Wated Out?

Our second day in Vientiane was just as busy as day one, starting with a trip to Le Banneton, the famous French bakery in the center of town.  Sipping on a hot cappuccino and eating fresh baguette transported me straight to Paris for a couple glorious moments.  Getting back there to try the apple tart is on my bucket list!

We decided to walk along the riverside to both explore the Mekong in the dry season and witness the work being done to transform the area into Vientiane "New World," a multi block development complete with multi millions dollar villas, luxury hotels and non knock off designer shopping complexes.  Since I have arrived a lot has already changed along the waterfront and it will be interesting to see how much will happen along here in 6 months, 5 years, 20...

Trying to stay in the shade, we headed to visit the COPE center which is always a mix of depressing and informative.  From there I decided to give mom and dad the ultimate of developing country experiences with a tour of the food market.  Lets just say they now understand why I don't buy meat from the market and cautiously wash every vegetable that ever enters my mouth.  Getting away from the overwhelming smells, we walked to visit Wat Sisiket, the most famous in Vientiane.  Having been "wat-ed" out already, we sped through to tour Ho Phra Keow temple but it was already closed for lunch.  We spent the hour meandering around the area and enjoying ice coffee at Joma, where Kiki met up with us for the afternoon.  We returned to tour the building, which once housed Thailand's emerald Buddha.  The building is one of a few that Hillary Clinton visited in August, so it certainly had to be part of our brief city tour.

Walking back into town, Kiki and I decided that my parents needed to experience the Istanbul restaurant. This time we opted for the fresh hummus which totally hit the spot.  Needing another nap, we returned to the apartment with the promise of meeting up with Brad (he's leaving while I'm away!) and Kiki before dinner with Mark at the Belgian mussel restaurant. 

At six, mom and I headed out to meet Briki by the fountain, where we found a new mulberry restaurant that was celebrating its opening day with mulberry smoothies and tempura mulberry leaves.  I was skeptical at first, but they were delicious!! I sad my weepy goodbyes to Brad and we headed back to the apartment to pick up dad for dinner.  

The Belgian owner of the restaurant serves mussels on Friday and Saturday that he imports from Thailand.  The huge 1 kilo servings are accompanied by French fries and fresh bread to dip in the variety of mussel sauces.  The place was hopping and we enjoyed a long meal outside, and certainly ate way to many mussels for our own good.  Trying to walk off some of the meal, we went to see Patuxai, which is all lit up at night.  We returned back home, weaving our way through motorbikes, tuk tuks and the crowds of a Saturday night Vientiane street.  

Back to season three of Downton Abbey!

Visiting Vientiane

It has been a while since I've updated the blogging world on life here in the Lao PDR.  I'll try to catch everyone up on the recent happenings in sunny South East Asia.

Last time I wrote, Mom and Dad were on their way to Laos to visit yours truly.  Their first morning they were introduced to the Kung's sticky rice pancake, and despite the lack of mango, it was delicious! Thanks to some coordinating on Vongdala's part, we visited the orthopedic hospital, which serves as the main surgical hospital in the country. We met with one of the hospital directors and toured the patient wings including the emergency room, neurosurgical unit and recovery floors.  It was very fascinating and gave my dad a good perspective for his work in Haiti.

Making our way into town, we stopped to scale Patuxai, the "vertical runway" and arc de triumph-esque monument on the main road of the city. The scenic panorama from the rooftop provided a very beautiful view of Vientiane and gave a good idea of the city layout.  We made our way to Nudle for lunch and enjoyed the Asian western fusion take away from the comforts of the small air conditioned restaurant.  Mom was pleasantly surprised by the availability of coca cola light, the Lao equivalent of Diet Coke.  I told her not to get too used to it, but was shocked by how everywhere we happened to go actually sold the silver can.

From lunch, we trekked back across town to let the jet lagged travelers nap, while I caught up on some work.  An afternoon at the apartment was a nice change of pace and gave mom a chance to play with Sok, who has grown into a full-on menace.

At six, we made our way to Daofa for happy hour and gave dad a chance to try beerlao on ice.  Mom joined Kiki and I in a glass of pastis before we all made our way to Makphet for dinner.  Despite calling and being told that there was no availability without a reservation, we were seated quickly and Mom and Dad got their first taste of traditional Lao food.  As always, the food was delicious and we overate, entering into a self induced food coma.

Exhausted, we returned home where mom and I indulged in an episode of Downton Abbey that only the pirated DVD store sells. There are perks to living in Laos!

The Foodie Group

Despite an almost disastrous connection in Bangkok, Mom and Dad finally made it to Vientiane.  I went to the airport to pick them up after my first dinner out with the Vientiane Foodie Group.  This group, which I joined on Facebook in August, meets every thursday for dinner at a preselected location.   Having not actually every been to one of the get togethers, Andy and I headed out and arrived at Lao Garden just in time.  The group was huge, over twenty people, and we had to drag more tables over to make room.  It was interesting to meet so many other young people and I enjoyed finding out what other people do here in Vientiane.  After about an hour and a half of waiting for our food, I got the yellow curry I ordered and it was fabulous, even better than Kung's (but almost three times the price).  Rushing to eat, I bid farewell to my new friends and headed to the airport.

The airport post ASEM looks so much different from when I arrived almost 3 months ago.  The road is paved, the parking lot has painted lines and there is even a little cafe in the arrivals terminal.  I was just on time and after walking through the Lao equivalent of customs, I greeted them on the other side.  

We took the cab back to the apartment, which mysteriously had no power since the afternoon.  Having already complained to security about it once and received a glass of beer and a candle in compensation, I decided there was nothing to do until the morning.  Bor pen nyang I guess.

Mom and Dad met Sok, acquainted themselves with the apartment by candlelight and headlamps and the two jet lagged travelers promptly passed out.  

BeerLao, a candle and a torch.  The Lao solution to no power.