When you read that Vientiane is a place with not much to do, and easily brushed over, to us this means that it is a place that we will probably feel at home in. We are discovering that we are in a funny traveller category here - too old to be in the noisy backpacker scene, but too young to be in the retired/expat scene. Clearly we relate more to the latter, as we found overselves amongst an older crowd in Vientiane, whose priorities seemed to be leisurely dining and slow cycling in the decidely safe to travel streets.

Although it's true that the sights do not scream, "must see!", there are lovely, quiet temples, friendly monks looking to practice their English with you, and a lot of Western food options at restaurants, if you are craving some comforts from home. Also exciting for us was that due to our now extreme proximity to Thailand (it's just across the river!), there is an abundance of Thai food options! Troy is excited that at last his food has gotten spicier, and that he is not looked down on with amusement when he asks the server for his dish "very spicy". We also took one half day excursion on the local bus out to "Buddha Park" to see the fascinating Hindu/Buddhist sculptures, which definitely qualifies as some of the more unique art we have seen in southeast Asia so far.

And Vientiane is HOT!! Actually, "stifling" may be the more accurate word. Vietnam was hot too, but the weather was much more varied. Here the heat hangs over you across the day and sends you running for shade. There is much laundry to be done.

Our favourite activity over the 4 nights here was to visit the local fruit stand just down the street from our hotel daily to get a fresh fruit shake. In case you have never tried it, a lime, pineapple, and mint smoothie is divine.