Vientiane - Day 2 and Day 3

People in love with small towns will fall in love with Vientiane. There are enough modern conveniences to make it cozy, and restrained enough to be quiet. Vientiane is not in your face about anything. Unfortunately, one tourist I met in Chiang Mai who had traveled to Vientiane told me it was "the most boring capital city in the world." Some things change. Some things stay the same.

I got on the street to get to the consulate to process my paperwork. The line wasn't as long as the day before, as it had been a day following a three day holiday, and had many people waiting to get their visa applications turned in. As I had been there the day before, they checked my cover letter and a few other things, and told me everything was good. I waved off the tuk-tuk drivers and walked on down Lane Xang Blvd. toward Wat Si Sa Khet temple. I'd visited it before, about two years ago, when they were making renovations to the building housing the sanctuary. I got to the temple a few minutes before noon, when they close the museum for lunch. 

In my every visit to Vientiane, I have to go to my favorite sandwich shop in town. Fasai Fruit Shake, Drink and Food is located about 10 minutes from Wat Si Sa Khet. I got a sandwich and two banana shakes for around 32,000 kip. 

After lunch I walked back to Wat Si Sa Khet and started clicking pictures. I took a number of self-portraits among the stupas and other older buildings, then went inside to see the main hall. I only took photos of the exterior, as taking pictures is not allowed inside the sanctuary. 

Currently I am packing a Canon A-800 series point-and-shoot camera that has let me down a few times in the focusing department. It has been this way for a while, and it needs to be replaced either with a Canon PowerShot that I really like, or with a Canon DSLR. I need something that will focus, and will allow me to get good wide angle photos. The current camera has its moments, but I need something a bit more powerful, and in the 12-meg range. For self-portraits the camera is okay, but I am not satisfied with the other settings on it. But I also at times ask too much of the camera, pushing it to do more than it can. It's okay for now. We have seen a lot of things together. I would like to see it in the hands of someone who can work with it inside its limitations. 

Thoughts like this come to mind every time I take it out and put it to work. 

I spent about an hour-and-a-half inside the temple grounds, and weathered a brief rain shower that drove up the humidity. 

From there I just went walking for a while. I didn't have any place in particular I wanted to go, but would have to get out of the rain again. My knee was hurting and wanted a break, so I went to a Mexican restaurant to rest up. While there, it rained for about 45 minutes, I guess. When it was over, I headed out to the Mae Kong River. I got there in time to enjoy the sunset, and met two girls who needed some photography advice. One was Filipina; the other was South Korean. They were both on visa runs. The sunset was nice. After dark, I started shooting pictures at the night market, which is set at the base of the levy lining the river. 

The day was spent, and I went to a mini-mart for some food, then went back to the guest house to chill out and get some sleep. 

In the morning I lounged around the guest house, wrote a couple of poems, tried to get the AndroPad to work with Xanga. I can only say I am not happy with the AndroPad. The Apple iPod Touch that I bought two years ago is faster in booting, and loads web pages so much more quickly than the AndroPad. Google screwed up a perfectly good relationship with Apple to produce the Android. More on that someday.

At noon I checked out of the guest house, ate lunch across the street, then went to the consulate for my visa. It was a routine of hurry up and wait, followed by lining up a tuk-tuk for a ride to the bus station. All too soon the 3:00 bus loaded and left for the border for a round of outprocessing from Laos and inprocessing to Thailand. Around 5pm we arrived in Udon Thani, and officially ended the visa run. 

At the mall I got some dinner, did some currency exchange at the bank, and returned to the bus station for the 6:50 bus to Bangkok. I settled in for my seven hour trip back to Saraburi. I slept well enough until Khorat. There I got a Strawberry Fanta, and got back to sleep for another three hours. Friday morning was coming, and I had a morning class to teach.

Wat Si Sa Ket - Vientiane

panorama of the temple grounds at Wat Si Sa Ket using eight images stitched together with Hugin software.
taken from the southwestern corner of the courtyard.

Canon A800 

panorama composed of 22 images, including the eight images from the upper photo. 

