Vientiane

Sparing details of additional travel, I successfully landed myself in Vientiane, the capital city of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The only thing I will say is that the driving here puts to shame pretty much any other experience I've had...they drive fast and agressively, and have 2 speeds, full throttle and full breaks! I hear that's pretty par for the course in Asia overall though. Anyways, Lao PDR is the official name, and I have no idea why it's usually referred to (and spelled) as Laos. Regardless...it's an incredible place not far across the border with Thailand, along the Mekong River. It is the dry season here, and as you might see from the photos (assuming I can make that whole thing work), you'll note that the river is indeed pretty dry. Lots of restaurants and roadside stands and many people shouting "tuk-tuk??" as you walk by. The tuk-tuks are ubiquitous throughout SE Asia, but I think most places put their own spin on it.

I was trying to find my way to a buddhist temple and befriended a young monk (maybe 15 years old). I will not be able to reproduce his name, as his english was not good and my Lao pretty much sucks! Anyway, he showed me their prayer room and monastary and another of the city sites...The village where he is from in Southern Laos does not have a school (at all), and the only way that he could afford to attend school was to enter the monkhood. Apparantly this is very common here as in other parts of the world where basic education and literacy are considered luxury. He was lovely and kept asking when I was coming back to Vientiane. He pointed me vaguely in the direction of another temple and then departed and I promptly got lost, realizing that I had been concentrating too hard on communicating with him and not nearly enough paying attention to where we were! Ah, but thank goodness then for the passing Tuk tuk and the address card for my guest house : ) Tomorrow, on to Vang Vieng.