North to Vientianne - Laos
　

Happily aboard a train which was bang on time was unfortunately only a brief comfort for us both as we rattled on into the night. This had to be one of the most frightening train rides we've ever been on. The noise of the clanking and clanging would challenge the strongest sleeping pills in the world, and it was so bumpy our bodies got air-time. The rocking was so hard we are unsure how we got away without bruising. We were shook awake in panic several times during the night convinced we were about to de-rail. How a train can travel on such bent, twisted, buckled rail tracks has outwitted our logic.
Adam woke early the following morning. Lana continued to sleep comfortably on her top bunk swaying with the train and was not moving for anything, despite the conductors' efforts to pack up the blankets and pillows for the oncoming passengers on the return journey to Bangkok. Adam sat contently gazing out of the carriage window enjoying the refreshing, cooler breeze of the north on his face. He was greeted with some of the most impressive scenery in Thailand to date, as the train passed farmers tending to their buffalo in the fields at first light. As the morning mist slowly lifted off the bright green rice fields, Adam made another attempt at this point to wake Lana so she too could enjoy the scenery which yielded only a few bear like grunts of reluctance. We rolled on through the tropical hillsides passing palm tree and banana plantations until we arrived into Nong Kai at around 9am. We had to board another train which delivered us 10 minutes further down the line at Thanleng where we organised and collected our visas for entry into Laos. After some seemingly unnecessary negotiations with the extortionate new 'mini-van' taxi service operators into Vientienne, we managed to get a reasonably priced ride, old style, in an open-air songatheaw truck. Lana was again awestruck by the extent of the development of Laos since her previous visit; more shops, brand new Mercedes, Saab's, Prado 4WD's and mini-vans on the road, all replacing the bicylces, hoards of mopeds, trucks and mini-tractors of old. The Friendship Bridge (between Laos and Thailand) was also complete. Adam was surprised to learn that they drive on the right due to the European influence...something we have found has added a new dimension of danger when crossing the street.
Our friendly driver dropped us next to the large market and only department store in the city. After exchanging our Thai Baht to Lao Kip and receiving bundles of notes in ridiculous denominations of literally millions in return ($1 AUS = 7,500 KIP) we headed for breakfast. We enjoyed our first Beer Lao and rapidly consumed huge plates of buffet style dishes that were on offer which the locals were eating. If its good enough for them... Deciding that our best option for value for money accommodation would be towards the Mekong River, we headed in that direction and as anticipated, wasn't too far to go. After the market the roads span out on to a wide sweeping avenue with well groomed floral arrangements and landscaped gardens. We were struck by how clean the streets were and also relieved at the fewer people and traffic after hectic Thailand, later learning that Vientienne was proud to host the 25th World Sea Games in 2009. (We are still slightly perplexed as to how a land-locked country manages to be chosen as the primary host for this annual sporting event...) We found a simple guesthouse, dropped the bags and headed out to admire this peaceful, attractive city. The French colonial influence was immediately apparent in the quality and style of buildings which lined the leafy streets. The traditional timber arches and doorways and the slatted window shutters are a dead giveaway! Large elaborate hotels, an entertainment centre, old palacial and government administration buidings still stand strong and were well maintained, unlike similar ones we saw in India which were left to decay in their own time, to nobody's concern. Perhaps there is something to be said about the Colonialist approach by the French as opposed to the English??!
Vientienne is a mecca for French style food, and has an abundance of cosy restaurants that could make you feel like a fully fledged European. The menus offer everything from fresh pastries and croissant's to frog, duck and steak tartare! The most widely available meal which is also very attractive for the peasant Backpacker is the toasted Baguette. The quality of bread here is outstanding for Asia. A cold meat and salad, foot long Baguette will cost you around $1.50 AUS. Closer to the river is the local Lao market with hoards of women selling hand woven cane baskets, scarves, bracelets, silver jewellery and very consumable local rice wine. About a stone's throw away is the aromatic hot food stalls and riverside restaurants, temporarily set up of an evening, and packed up just as fast at around midnight. Foreigners and Lao romantics alike sit and enjoy this tranquil setting. A range of tempting dishes are available, from freshly caught and grilled Mekong fish, chicken, rat, duck, dog and of course the ever popular En soup (with noodles and a little bit of everything). Opting once again for the reliable soup, washed down with what is fastly becoming our favourite drop - Beer Lao - we took an evening walk through the narrow backstreets passing a square with a fountain in the centre and noting the location of several small art galleries, handicraft shops and contemporary bookstores that we would surely check out in the next few days.
