Food and Sauna

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010--Vientiane

My first order of business was to get a better map. I had made a hand-drawn map off the internet to get from the bus station to the hotel when I arrived yesterday morning, and it worked well for that, but it only covered the immediate area of town where I was staying. I wanted one that would show more of the city so I could find places I knew I would be wanting to go. That meant going to the tourist office. I had to look up a map on the internet again to see how to get there, since it was beyond the borders of my original drawing. I walked to there and got a map and answers to some questions. I also read the English-language paper to see what was going on in the city.

I crossed the street to the French Language Institute to read their bulletin boards. My guidebook said that they show films three times a week with English subtitles. But there was nothing posted about any recent activities. There was a post for a circus in June. My guess is that their schedule of activities stops during the European summer months.

The Morning Market is near there, so I wandered through part of it. Mostly I saw stalls selling Lao weaving--sarongs, dresses, etc.

After resting a while in my room, I started walking to the Wat Sok Pa Luang. It is on the edge of town and is known as one of the better places to go for sauna and a massage. I had gone there 9 years ago when I was here before, but then I was inexperienced as a traveler. When I got there, I hesitated to go further when a boy pointed out a shack on stilts in the woods as the place. This time, I was looking forward to being there and having the experience. It was a long, hot walk there in the middle of the afternoon, but the guidebook had said that the best times to be there would be between 15:00 and 17:00. I arrived at 15:30.

I was giving a sarong and guided to a small changing room. Then I was given a drawer for storing my bag and clothes. I entered the sauna which has herbs (lemon grass) added to the steam. It made a nice aroma. And the heat was not too bad. The room was large enough that one could sit near the steam vent or move a bit away from it as desired. I was the only one there.

I left the steam room and sat in the open-air area to have a cup of herbal tea. Then I re-entered the sauna with a young man from France. When we both left, he showed me that there is a place for "showering" to cool down. We went down from the house on stilts to an opening where there was a large barrel of water with small plastic bowls floating on top. We dipped the bowls to pick up water, and then poured it over our bodies. It did feel nice and refreshing.

We visited for a while when we returned upstairs, because they were not ready to give us a massage yet. Then we were assigned masseurs. The same outdoor platform on stilts had a section with six beds. They put us on beds and gave us the massage. Lao massage is nicer, I think, than Thai massage. It using pressure like Thai massage, but the "torture" techniques are not used where Thai masseurs try to push and pull parts of the body into places there they normally would not go. Lao pressure involves thump or finger point pressure on muscles. It was very relaxing and felt wonderful. It rained while we were getting out massage, and the fact that it was an open platform outdoors made the experience even nicer with the sound of the rain and the fresh air it created.

When the massage ended, I asked the man who seemed to be managing the place if I could return to the sauna and was told I could. I went inside. A Lao man was there this time. Then, the manager came inside, too. Things had slowed down outside, because it was then about 17:30. His English was great, so he and I visited for almost an hour inside the sauna. He had another friend, a policeman, who arrived and joined us, but the friend did not speak any English. It was so nice, however, relaxing there and visiting with them (via translations by the manager for whatever the policeman said).

Heavy rain began just before I departed. It was obvious that it would not let up, so I just had to open my umbrella and walk in it. There were no tuk-tuks around at that hour and under those conditions. Therefore, I walked the 3 km (2 miles) back to town in the rain. My shoes and socks were completed soaked.

Rather than stop to eat, I just bought some pastries for dinner. Two were filled with pork, and the others were sweet. I ate them in the room.

Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010--Vientiane

My head felt as if I had a hangover when I got up this morning. And my entire body felt sluggish. Maybe it was the herbs in the herbal sauna that gave me that feeling. Anyway, it was still cloudy and there was some rain, so I just stayed around the room until 11:00. Then I pushed myself to go out for a sandwich. While out, I tried to find the Chinese Market. I think I was near it, but I never came across it and didn't feel like making the effort of being sure to find it. I was able to help a French woman who was wanting the bus station; she had been walking in the opposite direction, so I got her turned around and headed the right way. I just made a giant loop and walked back to the hotel.

Feeling too tired to do anything else, I got into bed and fell into a deep sleep for about 3-4 hours. I had to force myself to get up. When I did, I was surprised to see it was already 18:00.

I walked to a nearby intersection with lots of street food stalls. One was making Phad Thai that looked good, so I ordered that. While eating, a man about my age joined me at the table. He is originally from here, but he lives in Australia now. He worked at the US Embassy when he lived in Laos. But he immigrated to Australia 35 years ago where he worked as an immigration officer for the government. He said that he returns to Laos once a year to keep contact with friends, to enjoy the foods, and to see the changes that occur here. We had a very good conversation. After eating, he gave me a walking tour of the block telling me what to eat at which restaurants. He was staying at an older hotel where he always stays, so I brought him to my hotel to show him my room which sounds as if it is a better bargain than his.

I've stayed inside since then. I don't know if I will be able to sleep well tonight or not after so much napping this afternoon.