Exploring Vientiane

I Continue From Here - Vientiane

Backpacking Laos: Day 003 (08-Feb-2020)

Exploring The Old Town. 

I think this the the fastest time I have taken to get comfortable in a country. Laotians are super friendly and everything seemed easy here. I decided that I will head to the deep south - The 4000 islands (Don Det) and make my way up, all the way to the North. I booked my bus tickets at the Hostel. Since the bus was leaving at night, I had all day to explore more of Vientiane.

During my walk around the city, I tried these tasty grilled bananas with sweetened shredded coconut filling. 

Dina and I decided to meet at Tham Dam stupa. It is an ancient ruin of a stupa.

From here, we walked to the Sisaket temple. The temple is impressive and the museum has some interesting sculptures from the bygone era. 

Dina and I spoke a lot of about our lives and travels. It was interesting to note that she was very honest about her life and her concerns. on our way, we stopped at this monastery where the locals were busy performing some special rites. 

Outside the temple, I was tempted to eat some tangy tropical fruits like raw mango and tamarind. We also tried some local flavoured juice. 

Next, we walked to Cope visitor centre. The museum records the war atrocities and how many Laotians lost their arms or legs or even lives due to bombings by USA during Vietnam war. Laos is the highest bombed country in the world and even today, the mines are being located.

We continued our walk to 1982 Barn hostel that makes the best coffee in town. We enjoyed some light food and then I bid her farewell. 

At the hostel, I spent sometime sketching the visuals from my city tour. Late in the evening, i stepped out to grab some early dinner - Banh Mi and avocado smoothie.

Back at the hostel, I waited for my shuttle service to the bus station. The bus station in almost all towns are several kilometres away from the city centre. A bunch of other travellers were also picked up from different hostels. Among them were two British girls who were really funny. They kept the atmosphere jovial with their occasional comments on the confusion we faced at the bus station.

The driver got us tickets to Pakse. He said that our bus would arrive at one of the stations but we had a tough time locating it. Meanwhile, I had a bad stomach due to the raw mango and tamarind I had eaten earlier on empty stomach. Thankfully, It wasn’t bad and I managed. We finally located the bus, boarded it. After a while, we were asked to change the bus. After all that confusion, we finally headed to Pakse. The buses are super comfortable with nice sleeper seats. 

I was scheduled to reach Pakse early in the morning. From there, I had to catch another bus to 4000 islands. I was excited!

CONTINUED HERE - 4000 Islands