In the morning we woke with an uncanny thirst and had only one thing on our minds...fruit shakes. In Laos, mainly in the larger cities, there are fruit shake stalls everywhere which will blend you around half a litre of the freshest fruit of your choice for about 50 cents. After consuming our daily intake of fructose, we found a rental shop and hired two ladies 70's style 'shopper' bicycles (complete with baskets of course). Adam was not impressed, but managed to maintain his masculinity, and found great humour in seeing Lana ride a bike for the first time! Heading along the river for a while and then making a sharp left spilt us out onto the major avenue which led us directly to the large, arched Victory Monument which mimicked the Arc de Triumphe in Paris. Parking up and paying the small fee we were able to walk inside via a semi-spiral staircase to the top. The 360 degree view gave us a really good perspective of the Capital's size, and also allowed us to navigate our plan of attack for the day as we opted to explore without the aid of a map. To our left in the distance we could make out the national symbol, a sacred golden stupa, Pha That Luang. This is Laos' most important National Heritage Monument which represents the longievity of the Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignity. To our right was the south-east Asian lifeline, the Mekong River; the small communities built along the riverbank have been restored and replaced over the generations, and we have been told that they are constructing a multi-plex entertainment centre come tourist attraction right along the bank (hence the heavy duty excavators and miscellaneous piles of sand). Two kilometres further on from the arch, was the Buddha Park and Wat Si Saket; the oldest temple complex which defied the heavy bombing during the 'Secret War' of 1964-1973. This was our next stop.
On the way to Pha That Luang (The Golden Temple) we came across a large war memorial monument which depicted frozen scenes of the obvious struggle in the Indochina war in bas-relief style around the sizeable base. The hand carved images were sculptered in plaster and painted white, boldly surrounding a tall stupa with a bright red star sitting at the tip as if on a christmas tree. The complete meaning of this star is not clearly apparent to us, but is widely seen everywhere throughout Laos on T-shirts, hats and government buildings. We figure it has some reference to Communism similar to it's reference in China, Cuba, Russia and so on. Amongst the images of glory and success, were contrasting images of war and violence and simple, peaceful village life and religion. Military figures (including some severe and pompous looking American Generals), with artillery merged into scenes of civillian life, tending fields and animals, and images of Buddhism and worship made clear the brutal heartwrenching reality of the injustice of war.
Experiencing some close encounters on the bikes as we adjusted to the right-hand side travel, we reached the stunningly presented Golden Temple shortly after and headed in on foot through the simple landscaped approach. Once again the asking price to see inside this National treasure was highly elevated for foreigners, so we opted to walk around and take some external photos instead. We would like to mention here that we strongly believe that any place of worship should be free to enter and accessible for anybody who wishes to find refuge or quiet time. Of course this is provided that they respect the customs, dress and act appropriately and do not disrupt ceremonies or other daily operations within the holy place, and donation boxes allow people to leave offerings of what is affordable to them at that time. Secondly the fact that governments impose additional, but extra-high fees on travelling tourists who are already contributing significantly to the respective countries' economy, should not be wielding extra funds when the maintenance of their significant national treasures is already secure. Note that every village (and the same was in India) will have a temple, beautifully maintained, even where the local villagers live in shacks or under tarpaulin, so any additional money that the government collect does not go directly to the peoples' benefit.
By now the day was swelling with heat and we moved on from admiring Pha That Luang to find refuge within the open air prayer hall of the large Wat Si Saket temple. The interior was adorned with delicate and brightly coloured paintings from the ceiling to the floor portraying the moral teachings of Buddha's life and the many periods of struggle and triumph within Buddhist culture and the ultimate age of enlightenment. Large white pillars supported the carefully stencilled and painted ceiling and it's openess allowed us to enjoy a gentle, cooling breeze and a tranquil spot to lie down, relax and read for almost an hour. A celebratory proccession began, rousing us into consciousness. It was mostly women and several children, singing and clapping, making their way to the adjacent holy temple. We stood in the shade and watched, as the line removed their shoes, left an offering at the door and entered the temple. We believed there would have been monks inside but mostly they were milling around the grounds in their traditionally bright orange robes carrying sunscreening umbrellas, seemingly not too concerned with the ceremonial celebration. We did notice however that most were absorbed in thought whilst enjoying a cigarette, chatting on their cell phones and obscure as it may sound but appeared to be sporting jail-style tattoos. We had heard rumours in Thailand that in some instances men have chosen to become monks as an alternative to serving prison sentences, in order to repay society for any wrongs (or criminal activity) they have committed.
Following a brief stop for some young coconut refreshments we walked across to another temple. Strategically placed around an old tree that must have been 80-90 years old, were golden near-life sized Buddhas representing the significant postures from Buddha's journey into and beyond Enlightenment. We were a little bemused as to what the specifics of the poses meant but enjoyed the serendipity of the display.
We headed back towards the guesthouse, taking an alternative route around the back of the Museum. We zig zagged our way through the back parts of town which were more akin to village rather than a city life. There were fruit sellers positioned on every corner, but the thriving trade was the watermelon carts that were set along most backstreets. These carts looked like olden day tip-trucks that had been backed up onto the highway and raised at a 45 degree angle, but miraculously the watermelons stayed put. I guess no one chose from the bottom and the sellers were anticipating selling their entire load (several hundred watermelons) in one day... Then just as soon as we thought we were two turns from home, we were lost, and for a short time didn't have a clue which direction we were heading in. How did this happen?? Fortunately Adam came through with his instinctive 'tracker' navigational skills and within 20 minutes we were pedalling back alongside the Mekong and into the driveway of our humble abode.
We were eager at this point to sample the famous Mekong River fish that was charring away on the waterfront. And, after a long day's ride we also craved the refreshing taste of an icy cold Beer Lao! It was a perfect way to finish off an adventurous day's sight-seeing, our last night in the stunning Vientianne, and solidly set the foundations for the oncoming days of tubing down the Mekong in the reputed party town of Vang Vieng.