Vientiane

The last three days we spent in the capital Vientiane. We took the bus again and, as usual, there were some problems. First, we were picked up by the tuk-tuk half an hour late, and when we arrived at the bus station, the bus was already full of Asians. Fortunately, we only had to wait half an hour with another couple until a small minivan arrived and was also filled with people. In general, buses only leave when they are full, regardless of the time indicated. This time, the driver seemed to be in a hurry and raced over the bumpy road at full speed. If you were not strapped in, you would sometimes fly off your seat. However, the whole fun lasted only 2.5 hours, half an hour faster than indicated.

The city of Vientiane itself is not a beautiful city, and there is not much to see. We strolled along the Mekong riverbank and could practically spit to Thailand. The other side of the river was already Thai territory, and there was only one bridge as a border crossing.

We took the bus slightly outside the city to a Buddha park. There were huge concrete sculptures in all possible variations. It was really impressive to see. Back in the city, we visited the so-called COPE Center. This is a facility that produces prosthetics for the many war and post-war victims of the "Secret War". Although Laos was never actively involved in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975, it became a victim of countless bombing attacks. Even today, parts of the country are a minefield, and there are many post-war victims who die or lose body parts due to landmines. It was also extremely impressive to experience this on site.

At noon, we could hardly go outside because the temperatures were unbelievably hot, to the point where we couldn't even stand it in the shade, so we escaped to our air-conditioned room. Only when it started to get dark, we ventured out again and enjoyed the sunset over the Mekong river and took a walk around the night market. This one was by no means as nice as the last one in Luang Prabang.

All in all, Laos was a great start to our Southeast Asia trip and a very interesting country. However, you can clearly see how poorly developed the country is so far and how simple the people live in some cases. Despite everything, we never felt that the people are particularly "poor". On the contrary, you feel that the people enjoy their lives with what is available to them and are content.

But now it's time for us to get on the plane and head to Vietnam, to the capital Hanoi. I am especially excited about this country, as it was not on our itinerary and I am a bit skeptical. But, let's wait and see, maybe I will be pleasantly surprised again!

See you soon, my dears, and sending hugs!!