Vientiane Has Changed!

Monday, Aug. 9, 2010—Paksan to Vientiane

After three days of sunshine, my travel day started with a light mist. Fortunately, I could walk the 500 m (500 yards) to the bus stop without having to use an umbrella. When I got there, several people were waiting for buses, but all seemed to be looking in the opposite direction. Sure enough, when a bus came ten minutes later going toward Vientiane, I was the only one to get on it. As I expected, it was full, so I, along with about five others who were already on it, had to sit on a plastic stool in the aisle.

Sitting there isn't so bad except for the times when people needed to move through the bus. About ten minutes after I was picked up, the driver stopped in the country for a roadside toilet break. Men and women from behind me needed to get by me to get off the bus and get back on. An hour later, the bus driver picked up four women selling food. They road with us for about 15 minutes squeezing up and down the aisle selling grilled chicken, roasted peanuts in shells, some kind of sweet stuffed into hallow bamboo, and drinks. All of them squeezed their way to the rear of the bus and back to the front trying to sell their products.

Two hours later, we pulled into a bus station in Vientiane under sunny skies. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the bus station in the center of town where I had hoped we would arrive. I found a man who spoke English who told me we were about 9 km (5.5 miles) away. Tuk-tuk drivers were trying to get me to let them take me, but I had no idea what the price should be. I remembered reading that a public bus went to town from the outlying bus station, so I walked out to the street and joined several others taking tuk-tuks. As I stood there, several people gave up on the bus and took tuk-tuks, but I just continued waiting. Eventually, another tuk-tuk driver who had gotten two other passengers told me he would take me to the inner-town bus station for 5000 kip (60 cents US). I knew that was a good price, because 10,000 kip was the standard price to get to the bus station in Savannakhet which was only about 3 km out of town. I jumped inside with my bag, and we were off.

Without pages from a guidebook, I had prepared last night by hand drawing a map of the city of Vientiane showing where my first and second choices of rooms were located in relation to the inner bus station. Using that map, I made my way to the tourist area of town. Because of a lack of street signs in some places, I had to ask to be sure I was at the right place a couple of times. All went well, though.

I had found a review of a new hotel last night that sounded so good that it became my first choice. It was described as modern, bright, clean, and having flat-screen TV, a/c, hot water, and free wi-fi . It said there were three levels of room—back view for $20 per night, city view for $25 per night, and river view for $35 per night. When I walked into the hotel, they had a price list on the counter with those prices. I asked to see a back view room. I was so disappointed. The room itself was perfect, but the back view meant that 3 meter (3 yards) from the window was the concrete wall of another building. It made it seem depressing and did not provide enough light for me to easily read with natural light during the afternoons. I decided to check my second choice around the corner. Their rooms were bigger, had wonderful wooden floors, and had plenty of light. However, in contrast to what I had read about them, they had wi-fi only in the lobby and not in the rooms. I returned to the first hotel and looked at a city view room. It was perfect. With the curtains open, plenty of light comes through with a view of tree tops when I recline in bed. And it even has a balcony where I sat in the evening watching people walking down the street. Therefore, I am staying at the Lao Silk Hotel in the room just above the entrance to the hotel.

Since it was noon by the time I was settled into the room, I just stayed inside and watched the TV news and read for the afternoon. I completed reading Brick Lane by Monica Ali. It is the story of a woman from Bangladesh who moved to London as a result of an arranged marriage to a man 20 years older than she. The man is one who talks too much, thinks he knows everything, and is more successful at failing than at anything else. The story follows their lives through about 15 years as they have children, she learns English, they deal with the problems of being immigrants, etc. It also follows the life of her sister who remains in Bangladesh and suffers through hardships there. From what I have learned and observed about people and life from that region, the story seems authentic. The writing is wonderful resulting in the book being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I gave the book 4 stars out of 4 and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes books that place them inside other cultures.

In the evening, I explored Vientiane. It was such an unusual experience for me. Normally when I return to cities I have visited before, everything is familiar and I can recall what will be where as I wander through it. That didn’t happen today. At first, nothing seemed familiar. Finally, I found one spot that I could recall—a small park with some tourist restaurants around it. Otherwise, this city has greatly changed in the past 8 years. Before, it was a backwater place that seemed more like a small regional city than a national capital. Now it is booming. The tourist district is bigger and has many new hotels. Everywhere feels and looks more sophisticated. Streets are full of western tourists. It has become a rather special place, I think.

One disappointment is that there is no riverside here right now. Vientiane has always been known for the small cafes along the riverfront where people can eat and drink in the cool air of the evenings with a sunset view over the river. The city, however, is doing something a bit surprising. They have used landfill along the river bank and are building a new park along the riverfront. I've never heard of landfill in a river before. However, the river is so wide here that I guess it won't create any problems. The park is scheduled to open in October, and it looks as if they will be ready. They are putting grass and trees in some areas already.

I stopped at a small café where I saw a pot of food that the lady said was chicken curry. It was delicious with a coconut curry sauce filled with two big pieces of chicken, bamboo shoots, noodles, carrots, etc. But it was also the spiciest dish I have eaten in a long time. I was using 3 tissues at a time—one for my nose, one for my mouth, and one for my eyes! I had thought my sinuses were fine and that I was breathing well, but after eating that curry I had so much thick drainage. It was tasty, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Just beside the café, women were cooking and selling fried donuts of different kinds. I bought 3—two puffy ones with filling (one chocolate and one cherry) and one that was like a cake donut with sesame seeds outside.

As I wandered around the city both before and after dinner, I noticed the new arrivals. I had stayed in Paksan so that I would not arrive late in the day when I had read there is a shortage of rooms available. That proved to be true last night. People with bags were walking the streets looking for rooms. I saw one group of 3 people approach a guest house near my restaurant only to have the man at the door saying, “We are full. No rooms available.” An hour later, the same group walked down my street as I sat on my balcony. They still had their luggage and were still looking for rooms. And they were only one group of about ten who walked down my street while I sat out there. Part of the problem is probably that they were looking for the cheap ($3-8 per night) backpacker rooms. I’m just glad that I can afford a nice place and that I got here in time to get one.

Although I only read about my hotel last night, my walk through town took me past several more new hotels that look nice. Some may be similar in price, but mine seems to be the best value place after researching them. All are “boutique” size. Among them are:

Mandalay Hotel
Lao Orchid Hotel
Salana Hotel (Just being completed and opening soon)
Chanthapanya Hotel
City Inn Vientiane
dRose One Inn
Sabaidee@Lao Hotel

Any of these would be nice places to stay for anyone traveling here, but I would recommend my place--the Lao Silk Hotel.