here i am... in LAOS...
as i dumped by backpack at the backseat of his Pajero, we rolled towards the city of Vientiane. not as big as Phnom Penh (of course), we were at the Mekong River in 10 minutes... and i had my first meal in Laos, Vietnamese food. weird, yes, food, delicious! without a doubt we started chatting about the old times, 10 years ago mind you. it was funny, yet memorable. things that happened in school should stay in school, but heck, 10 years on it should be brought out on the table! done with the eating and we headed to his office, Lao-Singapore Business College. yes, he used to be a teacher at this school before becoming the Operations Manager. nice and simple office, shared with another Lao colleague, we continued chatting as he brought me here to "show face" at the office.
IndoChina Handicrafts
Home sweet home, not mine, but such a lovely house Horace got here. single storey with huge trees in the compound. took a cool shower, changed me clothes and my next destination is SengDara, a local Club House cum Sports Club. just the perfect time for me to relax after quite a hectic few days ago. went swimming, sauna, steam room, and a relaxing body massage. oh yesss, besides feeling that i was floating, it was all goooooooooooooooooooooooooood! wait, before this, we had lunch at Khop Chai Deu, the most popular falang hang-out in town, according to the Lonely Planet book. lunch was good, typical Lao food. great experience and it was buffet! :D
half a day gone by and we were off to a gathering at his friend's house. upon arriving, we were greeted with this huge house! yes, its big, wide compound and a guard house... suddenly i felt like i was in Bukit Damansara. it was a FS Gathering, where a religion called Baha'i have their followers in a Faith, Fun and Fascinating surrounding. met many new friends here i might add... the owner of the house is a French man, working as the Finance Advisor to the UN... now that explains the house. :D dinner was simple Lao food, yet delicious. it was a great night, listening and learning about a different religion with the company of people from different countries.
haywire!
the next morning, Horace, Cathy (Horace's wife) and i went for breakfast at Sticky Finger's, close to the riverside. the pork ribs are good here and i tried a piece myself, and yes, it was fantastic! the sauce was amazing, sweet yet sour. after breakfast, i was dropped at Talat Sao, The Morning Market. walked through the market but nothing seems to attract me... other than the Beerlao t-shirts. walked another round and into the shopping mall... i told myself, thats it... im done with the Morning Market. left the market with a Beerlao t-shirt i purchased in my bag, i headed to the Palace. as i was walking half way, i thought to myself, better not waste my time walking there, so i detoured and went towards the Patuxai, the Victory Monument. as i was walking, i detoured again, this time i saw the signpost that pointed me to That Dam, the Black Stupa. as i strolled in the very blue sunny sky with the sun shining through my skin, i noticed infront of me many guards and sorts. so i mind my own business and continued walking. then it struck me about the guards... it was the American Embassy! hah! still afraid eh? That Dam is actually one of many stupas around Laos, but this one is exceptionally special, its Black. no idea why it is black; maybe it aged since centuries ago... or maybe it built with a significant meaning behind it that im not wary of. anyway, a roundabout is built around the Black Stupa and i headed back to the main road towards my original destination, the Patuxai.
That Dam @ The Black Stupa
amazing as it looks, the Victory Monument looks like a piece of huge concrete from far, but the architecture and design is beautiful. built looking like an arch for the Greek Gods, this structure is also known as the Vertical Runway, because the money donated was to build a runway for planes but they government instead built this Arc de Triomphe. detailed designs of ancient beliefs can be found all around the monument, images of Gods and mythical creatures are part of the internal design of the arch. pay 3,000kip (less than a dollar) and i am up in the monument itself! the view is magnificent and i get to view Vientiane city in a super wide panoramic view. again at the top, craftsmanship of high details can be seen on the statues and shapes of the pillars. as i wandered around at the top, there was more flight of stairs going upwards... skeptically, i went up and hey, a spiral staircase to the peak of the monument! up there, the space is pretty limited, i would say maybe 8 persons or less, 2 to a window. didnt stay up there too long as it was a little crowded, i went downstairs and browse through some souvenirs that were sold by vendors inside. took another long look at the city, absorbing the sunshine and i am off... strolled downstairs back to solid ground. rested a moment, contemplating and thinking where would be my next destination.
