The days in Luang Prabang were very nice. We quickly leave the formalities behind us. The view from the turboprop is very beautiful, even if the clouds often obscure it; Laos, a country of jungle and mountains. Only now and then can you see settlements again.

After a good shower, Glen and I explore Vientiane. For a capital city, this city seems quite sleepy.

Here, too, there are dozens of temples and monasteries. Whenever we pass one, we often have amusing conversations with monks. Not that we weren’t welcome. Quite the opposite, they are happy to learn something about us and to exchange a few words.

I always have great conversations with Buddhist monks

After having a small snack with Ian and Glen in a café at lunchtime, I leave them to their family discussions and go in search of an internet café.

The one I found turns out to be extremely bad, the keyboard almost doesn’t work and the computer crashes once, so I have to write the email again. At least the owner gives me a 50 cent discount for an hour.

In the evening, Glen and I wander around looking for a suitable restaurant. We’re looking for a normal pasta place, but they’re all just too dirty for us. We find a nice little stall, a stand on the street with a few chairs where we can choose what we want from the pans and pots standing outside.

The saleswoman is a bit confused; it seems that not many tourists have eaten there. Everything looks very tasty, but the sight of flies crawling around in the meat spoils our appetite. We wander through Vientiane for two hours, are also harassed by pimps, and continue walking through the streets and along the Mekong.

In the city center, opposite the cultural center, we find a nice and expensive restaurant where we get excellent local food without any noticeable maggots.

The next morning, Nicki, Jenna, and Glen and I take a tuk-tuk to take us to the so-called Buddha Park outside of the city. The journey takes a whole hour, and the driver hits every pothole, which causes us to tumble around in the cabin every time.

We agree with the driver that he will wait for us while we are in the park and then drive us back. And only then will we be paid. At least that is the custom in Asia: first the service, then the payment. No matter where.

The park, planned by a mad king, is a garden of stone statues, motifs of Buddha, but also Hindu myths. Some figures massacre others, you can see all kinds of monsters, giant turtles and titanic grasshoppers. A large sphere that looks a lot like a pumpkin stands outside the park. You can enter it through the mouth of a monster. It has three floors connected by stairs. In the middle of each floor there is a room that is supposed to represent the current level:

In hell you see dead people, skeletons and demons made of clay, much of it broken. A head is lying loose and I tuck it under my arm for fun. On the earthly plane people go about their work, and up in heaven people seem to be dancing or doing some other strange things. Here you can also climb onto the roof of this pumpkin, where we have a great view of the park. At the top the “Tree of Knowledge” rises up into the sky.

There are hardly any visitors in the park and we can explore it undisturbed. It is not big, but wandering through the green areas and the strange rows of statues gives you the feeling of walking in wonderland. The middle of the park is a gigantic Buddha lying on its side. On the other side of the park you can see the opposite side of the Mekong.

Our tuk-tuk driver waited for us the whole time and drove us back to the hotel, hitting every pothole. It’s not luxury by any means, but it’s a great starting point for city expeditions.

After taking a short break, Glen and I want to go to the “Morning Market” because I want to get rid of a few Baht from Thailand. With the help of a map of Vientiane, we find it pretty quickly. We also meet a few militia members on our way, who greet us in a particularly friendly manner and ask where we are going. We greet them in a friendly manner in Lao and say that the market is our destination. All three of us wave our arms in the same direction and say that it is not far. We say goodbye, turn away from them with a grin and head towards the market, which is really just around the corner.

The entrance to the market looks really promising; a neat sign welcomes us at the entrance to the Morning Market. In the middle of the market is a large hall. Stalls, tarpaulins and tents are lined up around it. We look at the hall first, but there is only the usual counterfeit stuff, imitation designer clothes, pirated copies, watches, etc. So we wander around the stalls a bit. In addition to the usual food market, which turns our stomachs again, there are also silk stalls like in Luang Prabang. I buy a scarf and, due to my lack of communication skills, I get a skirt to go with it. I lose my baht for that. Glen tells the saleswoman that the skirt isn’t for my girlfriend, but for me. She doesn’t stop laughing for two minutes and infects everyone else in the area after translating it into Lao.

We walk a little further through the city until we come to a large triumphal arch that Laos built to commemorate its liberation from the French. But Laos had nothing whatsoever to do with the French withdrawal…

At lunchtime we meet the Canadian girls again in the café. They tell us about their great massage. We don’t have anything planned for the afternoon, so we all go together to have another massage. It’s hard to choose – there are as many massage parlors as there are noodle shops. But the prices are all the same, three dollars for an hour of relaxation. Glen resists taking off his clothes like a child; we get a Laotian oil massage. It’s really fantastic. After an hour I can feel every bone individually.

In the evening we meet our friends in a bar where we celebrate our departure from Vientiane in style. Very fitting, because the bar sells one-liter mugs of beer for a dollar, but I’m done after two liters. We drink until the bar closes. One after the other suddenly disappears, first Becky, then the Scots. Mia rarely attends our meetings, the Canadians for the first time. Nicki takes advantage of the special offer on tequilas and takes five straight away. Kevin suddenly leaves the bar, then Ewen, and suddenly both of them are speeding away in a tuk-tuk.

Glen, Jane, Brian and the Canadians decide to slowly head back. We walk in a zigzag pattern along the street until we find the side street of our hotel. When we get our keys we realise that Brian didn’t come with us to the hotel and we must have lost him somewhere along the way. Nicki and I stagger out again and along the Mekong road, but there is no sign of Brian. Shrugging our shoulders we look for our hotel again. Glen hadn’t noticed that I had left the hotel again and I had the room key. When I get to our floor I see Jane slamming the door in his face because he asked her if he could sleep at her place since I had disappeared with the key. The next day begins with a horrible headache. But the tablet works quickly. We have to leave again this morning to continue our journey. Brian has also turned up again; he was just out for another beer last night. The next morning we set off on an exciting journey to the Vietnamese border.