal budget, that had a great pool and an awesome buffet breakfast included…We only stayed the one night at the funky monkey. However, the “FM” did rent bicycles, so we rented a pair that the girls could sit on the back of. We took the bikes for a ride to the centre of town where the “Patouxay” stood. Akin to the Patouxay “Arc du Triumph” in Paris, this was a cool structure in the middle of the central square in Vientiane. Of course, halfway there, the pedal flew off my bike. We took a “tuk-tuk” back to the FM and demanded either (a) our money back plus the taxi fare (as the pedal was completely rusted out to begin with), or (b) another (more suitable) bike. The owner of the FM had no concept of customer service, and started out like it was our fault, only after seeing the rust on the arm of the pedal did he begin to reason. Eventually he agreed to get me another bike and pay half the taxi fare, not wanting to argue over minor details I agreed. He was unlike most of the Loatian business owners, he seemed to think that tourists (his customers) were a pain in the ass, there only to provide him with anxiety.

One of the only unique sights in Vientiane that we found in our research was a cool place designed and erected not centuries ago, but in the early 1980’s. It was called “Buddha Park”. Located about 35KM’s outside the capital, we decided faithfully, to give the new bike a try, and cycle there the next day. We woke from our new hotel, had a great breakfast at 7am, and started off toward the “Buddha Park”. About an hour into our adventure the skies looked as if they were about to open any minute, but we decided to continue. Eventually we came to a dirt road with massive potholes. The map on my phone indicated that we were still quite far from our destination…”maybe it’ll be paved again a little further down the road” said Lisa, a true optimist. It was not, however the rain held up, and after just shy of 2 hours on the bikes, we arrived.

Buddha Park filled about a football field wide by 3 long. It was created by a Laotian artist only a handful of decades ago, but looked like it was centuries old. One statue after another depicting all kinds of Buddhist gods and myths. Some as tall as 3 stories, some as long as 50 meters. After a few days of trials and tribulations, this was a truly gratifying experience that I feel really brought us all just a little bit closer. The ride home was accompanied with restless sky’s and light rain. The rain, inches away from opening up was both motivating to propel us forward, and liberating in that we were totally exposed to a force beyond our control. When all was said and done, it was a great experience which saw us triumphant, and our bikes hold up.

We started a routine at our new hotel. Great breakfast first thing, followed by a swim and a school lesson while Lisa worked. Then the four of us would cycle over to a street vendor who sold noodle soup, pad thai, and chicken rice which was both delicious, and unbelievably cheap. We returned from lunch the next day to find a 6 yr old girl swimming in the pool. Pearl was her name, and she was accompanied by Nick, her father. Our girls instantly became friends with Pearl, and I with Nick. They were Australian (from Tasmania actually), and in Vientiane visiting Nick’s brother who worked in town. They were living in Singapore at the moment as Nick’s wife Nancy worked at the University of Singapore, “The Uni” as Nick referred to it.

The next 2 days saw us become close friends.

The day before our departure from Vientiane, we returned our bicycles to the “FM”. The lady there wanted to charge us an extra day. Given our history with that place, and the bikes, I took exception. I offered her the cash I thought appropriate, or none at all. Before too long, the nasty little 4 ft owner showed up on scene. We argued, politely, for a few minutes before I had had enough. I offered him 2 options, take what I’m willing to pay, or take nothing. He became incensed, barking like a poodle at a pit bull. So much so that the girls started to cry, they were frightened. When I saw this I tossed the money on the ground in from of him and started to walk, telling Lisa to please take the girls and go. I didn’t want them to be scared, or to witness any altercations in case one occurred. Of course she didn’t, which meant I would have to deal with him in front of the girls. He threw an ashtray at me with such a lack of accuracy, that it hit his own car about 10ft wide of me. I laughed at this and him and continued walking, noticing two young backpackers (literally sporting backpacks) and told them that this was no place to stay. They quickly sauntered down the road which further incensed the little guy. We heard his curses for 100 meters as we disappeared into the city. This whole thing was totally ridiculous, and as usual, I am probably to blame…I could have just paid him what he asked (wrongfully), and avoided all this. But what can I say, I’m stubborn, and he was wrong… sorry girls, sorry Lisa 🙂

On to Isabel’s Birthday in Vang Vieng!