Vientiane
It is said that Vientiane is the sleepiest capital city in the world. This, I must say, is true. A walk around town brought me to the capital building, just across the street, families and lovers were strolling and laying on the grassy banks of the Mekong River. Just a bit further away I could see a man exiting his shack to check on the lunch he was cooking on his charcoal grill. Not a scene you are likely to see in Washington anytime soon.
Capital building.
And right across the street!
Lunch was hot hot hot! This is papaya salad, sticky rice and a nice cold beer overlooking the Mekong River.
I have read from various sources that Laos and Vientiane used to have a very dark side that included an array of drugs and prostitution. It was said that the beer was cheaper than water, the drugs cheaper that food and the women, well the women were just plain cheap. These days it does seem that the city has cleaned up its act a bit however all taxi drivers still want to sell you drugs and the Karaoke bar we wandered into was still full of ladies of the night. The crowd in the Karaoke bar was mainly local. After a spell they started to refuse our requests for western songs to avoid bothering the local tastes. The prostitues were actually really great singers so I can understand why they would not want to listen to another tourist wail their terrible version of Bohemian Rhapsody. To this day I have yet to find a decent Karaoke spot in S.E. Asia. I am sure that South Korea and Japan would not fail me.Who would ever think that three poodles is a good idea? Especially in a tailor shop.
hee hee...you said "ladies of the night."
ReplyDelete