2011 - NZ To SF - Day 82

Day 82: (3 August 2011):
- Check out (with delays).
- Ttuktuk to bus station, VIP to Vientiane. Apparently night VIP buses can be sleeper buses. Incense on bus grille.
- Actually descent speed, no stops every few hundred metres. “No longer used to moving this fast.” A Japanese movie started then cut off. Then looping of Thai (?) sticom. One episode had people crying & being abused through it.
- Non-descript dusty bus station. Shared tuktuk to town. Pass by some markets & waterpark (simple, few slides, some are built into concrete?). Long circuitous route, drop off some locals. See the gold stupa down road.
- Tuktuk to town, pretty fancy scooter on tuktuk.
- Mixay GH: No 2ppl rooms left. Riverview Hotel: Fancy lobby, 180k offered for 150k. Take. Smal but neat room. Shower curtain! Window to wall.
- Walk along road to visit park. Raw chicken neck fiasco. After trying to avoid unhealthy food. Nice park by river. Big statue of someone, worshipped figure. Thailand across river. No apparent cities/centre across river. Bridge too far to see.
- Found lots of places, especially temples, in Laos have funny names.
- Walked to a small stone/brick stupa. Grass around it soaking. Nice, but not impressive.
- Walked by presedential palace. Felix: President of his school has a house like that.
- Old vat, but closed @4pm. Things close early in Laos.
- The vat that housed the Emerald Buddha. Looks dischevelled, can’t find gate.
- See the victory arch when by palace, so thought would walk up there.
- UN office.
- Nice monument: concrete block with 4 arches. Nice mosaics on ceiling. Plaque referes to it as a concrete monster: did they intentionally say bad things about monument? Closed, can’t go up. Nice fountain.
- Fancy building. Ominous clouds. Waited long time, no rain. Decide just go for it: walk to Pyongyang restaurant.
- See gold stupa. Slightly lost. Found restaurant: same Beerlao sign as others. Decorated with lights on outside.
- Strange quiet instrumental US remixes for music. Bright. Formal-ish. Bathroom has shower: their living quarters? Table of Koreans, one table of Chinese (come after us. They leave a lot of food), a tourist couple come later.
- Order lots of food. Most expensive meal by for. 200-300kk cash (?).
- Very tasty food. Some cool Pyongyang specialties.
- Just when despair so show, waitresses turn on TV, very hopeful.
- 1st number; all 4 waitresses sing a welcome song (Later learned this is Pangapsumnida). Slow waving, rocking. Then take turns singing & waiting. Some Chinese songs too. Moon Represents My Heart.
- Chat & photos with other English-speaking tourist pair.
- Although waitresses did not speak English well, with some motioning, conveyed I was going to N. Korea to cute waitress holding door for us. She very surprised, squeal & say something in Korean.
- Nice street food market across street.
- Tuktuk back, expensive, but Felix in very good mood. He work on Internet while I write with TV on. We come up with remote desktop solution, which is workable with help of his co-student.