Too Long in Vientiane...
There really isn't a whole hell of a lot to do in the capital city of Vientiane, Laos. At least that is my feeling on this place as of yesterday afternoon.
When I arrived back in Vientiane on Wednesday (17 January) afternoon, I had a few things I wanted to see, but nothing that would take up nearly 3 days. I couldn't leave for Hanoi, Vietnam until Friday (19th) evening because my Vietnamese visa wasn't valid until Saturday (20th). I stopped by the morning market to look for some sandals, but surprise, surprise my feet are too big and they only carry 'Lao' sizes. After lunch I went for a walk along the Mekong but it really isn't a very impressive waterfront. Just a big, dirty river fronted with a big, dirty river bank packed with makeshift restaurants. Didn't do much that evening.
On Thursday (18 January) I had a couple of 'big' sights I wanted to see and a full day to see them. The first was Pha That Luang, Laos' most important national monument. It was actually quite a small temple, but pretty nonetheless. Its a good thing it took nearly an hour to walk there from my guesthouse otherwise I would have only spent 15 minutes of the morning sightseeing.... Then I went back to my guesthouse to book my bus ticket to Hanoi, Vietnam for the next day. After lunch I treated myself to the best back waxing I've ever had. $7 and an hour later and my back was as smooth as a baby's bottom. That is as metrosexual as I get.
Then I took a tuk-tuk to Wat Sok Pa Luang, famous for its herbal sauna and cheap massages as well as being a fairly large temple with ~95 resident monks, alter boys, and nuns. As I was walking around the outside of one of the temples, a table full of young monks waived me over. I sat there talking to them for a while before they gave me a little tour around the temple compound, ending at the sauna. It was a good experience for both of us I think. They wanted to practice their english and I got to hang out with some monks.
Then, apparently not quite satisfied with my daily pampering, I took an herbal sauna and got a massage ($4 total). It was my first paid/professional massage ever, and it was pretty uninspiring actually. The flirty, large, female manager was talking to me in the sauna asking if I wanted to have a man give me a massage. I said I preferred female, and then she said something along the lines of, "oh really I thought you were gay". I told her that I was sorry to disappoint her and that I was straight. And she replied, "oh its not sorry for me, its good for me you know, but sorry for my gay friend, he wanted to massage you. He thought you were gay." Then I said, "well I definitely want a female masseur now." So I got a female masseur, after more convincing, much to the disappointment of the openly gay masseur that sat there and watched the whole time (along with the large, manager woman). It really wasn't a pleasant experience overall and its no wonder I went so long before getting my first massage. The masseur talked to her friends the entire time and even took a phone call. Not real professional, at least to me. Then I went back to the guesthouse well after sunset.
Today (Friday, 19 January) I actually have really nothing to do. So I'm not sure what I will do with myself for the better part of a day. I leave at 5 PM this evening for the 24-hour bus ride to Hanoi, Vietnam. I'm really looking forward to Vietnam, but my 3+ weeks in Laos have been fantastic.
When I arrived back in Vientiane on Wednesday (17 January) afternoon, I had a few things I wanted to see, but nothing that would take up nearly 3 days. I couldn't leave for Hanoi, Vietnam until Friday (19th) evening because my Vietnamese visa wasn't valid until Saturday (20th). I stopped by the morning market to look for some sandals, but surprise, surprise my feet are too big and they only carry 'Lao' sizes. After lunch I went for a walk along the Mekong but it really isn't a very impressive waterfront. Just a big, dirty river fronted with a big, dirty river bank packed with makeshift restaurants. Didn't do much that evening.
On Thursday (18 January) I had a couple of 'big' sights I wanted to see and a full day to see them. The first was Pha That Luang, Laos' most important national monument. It was actually quite a small temple, but pretty nonetheless. Its a good thing it took nearly an hour to walk there from my guesthouse otherwise I would have only spent 15 minutes of the morning sightseeing.... Then I went back to my guesthouse to book my bus ticket to Hanoi, Vietnam for the next day. After lunch I treated myself to the best back waxing I've ever had. $7 and an hour later and my back was as smooth as a baby's bottom. That is as metrosexual as I get.
Then I took a tuk-tuk to Wat Sok Pa Luang, famous for its herbal sauna and cheap massages as well as being a fairly large temple with ~95 resident monks, alter boys, and nuns. As I was walking around the outside of one of the temples, a table full of young monks waived me over. I sat there talking to them for a while before they gave me a little tour around the temple compound, ending at the sauna. It was a good experience for both of us I think. They wanted to practice their english and I got to hang out with some monks.
Then, apparently not quite satisfied with my daily pampering, I took an herbal sauna and got a massage ($4 total). It was my first paid/professional massage ever, and it was pretty uninspiring actually. The flirty, large, female manager was talking to me in the sauna asking if I wanted to have a man give me a massage. I said I preferred female, and then she said something along the lines of, "oh really I thought you were gay". I told her that I was sorry to disappoint her and that I was straight. And she replied, "oh its not sorry for me, its good for me you know, but sorry for my gay friend, he wanted to massage you. He thought you were gay." Then I said, "well I definitely want a female masseur now." So I got a female masseur, after more convincing, much to the disappointment of the openly gay masseur that sat there and watched the whole time (along with the large, manager woman). It really wasn't a pleasant experience overall and its no wonder I went so long before getting my first massage. The masseur talked to her friends the entire time and even took a phone call. Not real professional, at least to me. Then I went back to the guesthouse well after sunset.
Today (Friday, 19 January) I actually have really nothing to do. So I'm not sure what I will do with myself for the better part of a day. I leave at 5 PM this evening for the 24-hour bus ride to Hanoi, Vietnam. I'm really looking forward to Vietnam, but my 3+ weeks in Laos have been fantastic.
posted by Dustin at 6:43 PM
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