Vientiene Laos

Our plane was delayed in Phnom Penh so we did not arrive in Vientiane until it was dark. Our first taste of Laos was getting a taxi at the airport. Our experience so far has been that you emerge from a terminal with a $ sign on your forehead, you are seen as easy bait and the negotiations start from there. We came out prepared for this and... there was nothing, no taxi, no tuc tuc drivers, nothing. We then realised you have to go back inside to book and pay for the taxi first. There is a fixed price for the trip into town regardless of where your hotel is - what a change. This sense of order has, in many ways, continued.

The roads here are not so crowded and much to our surprise some people do use their indicators and they also obey the traffic lights. There seems to be an understanding, too, that the traffic keeps to one side of the road rather than just taking to the piece of road ( or pavement! ) with the fewest vehicles. We actually felt that we could hire a car here and drive comfortably, not a feeling we have felt anywhere else.

I know I have bored you by saying we 'love this place' before. Well we really really love Vientiane. Before we came we had read that a couple of days here is enough so that is all we have booked in for. We deeply regret this as this last two days has been so interesting and rewarding.

Yesterday we took our 'Lonely Planet' guide and started one of the suggested walks. First stop, the local market. The interesting bit is always the food section and this was no exception. To see all the meat laid out is enough to confirm my vegetarianism and to enhance John's love of a pork chop. However, even the committed carnivore did draw the line at the sight of this very large bowl full of hundreds of live toads which were destined for the dinner table!

We visited two of the Wats near to the hotel: That Dam and Wat That Fume. We did not stay long at the latter as there was a funeral taking place, the mother of a Governement minister apparently and we felt we were intruding.


We then wandered up the road to the monument Patuxai, which means Arch of Victory. It was built in the late 50's and has a strong resemblance to the Arc De Triumph, with an oriental flavour. It commemorates those who died in the independence struggle with France - strange then that it should be modelled on one of the most famous Parisian landmarks. If you were feeling energetic you could climb to the top, we decided on a leisurely lunch at a pavement cafe instead.

With regard to the above I should point out that French is the second language here and the city does have a French feel. Lots of old colonial buildings line the streets and the Presidential palace is a rather grand chateau. There are good cafes and restaurants, many of them tucked away in secluded locations where it is a pleasure to eat.

Yesterday evening we ate at one of the open air street restaurants and took a stroll along the riverside where the handicrafts and mementos on sale - just irresistable and so cheap.

This morning was more sightseeing, the Palace, a museum and another Wat.

This afternoon we've had a real treat and visited a silk weaving and dyeing workshop. This workshop trains women from the villages who have not had the benefit of education so have no trade. After several months they can master the basics and work up to be really skilled weavers. Initial training is free and once they are competent they are paid a wage. If they have very young children they bring them along to work, there was a ten month old little girl asleep on the floor at the side of her mother's loom, later I saw several on the women sat on the floor playing with the children, it all felt just so right for everyone.

To get there, they came and collected us from our hotel in a lorry, in which we had to sit on benches in the back. The worksop was a good 20 minutes drive from town and along an unmade road, a very jiggly experience. Only John and I were there, so we had a private guided tour and saw the women weaving the most intricate patterns on ancient manual looms. We were shown how the silk is dyed prior to being woven and then were given our own raw silk scarves to dye ourselves. I was hoping that John would have a go too and he did and really enjoyed it. We made two scarves each which, for a modest sum, we have kept. We are both very proud of our efforts.

It is with regret that we leave Vientiane tomorrow and travel to Luang Prabang. If you are thinking of coming to Laos I would suggest you do it soon. Tourism here is not well developed and so many of the things we have found so annoying in other cities are largely absent. Not once have I been asked to buy post cards, I haven't been bothered by anyone trying to sell things, and the cost of things for sale is very reasonable. Vientianne is highly recommended.