Hi Guys.
Uncle Bill, here I am! No worries, I'm still gonna keep writing! (probably good news for some, not so good for others...more long emails to delete, maybe??!! ahah)
I'm leaving Vientiane tomorrow so I thought I should take a moment to tell you how it was.....there are so many one way streets, and gorgeous french buildings.... Its not at all as beautiful as Luang Prabang is, but it has a certain charm all its own.
Kate and James, Liz and Mike have all headed off in their own seperate directions, so I've decided to head back north towards Phonsavon and the Plain of Jars. AND.>>>> since I have bought another camera, you will all get to see it too.
I finally found another camera, memory cards etc....so I'm back to my snaphappy self. I shipped a box that honestly seemed the size of Texas home this morning, fulll of....stuff. Mostly the silks I bought in Luang Prabang ~ no way do I want to carry them all any further! Yesterday I found the Police Station and filed a police report re. my stolen camera. Was that ever a comedy of errors. The 'interpreter' could barely speak english, and seemed far more intent on figuring out what country I came from, how old I was, if I was married, and what I did for a living. He kept telling me that "my boss love you, you beautiful" . So ridiculous. The three of us kept dissolving into fits of laughter at the futility of our 'conversation' ~ the officer would ask me something in lao, I would look questioningly at the interpreter, and he in turn would look back at the officer. Duh!
Well I finally got some sort of report, which I am optimistically assuming outlines what happened to my camera. Now all I have to do is find someone to translate it into English, so I can send it off to my insurance co.!!! All these steps will be worth it if I can recoup some of the cash I just spashed out, though.
So, Vientiane. The capital city of Laos, right along the Mekong River, and very sleepy. Definately not what a capital city is thought to be like! But I really love it here. Again, lots of red wine and french bread, and there are so many sights all crammed close together. Urban sprawl and suburbia are definately foreign concepts here!
Kate and James and I got a tuktuk to take us the 24km out of town, past the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong to Thailand, to see a bizarre Buddha Park called Xieng Khuan, or 'sprit city'. All manner of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures all over the place, designed and built by a yogi-priest-shaman in 1958. Theres also a supremely creepy round monument that you climb to the top of, with 3 levels representing hell, earth, and heaven.
Then we went to a free Japanese Okinawa cultural dance at the Lao National Culture Hall ~ a monstrosity of a building, huge and 'elegant' in a very Western opulence sort of way. But the dancing was very interesting and the event was attended by the Japanese ambassador and other official people. Ah, high society!
There is also a monument here that is very reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, called Patuxai. Which is basically a Lao translation of the French arch's name. Built in the '60s with cement that the States had sent over to construct a new airstrip, its surrounded by a popular park and you can climb to the top to look out over Vientiane. A veritable sea of red roofs and palm trees, pretty much! Its pretty french in design, but embellished with traditional lao temple-ish ornamentation. Seems like a far better use for the cement, especially seeing as the runway would likely have been used to ship in more ammo etc for the States to use in the secret war....those intrigued by this statement, please look up and read 'The Ravens' by Christopher Robbins. A true tragedy and direct contravention of the Geneva Accord of 1962. Something I certainly knew nothing about before coming here!
A visit to the Lao National Museum, the first half of which is basically a small display of cultural exhibits like hilltribe costume and lifestyle, as well as traditional musical instruments. After which it becomes a slow paced recap of the political situation in laos from 1893-1975. Covered the French colonial period, independance, American Imperialism, and the communist victory.
The most interesting thing I learned? Dinosaur bones have been excavated in Laos. Who knew?
Thats about it. I will write more before I leave this country for Cambodia, don't worry. But for now, I need to pack for a 7:30am, 12 hour bus ride tomorrow. Yikes.
lots of love,
xoxoxo Laura
