We are in Vientiane. We got here on Saturday afternoon. We went and got food by the river Saturday night, it was lovely local Lao food.

On Sunday we went for a walk around the city. Its not a very big city so it wouldnt normally take long, but it is absolutely baking hot so we were gone pretty much all day. We got through 5 litres of water and had very smelly clothes, and red noses. We got back to our guest house (which is OK) and had a nap, before going for an indian. The food was lovely, but soon enough we were barracaded in the restaurant as a tropical storm was raging outside. It took 3 men to close the doors against the wind. The shutters had to be closed to stop the outside furniture from coming through the windows. I thought a hurricane was coming! it was quite exciting. After about 10 mins it calmed down and we went to see the wreckage outside. There were trees through bus shelters, signs came down everywhere, and roofs were ripped off some of the weaker buildings. Apparently stuff like this happens quite regularly though.

Monday we rented bikes and explored some of the cities temples and historical sites. We went and sorted out our Vietnamese visas, and asked about our Thai visas at the Thai consulate. We cycled to That Luang a large golden building which supposedly contains one of the hairs of Budha himself. We climbed to the top of the Puxhuay for a beautifull view over Vientiane. We Then cycled back and had dinner at another bargain street market.

Today we went on the local bus to Wat Xieng Khuan AKA Budha Park. The most impressive Budha image they have there is a 50 foot long reclining Budha. The Image attached is also from the budha park. It was a lovely sunny day as always! We strolled around the tons of other Budhas and took some realy nice photos. We had lunch along side the Mekong river and took the local bus back to town.

We shall put some photos on soon, and will hopefully hear from you all soon.

loves n hugs