I'm spending my last day in Laos in an internet cafe right now because it is ungodly hot right now... even for someone like me who loves the heat. I'm just wondering how Joe is doing with the heat... ;)
After spending a few days in Luang Prahbang, we are now in the capital, Vientiane. It's a nice city, but doesn't really have a lot going on. Last night, Joe and I rented bikes to explore the city. We rode around for a little bit and ended up at a rather large, imposing, but beautiful, structure. It is the Victory Arch as told to us by some local Laos boys. The area around the Victory Arch is probably the most beautiful part of the city. We sat in the gardens taking pictures of flowers and lizards (me flowers, Joe lizards) waiting for the lights to come on and the water fountains to start dancing.
As we were sitting there, a couple of local guys, about our age, came up to us and started speaking to us in almost perfect english. They told us all about where they are from and what they are studying in school. They were very interested in hearing about where we are from and what we are doing in Laos. I think that one of the main reasons they were talking to us was to practice their english, so I asked them. I was right. They were some highly motivated, educated guys and really friendly too. They told us all about the history of Laos and how the country is trying to emerge from their protected past and into the limelight as a place for tourists and business.
While Joe was chatting away and I was taking pictures of the dancing water, I was approached by another guy who wanted to talk as well. He was wearing a NYC shirt so we ended up talking about New York and how I used to live there.
Joe and I would have loved to sit and talk with them all night and maybe even go hang out in some local bars with them, but unfortunately it started lighting and raining and we wanted to get our bikes back to the guesthouse without getting totally soaked.
After waiting for the rain to subside, we went out for a bite to eat and then started wandering up and down the road next to the Mekong in search of something to do. We found a bar with live music and decided to stop in. It was great, minus the really expensive beers (expensive for here, still cheap for home... they were about $1.80). One of the singers had a beautiful voice and they were totally rocking out. We would have stayed for a while but our guesthouse had a curfew. Closed at 12. :( If we had known that before we paid, we probably would have found some other place.
All in all, Laos has left a really great impression on me and a week here was definitely not enough time to take it all in. I'm sure I will be back in the near future making sure I have more time to spend exploring all it has to offer. Up next, Vietnam! :)
