Excitement at fever pitch, I crossed the Friendship Bridge from Issan to Laos on Saturday and went in a tuk-tuk to Vientiane, the capital city.  I had inadvertently arranged to go during the first weekend of the Buddhist Lent, which meant many people were travelling and accommodation was hard to find.  But I managed to get a place for two nights on the riverfront within walking distance of the city centre which was OK, as there were many  makeshift cafes on the river bank serving local food and Beer Lao.

What struck me first was the quiet; Thailand is relentlessly noisy, but Vientiane is very quiet.  And there are few Western brands in sight, except for Toyota and Honda cars and motorbikes, and Pepsi, which is pervasive. It’s one of the few remaining Communist states left in the world, though you’d probably never guess.  Despite the bombing carried out by the Americans during the Civil War (1962-1975) (AIUI, to try to stop the Ho Chi Minh trail), the US dollar is the de facto currency there, as it is in Cambodia and Vietnam.

I went on a wandering tour of the city, most of which can be done on foot, although when the sun was out, it was dreadfully hot.  The French built a lot of boulevards and French-looking houses and there is a triumphal arch, Patuxay, which contains shops and stalls selling souvenirs and has the best views in the city from the top.  There are also numerous temples and stupas.

I went to several of the little cafes and restaurants along the River Mekong for lunch and dinner.  Going back to Thailand was faster, as I didn’t have to queue up to get a visa from Thailand, just the 30-day stamp, which they give you for nothing.  I travelled back to Udon Thani on the (airconditioned!) International Bus and flew back to Bangkok from there, after eating Som Tam, a spicy papaya salad which is the speciality of Issan.

Oh my, it’s back to Berlin on Monday evening.  They say the repair works at the Grünberger are scheduled to be completed in my apartment by the end of the 25th, so I should get home to dryness.