The Mekong - Part 2

Vientiane, Laos - March 8

We've been in Laos a little over a week now. What a difference from Vietnam! Different people (in appearance + attitude), different food (much more similiar to Thai), different landscape (drier) and a different tourist crowd (more long-term travelers). We've been indulging in beers along the Mekong (Yes, we've looped back to it again) almost every day at sunset to enjoy the show. And what a show it is!


Yes, that's the sun! Looking like some big, over-ripe fruit hanging there for the picking. Off in the distance, guys are out playing football (soccer) on the sand bar, men are fishing in the shallow waters with elegant net contraptions, locals gather at riverside tables for grilled chicken + seafood and far outnumber tourists here. A refreshing change from all the other towns on the falang/gringo/foreigner trail here. And did I mention that Vientiane itself, especially for a capital city, is surprisingly chill. Seems like the pervading vibe of the country. Nice and easy.


Vientiane, Laos - March 14

Yes, still here. We've been hanging out to reunite with a friendly German couple we met in Ladakh, India last summer and who've come to Laos for this years' vacation. It's something like this that really hits home the passing of time as we've been on the road. Yesterday the four of us rented motos and cruised south of town to a funky Buddhist sculpture park.


Vientiane, Laos - March 16

Late afternoon (yesterday), Darin + I finally walked out on the dried sand bar of the shrunken Mekong, as we've been meaning to do all week, to get a closer view of all the action. The air was thick + heavy, laden with moisture + smelling of the earth. Like walking in a giant greenhouse. Our strolling eventually led us to the far western end of the sand bar where we were able to climb back up the steep bank. This dropped us in the middle of a friendly, residential neighborhood of wooden, stilt homes we hadn't yet explored. Quite a difference from the urban city where we'd begun! Here, the people greeted us with a smile and a "Saibadee!", something we've unfortunately been missing from most of the other Laotians we've encountered. We wanted to linger and soak up this unexpected hospitality, so we bought a beer and took a seat on a wooden bench lining the road (read - dirt track). I do like beer, but as good as it gets, it's still second-best to wine for me. But THIS! I had a Homer Simpson moment of epiphany with the first swallow. It was ICE COLD. The coldest I've had in as long as I can remember, especially in a place that's as apt to serve yours warm over ice as from a frig. When you're in air so heavy it's like moving through molasses, well, words can't even describe how heavenly it was. Right then and there I got a taste of what Bia Lao claims. I finally got the "Full taste of happiness." :)