panoramic view of Vientiane
as i walked through the extreme heat of the sun, i just wanted to goto the Riverside... and from there, let my feet do the talking. wasnt too sure about the roads in Vientiane as well, so i just walked and walked and walked and hey... a very familiar place. it was the restaurant i had lunch with Horace yesterday. brilliant! now i know where i am... as i strolled through the streets of Vientiane, one most common sight would be the Wats. there are about 5 temples within the 5km radius in Vientiane. namely, Wat Mixay, Wat Xieng Gneun, Wat Chanh, Wat Onteu and so forth. the most disappointing part would be not knowing which Wat i have visited as the signs are all in Lao language! only one temple stated their name in English, which is Wat Mixay! these temples have amazing architecture and design... looking at them makes me go wow! stopped by at a local souvenir shop and got myself some postcards and other misc souvenirs. "only these?", i heard someone saying... ok ok, i got myself 2 other t-shirts as well. souvenirs are not really cheap, compare to Phnom Penh, t-shirts are roughly around USD3, compared to USD2 in Phnom Penh. well, i have enough of t-shirts now. another attraction would be the Fountain, with no water. yes, i went there and the fountain wasnt operating. its just a pretty small park with a fountain in the center of it. nothing much actually...
water-less fountain
various Wats @ Temples
as i continued walking, i ended up at the Lao National Cultural Hall. amazing, the building is simple beautiful, kept me in awe most of the time, even when i was snapping away on my camera. with pillars as high as 4-floors greeting you, it was magnificent and grand. opposite would be the Lao National Museum. not as outstanding as the Cultural Hall, the Museum is just 2-storeys high and looks pretty dull. i didnt enter the Museum as the operating hours were done. as a matter of fact, i didnt enter any of the buildings i visited... mainly the Wats. the Lao culture on a Wat is pretty strict... it is best not to enter the Wat if you are not dress for it; long pants and a t-shirt, nothing fancy, nothing revealing for ladies. since i was in my usual shorts, i didnt go into it or even the vicinity... RESPECT! talking about culture, i read somewhere that Lao people are pretty conservative and all, including tattoos, dreadlocks,etc... but i got a culture shock when i saw many locals with tattoos, all over their hands and legs... hmmm... i guess that particular article i was reading is a little too outdated... :D
Lao National Cultural Hall
the signboard speaks for itself :D
ala Sunway Lagoon
tired... only thing that can describe me... i took a tuk tuk to meet up with Horace at a Lao waterpark. it seems that the owners of this waterpark (forgot the waterpark's name) is from Sunway Group, the people that brought Malaysians to Sunway Lagoon! hah! nothing compared to the one in Bandar Sunway but i guess it was good enough for the locals. as we left the waterpark, i just realized the time... it was sunset!! you know me and sunsets... so i told Horace to drop me off at the Riverside and there i was... soaking in the sunset, gold in color... breathtaking! as the sun sets from the Mekong River... i just took a moment to savor everything insight... it was plain calming and relaxing. not forgetting taking photographs of nature's beauty of course. *speechless*
Lane Xang Cruise
as the sun set, it was closed to 7pm and i was walking through a wave of shops selling all sorts of stuffs by the roadside and riverside. trying to look like a local, doing his shopping at night stalls, i came across a painting seller. it was different, creative and... different. had a pep talk with the seller and it is him, the painter of all the paintings in the stall... ok, him and his girlfriend's. he is actually a lecturer in Vientiane University of Fine Arts and paints for fun. very innovative painting skills... and im pretty sure to buy one when i am there again. hehe. dinner was at SingMal Restaurant (i think), located next to the Cultural Hall, a Malaysian owner, that cooks one heck of a Mee Goreng Mamak! haha! how much i missed this.
headed home early, as i was going to VANG VIENG the next morning!! woohoo! bought a VIP Bus ticket that costs me 40,000kip (close to USD5) and i am damn excited! before i decided on VV, i was thinking about Luang Phrabang... a UNESCO Heritage Site. but then, i chose VV as i think that i needed more days in LP compared to VV...
we shall find out what the BUZZ is all about Vang Vieng soon!
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