Photo links for Vientiane

I will post more photos here and tell more about the trip as soon as I can.

http://travelblogasia.blogspot.com/2013/05/that-dam-black-stupa-vientiane-lao-pdr_26.html?m=1

http://travelblogasia.blogspot.com/2013/05/that-dam-at-night-vientiane-lao-pdr.html?m=1

http://travelblogasia.blogspot.com/2013/05/vientiane-night-market-on-fa-ngum-lao.html?m=1

http://travelblogasia.blogspot.com/2013/05/pha-that-luang-vientiane-lao-pdr_26.html?m=1

Presidential Palace - Vientiane, Lao PDR

Vientiane: day one

In my left hip pocket is 260,000 kip, the currency of Lao PDR, converted from 1,000 Thai baht. It is about $30 US. In another pocket is a dwindling stash of baht, and in my wallet is 3,000 baht to cover the cost of my visa. Checking in at Saylom Yen Guest House, I pay for two nights, expecting to check out on Wednesday, get my passport, then catch a bus to Udon Thani, where I will catch the last bus to Bangkok. It passes through Saraburi, my final destination. Everything is planned out, and I see a tight budget in front of me. 

This time around I am in Rm. 5, on the second floor. Last time it was Rm. 6, and the time before that was Rm. 1 on the ground floor near the front desk. The rooms I get are fan-only, no air conditioning. These are the cheapest rooms available. The rooms have a double bed, desk/dresser, and a shower with cold water. No hot water is available, even at some pricier places. Since my last visit the owners have renovated the rooms so they are brighter cleaner in appearance. Looks much better now that the dingy yellow has been replaced by a bluish-white wallpaper. 

I eat lunch across the street at a vegetarian restaurant, then return to my room. I read, I sleep, I wake up at 6:15 pm and remain so for eleven hours. I use both ipod Touch and a new Andro Pad to surf the Internet. I chatted briefly with one of my sisters and one of my nephews. Around 5am, I fall asleep and am back up just after 7am. 

On my last visa run I studied a map of the city, looking for a short cut to the Thai consulate visa section. I found what I was looking for, including one or two landmarks to use as way points. On the walk I forgot them, remembering only a dental clinic. I walked too far, but remembered a bank from a prior visit that I passed when I was walking back to the guest house. I retraced the route the best I could and botched it. I walked too far north and approached the consulate from the north-east. I should be approaching it out of the west. Go figure.

I get the guys in front to take care of my application form, and pay them 300 baht for the pictures and the service. They tell me that they have been handling paperwork for a lot of non-b immigration applicants like myself. Teachers preparing to apply for work permits came here, and face the backlog brought on by the three day holiday. I have time to wait, and my number in the line is 315. They are in the 250s when I get there. Hurry up and wait to find out that the cover letter is addressed to Immigration and not to the embassy. I am in good company, as English teachers from the Philippines and from maybe Hong Kong or Singapore also have problems with the papers provided them by their schools. I get my paperwork back and wander around town, aiming to find a PC cafe to request the proper document to be sent to me. Go to the bank, go to PC room, go to the Morning Market and Talat Sol mall, and then wander around town for a while because I need the exercise. 

I'm looking for an English language bookstore that I have visited three times before. It's been over a year since I last stopped in, and I never seem to remember where to find the place. First I come across a sporting goods store that I honestly do not remember from any of my other visits. I find some pads I need to practice kicking, and the price is kinda nice when I convert it to dollars. I don't make promises to return, though, but will keep it in mind to return there in a few months if things go right.

I overshoot the street I am looking for by about three blocks too far west, and I am two blocks north of the location. What hurts is my right knee, so I am not walking as quickly as I would like. I find the Monument bookstore right where I left it, I do not find the book I was looking for, but I do find another book on the subject that is affordable and make my purchase. Then comes another long walk. First, a bottle of water. It's the west end of town. I find two streets named after Hanoi and Hai Phong, two major cities in the northern part of Vietnam. I don't even want to think about history as I cross the streets. 

The wandering around continues until dark. I go to a PC room and find that the document I need has been sent. I get the print, pay up, and walk back to the guest house. Time to read. Time to sleep.