Everyone was excited about the “Happy Face” in the sky last night, two planets (Jupiter and Venus?) and the waning moon. Perhaps it was a sign of good things to come. Or maybe just the heavens laughing at us.
It was odd to fly once more. In an effort to reduce the weight of our checked luggage we moved some heavier items to our carry-on, completely forgetting about the liquids and such. Add to the cost of the tickets cough syrup, bug spray, rehydration salts and half a tube of toothpaste. We landed in Pakse for customs and immigration then flew on to Vientiane, the capital. It is disorienting to arrive by air. You know you are somewhere new but have no sense of getting there.
If Cambodia is at the edge of travelers’ radar, Laos might be in another galaxy. Vientiane (Wein-chen) was eerily still when we arrived yesterday afternoon. There were few vehicles on the road, not even tuk-tuks and even the riverfront was quiet. It happened to be National Day, a public holiday, which explains the empty streets and the carnival along the Mekong across from our hotel.
But this morning when we walked to the Great Stupa, Pha That Luang, the city was still quiet. It was a pleasant walk along tree-lined streets with French colonial buildings. There isn’t a lot to do in Vientiane but it is a nice place to do it. In front of the stupa people were selling caged birds. It is good karma to release them but I wonder what happens to the karma of those who catch and cage them? I guess it goes with the Laotian ‘live for today’ attitude. Nothing seems to upset them, probably because like the Cambodians and Vietnamese they have seen it all.
