vientiane had an arid atmosphere
I had a Couchsurfing host in Vientiane, a woman named Soda offered to host me. She offered to pick me up on her motorbike but I couldn’t get a hold of her and the airport wi-fi sucked. I bought a drink to get the wi-fi password and I got directions to her place instead.
I was able to find her place, hidden inside one of the alleys. It was a bit of a shabby shack but still homey. I was supposed to sleep on the sofa covered by a mosquito net. We talked for a bit, she likes playing the guitar, identified as a minimalist and she told me about her favorite rock star. I commented how arid Vientiane felt, the sunlight there was very orangey, almost a bit desert like. This made Soda laugh. Our conversations continued on for a while, talking about Lao culture and her life and family until I excused myself because I wanted to see more of the city and she told me I would find her again later here.
a bit of temple hopping
I had assumed Laos and Myanmar would be a bit similar since they were neighboring countries but to my surprise they were quite different. Both were still Buddhist countries, but the temple architecture and statues were nothing alike. I went to Wat Si Saket first, Wat meaning temple. A huge roofed temple with pillars supporting it. They were a lot of people praying inside.
I was following this route that I made and soon also passed by That Dam, the black stupa.
I also went to Wat Si Muang, another Lao temple, there was a statue of Buddha being covered by snakes like an umbrella.
Patuxai is one of the central monuments in Vientiane, it was smackdab in the middle of the main road, towering over the surrounding park and fountain. I was able to see some more important government buildings along the way. It seems like Vientiane was pretty big on elephants as well, as there were numerous elephant statues all around.
I hanged out for a bit as the sun began to set, painting the sky an even more arid color. I started to head back another direction, passing by some more hidden temples.
locked out
I arrived at Soda’s place and found the place to be locked. I was still feeling quite unwell from a nasty sore throat and cough that I picked up all the way from Bali and had to wait for several hours, I called her and sent her messages but she wasn’t answering. It was pitch black and there were some very angry dogs as well, which added to my nervousness. After a long time of waiting, I decided it was taking too long and went to look for a new place to stay. I stopped by a café before it closed and ordered some food so I could use the wi-fi and book a place. I booked a pretty good boutique hotel near my place, I hurried off.
Having approached the check-in counter, it seemed like my booking hadn’t fully been processed yet. I decided to have some dinner first in one of their restaurants. I was the only customer, I ordered some bruschetta but when the order came there was a huge bug so the waiter promptly replaced it with a new one.
After my meal, I was able to check-in successfully. I was shown to my room, bigger, better, cleaner and not that expensive too. My family got in touch with me, as well as Soda. She apologized, turns out she was jogging along the Mekong river. I told her it was no problem and it was actually better this way for me since I was still sick. I took my shower, my meds and relaxed for a bit before drifting off to sleep.
a birthday in pha that luang
I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was my birthday today, I had greetings from family and friends. I took my shower and headed back to Soda’s place. She was going to help me get to Vang Vieng, I also wanted to visit Pha That Luang, Vientiane’s own brand of a golden temple.
I soon found myself back to Soda’s place, we spoke for a bit before she offered to give me a ride on her motorbike to the temple. I happily got on and off we went.
We stopped by a sandwich place, similar to Vietnam‘s banh mi, but the Lao version. It was absolutely delicious, and such a hefty breakfast too, I couldn’t finish it even after we arrived at the temple.
The temple grounds were surprisingly empty, I had it all to myself, we walked around the golden stupa and took some photos before looking around the other parts of the temple grounds. There were golden reclining Buddha statues amongst other works of art.
sayonara soda
Soda took me to the place where there were mini-buses going to Vang Vieng. We waited here for a bit, I also got nervous because there was a chance that it would not arrive, I just put all my trust in Soda. In the end, she did come through and I was able to get one of the cheapest rides to Vang Vieng.
