2011 - NZ To SF - Day 89

Day 89: (10 August 2011):
- Wake up @5. Dark outside, like night. A few women selling sticky rice, but have been warned not to buy from them.
- Walk down street, sit across a vat. Wait. Feel misinformed about 5am.
- Activity close to 6. See monks come out, sweeping, getting dressed. Monk dorm rooms?
- Chanting & some drum beats (speed up beats).
- People set up in street. A white girl set up with help of a hotel person(?).
- Mat, rice container, scarf.
- Monks start to arrive. Tourists also start to arrive. Stream of monks. Stop at people giving. I thought like trick of treating.
- Lots of tourists. Even a touring bus/car filled with tourists. Some get very close to monks & take photos. We on other side of street.
- Nap.
- At a good time, wake up & breakfast. Walk to museum. Carriage for carrying Pha Bang: where was this?
- Bump into the girl with French guy from Fiji. First not recognise, but she looked at me & said “Mark?... Is that you?” Short chat (reflect my feel that things are no longer that exciting after months of travel), continue.
- Bld contioning (in future) the Pha Bang probably most impressive I’ve seen in Laos. Inside wood carvings on wall. Details a bit rough. Tall weed throne.
- Large statue with CCCP written on it. Theatre, not much going on there.
- Palace. Check bags & camera, etc, shoes. Walk over & see Pha Bang. Nice statue & pose. Rumours it ts fake, etc. Not a very remarkable statue.
- Inside: throne room covered in the mirror murals. Some artefacts. Queen’s & King’s bedrooms quite simple. Terrible portrait of King. Smells musty.
- Felix says like a room from the 70s.
- (Metal) Drums. Hit one, sounds surprisingly reverberating. Steles, etc.
- Overall, a comfortable palace, but not very flashy. Outside is simple & has a nice spire.
- Photography exhibition on 2nd floor of some random living blds? Quick look.
- King’s car collection. A Johnson boat. Jeep/range rover. Some simple cars. Fuel pumps on grounds outside.
- Back & Felix leave. Say bye.
- Mini nap & pack, etc, too.
- Leave relatively early, decide to walk, stop on ways & take tuktuk when needed.
- Rain. Raincoat & rain fly.
- Small souvenier market still functioning during day. 350 for tablecloth, down to 150. Range of prices at night market. Everyone friendly, until you don’t buy, then mean. Various stories, but think actual story is silk from Myanmar, & factory made in Vientiane.
- Main market. Lots of expensive scarves. Didn’t select one I like. Small food stalls closed (mostly).
- Walk towards old bridge. Fair trade store with exhibits. Lao person with pretty good English. Owner Canadian (supposedly). Buy 180k scarf, hand made & natural dyes. No negotiation. Laos patterns. $23.50.
- Omlette, spring rolls, coconut jelly dessert. 17k. Random street stall.
- Old bridge: pedestrian section is wood boards with large seams between on side of bridge. A bit dubious.
- Slippery. Town section. Some food stalls by road selling meat on sticks.
- At fork in road to airport, see the big gold pagoda. Decide go there.
- Cross bridge. Path cut into mountains, mud, difficult to dodge cars. Long. Lose temple. Follow road around, up hill again, see entrance.
- Large complex, arrive at pagoda. Multi levels. Observation balconies. Nice paintings on walls. Small top level with Buddha.
- Tuktuk that was there now gone with some Asian tourists.
- Walk back, risk continuing on road as is in rough direction of bridge.
- Windey road. Longish walk. Kids wave some places. Near radio tower. Ask 3 people for airport (“hua bin”). All say back towards wat. ~2hrs until flight now, so worry. Look/ask for tuktuk. None. Run/walk back. Try hitchhiking once or twice when reach lower entrance of wat faster than expected. Walk through to upper entrance, quick. Then in town by junction, wave down tuktuk. Ask 40k, Pay 30k.
- Airport much closer than if from town. Maybe expensive ride. Drop off just outside airport gates.
- Check in, wait outside. Wring sweat out.
- Poor condition plastic bag. Security sticker on it. Small sterile waiting room.
- Turboprop. OK flight. Views of karst, rivers & rice paddies. Clouds.
- Luggage pick-up: straight conveyor to rollers.
- Decide walk out for taxi. Meet British Dad (living in Vientiane, who lived in Thailand before) & son visiting. Say tuktuk here is 40k. A van taxi drove up before gate & offered 50k/$6 take. Not much cheaper than official rate. I pay 20k. They pay rest + small tip.
- Walk around, eventually find Mixay GH. Dorm room 4th floor. Nice room, share with Can. guy & American & Korean girl.
- Apparently bed added to room. A bit cramped but still nice.
- Korean & I eat dinner at the restaurant. Would have liked to eat at one of the street stalls. Tripe soup quite good. Laap with more vegetables. Learn to eat laap with veges.
- Walk along river. Feel almost a romantic walk. Talk about what we do, career & previous relationships / how to handle them.
- River & park very calm & nice.
- Buy the Lang Xiang beer to try. Ask a Kiwi & Irish (both liking in SE Asia) to open beer. Sit & drink with them. Kiwi over to renew visa in Thailand. Korean seems neglected? The “slow” local person.
- Get ready & sleep when drink enough.