I left the lovely Hanoi Elegance - Ruby at 7:15 am after another great breakfast of fresh juice, jasmine tea, fruit, scrambled eggs and toast. The hotel staff, a la Elizabeth and Debbie Scarbrough (and Johnny Dyment for that matter), recommended that I leave at 6 am to make my 10 am international flight. Even leaving 75 minutes late, I cleared customs and check-in by 8:15 with over an hour to spare before boarding. Oh well, I killed the time away from Elizabeth with some Schweppes sparkling water at the airport cafe and read my Laos Lonely Planet book. Early depart notwithstanding, the Ruby really is a perfect mid-range lodging option for anyone traveling to Hanoi.
The flight to Laos was short, just over an hour. Clearing customs and getting my visa on arrival was a breeze. A very helpful Laos security guard lady recognized I had one leg, which she must have interpreted as meaning neither of my hands worked because she proceeded to fill out all my paperwork, take my Passport and $35 to the next available immigration official (skipping several young Australians who were in line in front of me), and returning with a stamp of entry in no more than 5 minutes. I regained some lost Aussie karma moments later at the currency exchange. Turns out, they didn't have any US dollars or Lao kip -- only Vietnamese dang -- and the Lao exchange for some reason would not take dang. I played the exchange -- buying their dang for my dollar, which I can use in Saigon this weekend. The Aussies were very thankful.
I booked my hotel last minute at the very highly rated Hotel Green Park, dubbed "an oasis in a dusty city", and it hasn't disappointed. I lucked out with a ride because I happened to share the flight from Hanoi with a French man, his wife, and two daughters who were starting a 3-year tour of duty in Vientiane, building a French school. He had the foresight to book the hotel's van, and the driver was happy to take me along too.
At about Noon I was firmly settled in my room, valuables secure in the safe, and I started out for the city. My first stop was the COPE center, which I had learned about from our Canadian friends, Katie and Leanna. COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (www.copelaos.org). It's a remarkable place, full of sadness and hope at the same time. Laos was heavily carpet bombed with cluster bombs during the Vietnam war. What is most heartbreaking is that these bombs in Laos have spawned an
industry of scrap metal, which is quite lucrative for villagers. The
draw, however, is horribly offset by the damage when unexploded
ordinance go off, maiming or killing the finder. The visitor's center had so many interesting stories and relics of that era, and modern times too. A media room with plush seating allowed me and a family of British travelers to watch an interesting documentary on the many conflicts in the last 40 years that have involved cluster bombs. There was art made by victims, there were makeshift prosthetic devices made out of local materials. I spent several hours here. As I left, I saw a young boy with a prosthetic leg and his mother. He couldn't have been more than 6 years old. We made eye contact and mutual recognition. Then I walked with no legs for him. He smiled big, and his mom said something to him I didn't understand. I asked if they spoke English, but they didn't. So instead of saying more, I did a little shimmy, just danced for him for a minute or so. He giggled so much, the joy was palpable. It washed away the sadness from the hours before. It totally made my day.
After COPE, I headed to Wat Si Saket -- the oldest temple in the city. A 19th century Buddhist shrine that somehow survived the war. Or at least some of it did. There must have been thousands of Buddha on the grounds. Each wall had hundreds of carved out spaces, each containing two little Buddhas. In front of the wall were lined dozens of large Buddhas. At the center of the complex, was a no-cameras-allowed altar with magnificent gold-plated Buddhas. According to the signage, Wat Si Saket has been preserved as it was in the early 1930s. I thought Elizabeth might like that. On the far left hand side was an area marked "storage", but which looked more like a prison cell. Behind the gate, were hundreds of broken Buddhas, which had been damaged by the bombing, but collected and stored on the temple grounds. For some reason, I liked that.
After the temple, I stopped at Joma (another recommendation of the Canadians) for some food and drink. It was almost completely blue skies, just a few clouds. Very warm and humid. The air conditioning and banana smoothie was a perfect pit stop to study my map. I wandered around town a bit, sightseeing at the town's famous fountain, Presidential palace, and Arc de Triomphe wannabe. By 7 pm, I enjoyed a rest back at the fountain where a threesome was putting on a live concert. Some of the songs were in English. Very poppy, think Debbie Gibson or Tiffany with rough pronunciation. The show lasted an hour, maybe a total of 7 people were in attendance. It was kind of surreal.
The hotel van had scheduled to pick me up at 8 pm, but it was 15 minutes late. Just enough time for a woman who reeked horribly of alcohol to proposition me.
"Where you going?"
"To my hotel."
"You here alone?"
"Yes."
"I go with you."
"No. No thank you."
"I go with you."
"No, thanks, but I'm alright."
"OK."
And she walked on to the next white guy who was standing about 30 yards from me.
Tomorrow I'm doing an Orchid Tour in the National Forest at Phou Khao Kway National Bio-Diversity Conservation Area about 75 km northeast of Vientiane.
