Kap Jai Lai Lai

I have to start by describing the bus trip from BKK to Vientiane because it was such a far cry from any bus trip I have been on in the last 2 months.

There is no better word than "magical" to describe a Thai bus. They are all spray painted in bright, colours in the theme of "fantasy creatures." There is the Hello Kitty bus, the Star Trek bus, you name it...and they do a good job too. It's pretty weird, but sweet. And the buses are CLEAN. So clean and fresh and comfortable. I was pleased that I would get some sleep...

I sat next to a couple of girls, Marie and Andree-Anne from Quebec who were on a 4 month trip. I was really surprised that they had French accents. I know Quebec is a French colony in Canada but I thought they would be more Canadian than French, but it was the otherway around.

Andree had been planting trees in her uni breaks to get the cash together to travel. It was really fascinating listening to her experience of living in a commune in tents in the middle of forests, moving around Canada's west coast planting thousands of trees and getting paid. She told me that when she first started off she was making minus $15 a day. But by the end of it she managed to plant something like 200-300 trees a day and was making about $250 a day. Hard labour.

The three of us gals got talking to an Israeli guy, Avshalom or Avi. He had finished his army service in Israel and decided to hit the road.

They were all a lot younger than me- 20 or so, but we had some interesting conversations. We shared travel stories and experiences which was so fascinating to listen to. The 9 hour bus ride wizzed past and we finally arrived at the Thai Laos border at about 9am. Getting the visa was pretty easy. You pay a few dollars and hang around an office for about 10 minutes, and then you're in.

Vientiane is the Capital city of Laos. When I arrived it was dead. I was told that this was because it was Chinese NY, but I get the feeling it is a pretty dead most of the year! It is tiny and you are immediately hit with the s l o w p a c e that runs Laos. People walk slowly, move slowly, no one is rushing anywhere.

It is said that the people from Laos watch rice grow. This is not hard to believe.

I spent that day in Vientiane chatting to the gals. We had a delicious breakfast of cheese and vegetable baguette and fresh Lao coffee. The French managed to leave their mark of baguette, excellent coffee and vin rouge in Laos! I was thrilled by this!

After an afternoon nap, I hired a bicycle and cycled around the tiny city. I went to see the most famous Buddhist temple, the Phat That Luang which is an incredible gold structure. Because it bears many references to Lao architecture and culture, it is now the national symbol for Laos. It is pretty impressive.

That evening we went to the banks of the Mekong river for a Laos dinner. I must say that this has got to be the most delicious food ever! I am so happy - anyone who knows me knows how important good food is, and this is the best.
We had an amazing Laos BBQ where you basically get a fire in a clay pot set on your table. A clay pot of hot water sits ontop of the fire. In here you throw in fresh vegetables, meat, roots, garlic - anything creating a deliciously satisfying soup. So good. We also had the BBQ fish which you wrap up in pieces of lettuce leaves and sprinkle nuts, lemongrass, ginger, tomatoes, spring onions and then dunk the wrap into a delicious sweet plum sauce. IT was heavenly!!!

After dinner and excellent conversation we went to find some good vin rouge. Excellent. After not drinking for so long it was so good to sip on a glass of smooth merlot.

I really got on with Adrienne and Marie. They were good company - really full of life! It was sad to say goodbye the next morning. It was also a little hard as we had spent the rest of the evening at a balcony party with the rest of the guests from the hotel. We were all a little hung over!

Next stop - Vang Vienne.