Laos pt 2, Vientiane

By the third day I was ready to escape the backpacker gyre of Vang Vieng, so onto the mini-bus I went. The trip back to Vientiane (Laos' capitol and also pronounced Vien-chang - thanks French) was a windy four hour jaunt through the countryside. Vientiane may be the smallest national capital in the world. The downtown area is a small grid of streets, not much bigger than Saratoga Springs or West Chester, PA. Many travelers are underwhelmed and pass through quickly, but Vientiane is not without its merits.
First and best is the Mekong river. The Mekong is the twelfth largest river in the world. It starts in Tibet, and flows through China, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The difference between rainy and dry seasons was very evident here:
Presumably during rainy season, the whole center sandbar would be flowing river. Because it hasn't really rained since November, the river has been reduced to two smaller flows on either side. Nevertheless (or even more so) very beautiful, and countless open air restaurant stalls lined the banks of the river, making for several memorable sunset dinners.
My first night in Vientiane was sans Maki, as he was taking the overnight train from Bangkok. So I ended up bar-hopping (with two backpackers I had met earlier) in what is decidedly not a city with great nightlife. One of the backpackers was convinced we could find "the party" if we asked enough people (including taxi drivers and random people on the street) and I have to say, it took us to many interesting and enjoyable bars. One stop midway through the night had a nice house band, but really got good when four Laos cougars comandeered the dance floor. Not to be outdone, the gayest man in Laos (remember, its a small country) strutted up and faced off against the head cougar. Just in case you doubt my superlative for this man, I tried to capture his seventies, West Village head-to-toe denim get-up.

The last stop for me was a Laos kareoke bar, which was also really fun. One of my traveler friends was drunk enough to sing there, and here is a super blurry picture of that.

The next day, Maki safely arrived and we did a pleasant walking tour of the historical sights and Wats (temples) of Vientiane. Here is the river by day, with several monks walking on the exposed sand bar.

And finally the night market. Delicious food options, many of them still alive. (I have a picture of cute frogs sitting and waiting to be eaten, but it was just too cruel to post). We ordered a papaya salad that came super spicy, and for the first time I saw Maki wince from the heat of a chili. I attempted to capture it on video, but he was playing it cool by the time I got to recording.

Overall, Laos is an extremely beautiful country, and has a relaxing backwater of Southeast Asia vibe. Much talk there is of the heavy investment from China, so it would be interesting to see in ten years.