Vientiane

My last stop in Laos was the capital city of Vientiane. Not my favorite, but an ok city to have a stopover in. We got picked up at our hotel in Vang Vieng by a tuktuk. We thought there were only going to be a few of us, but we continued to pick people up. No biggie, except they didn't put our luggage on the top like they've done before. We were a little tight squeezed, but made it to the bus station without much difficulty. We waited for a few minutes and then boarded our VIP bus. Mind you, it's not really VIP. It's VIP since it's has AC. Some of the seats were broken, but in comparison to local buses, it's a dream. The ride was a bit more comfortable than the minibus we took from Luang Prabang. We had a short bathroom break about halfway and made it to Vientiane close to on time. Of course, we got dropped off at the North Bus Station. The Central Bus Station would have been so much easier. But why would they drop us off there. We went through the same spiel as in Vang Vieng. No negotiations and we boarded a tuktuk reluctantly. I guess since we got picked up at our hotel the other times, I'll even it out.

We checked into our hotel and then went in search of food. I heard and saw on the map, that there was a market nearby. But we found a children's carnival instead. I don't know if it changed or we missed it or if there was a special event happening. But regardless, we didn't find food. After a little bit of wandering, and bypassing a lot of Western-style restaurants, we found a local noodle shop with some delicious noodles and rice. We filled up, called it an early night, and headed back to the hotel.

Still not sick of rice and noodles.

The following morning, since I decided to do my long run on Saturday, I spent a few short miles exploring the city a bit along the Mekong River. Once I first got to the river, I thought the river would be right up against the boardwalk (not really a boardwalk, but that's what they call it), but the river was actually quite a distance away. Not sure if it's receded over time or maybe it's a seasonal tide thing. I'm no expert, and I'm sure I could google it, but not right now. There were a few others enjoying the boardwalk as well, and I saw a few runners out there. Towards the end of the run, it started to rain a bit. When I got back, it got even worse. We were going to head to Buddha Park, an hour bus ride outside of the city. But we were not going to do it in the rain. So we ate breakfast and hung out a bit. Once it let up, we headed to the bus station and hoped for the best. It continued to drizzle a bit on our way out there, so we decided to get lunch across the street from the park. We got papaya salad and boy was it spicy. I'm glad I had that beer to wash it down with. I was hungry and the salad was good, so continued to eat it, despite the hot factor. They gave us cabbage to tone it down, but it wasn't enough. So we also got fried rice.

Those napkins were for my runny nose due to the spice.

We paid the entrance fee (plus the camera fee) to Buddha Park and checked out the interesting but creepy Buddha statues throughout. Definitely some weird stuff going on, especially the scary pumpkin. Animals are a norm among the various temples, but these were definitely not the norm. It was kind of cool, and I'm glad we went. Although we didn't need long to explore the small park, so once we had our fill of all the weirdness, we headed back to Vientiane.

Scary pumpkin.

We did a little more exploring when we returned, but there really isn't too much to see in Vientiane. We went to see Patuxai (coined the Lao "Arc de Triomphe") and surrounding area. Later on that evening we went to check out the Night Market. We were hoping to find something similar to what we saw in Luang Prabang but was definitely disappointed. It was a lot of knockoff brands and cheap clothing. And when we did find a stall that had some items we were interested in, they wouldn't negotiate on the price. It was much more expensive and not worth the trouble. I wasn't really looking for anything and have hopes for Thailand. We picked up a bottle of wine and some food at the Noodle Shop and called it a day. I had to get up early for my long run and Susan had to get ready for her flight out. I'm glad she was on board with our plan. I was getting pretty tired. I was happy to support the same restaurant and even though her English was limited, she was really sweet. 

Dinner pick-up.

The next morning, I got my 14-miler in around the city and along the Mekong River. Ten of those miles were meant to be at marathon pace, but it was tough to maintain. You could say they were at marathon pace, but at a slower marathon pace than I would like. Since it's been faster than previous long runs, I took it. The scenery was good and somewhat enjoyed it. Fortunately the temps were cooler and there was a cloud cover, but I still managed to be dripping wet when I finished. I'm dreaming of when I can run in low humidity. But that will be a while from now, and would also probably mean I'm home. Which I'm not in a hurry to do.

One of my long run views.

I got back in time to have breakfast with Susan and send her off to the airport. It was so great having her here with me for a part of this. It went by so fast, but I had such a good time. I'm sad to see her leave, but it's time to be on my own again. I'll be seeing some more friends soon enough. After a quick nap and checking out, I made my way to the hostel where I was spending my last night in Laos. On my way, I met a girl and chatted with her for a bit as we walked. She gave me some recos on Thailand, which I ended up listening to. The hostel was kind of  cool place, so enjoyed some beer as I caught up on my running journal.

The rest of the day was low-key. I got food, bought postcards (I've been buying them in every country for friends and myself), walked for a bit, met people at the hostel, and got more food. I needed a relaxing day of doing nothing. And Vientiane was a good place for that.

Beer and running journal at the hostel.

The following morning I made my way to the airport. I got on a bus near to the hostel based on direction from one of the workers. Which wasn't a good idea since it wasn't going to the airport. I asked if any bus would be good and she said yes. Next time, ask again to be sure. I was concerned that I was running late so ended up taking a tuktuk to the airport with my last little bit of Lao currency. Of course it may not have been necessary since I sat at the airport for a while waiting for my flight. With no wifi. And it was boarding later than what I was emailed. Oh well. I was there and not late. Good time to read Go Set a Watchman. And get excited for my next stop: Thailand.