Vientiane!

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and quite beautiful for an Asian city. ;-)

You could feel that the celebrations for the Laotian New Year were just around the corner - everywhere there were parties, loud music echoed through the streets, the temples were decorated.

There is a lot to see. But my favorite was the Buddha Park, which is located just outside the city. Behind a fence of the park sat the self-proclaimed 'Magic Man' and played the flute. That gave it a mystical touch. (I didn't take a photo of him, as he wanted an exorbitant amount of money for it.)

Laos holds the record for being the most heavily bombed country in the world. Even today, many years after the Vietnam War, countless undetonated explosives are still scattered on Laotian soil. Incidents with casualties and injuries occur repeatedly. The explosives are often found by farmers during their field work or by playing children. At the COPE Visitor Centre, you can learn about the history, the impact of the unexploded ordnance, and about 'COPE' itself. The organization takes care of the survivors of the incidents and tries to provide them with prosthetics to enable them to live a somewhat normal life. Aid organizations also try to locate and destroy the remaining explosive devices, but this is a lengthy task.

My hostel in Vientiane was also a bit peculiar. The bar in the hostel was always packed with loud Laotian students. The staff, all still young, hung out there all day and didn't really care about the hostel guests. Only one of the girls could speak a little English, and when she wasn't there, nothing worked. We were entertained all night by loud karaoke singing. The rooms were dirty, the trash cans were overflowing (including the ones with used toilet paper in the bathroom - so it smelled everywhere), and no effort was made to make the beds of the departed guests. The cook had to be woken up every morning by a staff member to make breakfast. Eventually, he showed up in his pajamas and gave us an annoyed look. First-class service! :-)