Less than 16 hours in vietiane

I originally wanted to book my flight to Laos directly from Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang since I only have a week in Laos but unfortunately I had to stopover one night in Vietiane. I wasn't so excited by it since cities in general aren't really my cup of tea (big cities are big cities no matter where in the world) and especially after coming out of the absolute madness in Phnom Penh. I only had about 16 hours in Vietiane so I at least decided to make the most of it.

First, now that Ang is gone (sniff, sniff) I can't splurge on air-con or nicer places (doubles are so much cheaper per person than singles) so I have a rinky-dink room but the guesthouse staff are all really nice so I'm happy there (at the Haysoke II in case anyone was interested - maybe not the best but fine for 1 night).

But I quickly put my bags down, took a deep breath and waged into the city. And what I found was actually the complete opposite of Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh was loud, dirty, crowded and overwhelming. It was hard to step out onto the street without someone yelling "lady! tuk-tuk!" or almost getting run over by a motorbike. The markets were all in these enclosed buildings where all the food, flies, goods and people were mashed together to the point of complete suffocation. But Vietiane was so quiet in comparison, it almost felt like a ghost town. Maybe because it was a Sunday night but there weren't many cars or motorbikes on the road and there were tons of people just chilling outside, enjoying the warm summer evening and most importantly, not harassing me. I even walked past a group of tuk-tuk drivers who didn't say a word to me. Ahh, bliss. I was able also able to catch a pretty awesome sunset so it just made it a perfect evening.

Some palm trees outside one of the city's many wats.

The main square seemed almost completely abandoned though there were some cute kids playing in the water.

Just a few vehicles on one of the main roads in Vietiane (its actually a very small and very walkable town).

Just a sign I really liked.

For once, it wasn't too cloudy in the late afternoon (the rains usually come late in the day during monsoon season).

For dinner, I did as I usually do - hunted down the night market for some good, local, cheap food. The "night market" actually ended up being just a few carts on a corner but there was still plenty to choose from. No one really spoke English so I relied on the tried-and-true method of pointing and looking confused. I was finally able to get a seafood pancake thing and a cold soymilk drink with squiggly jelly pieces, which were both very delicious. So far, so good in Laos!

Yum! I love trying all the different types of food though I have no idea what they are.

I wasn't very excited about coming to Laos (after Thailand and Cambodia, I feel like I've seen a lot of tropical farmland) but now that I'm here, its great! There's this really friendly, laidback vibe about the place that puts me totally at ease. I think I'm going to really like it here. Well, tomorrow morning I fly out pretty early to Luang Prabang and hopefully the good times will continue!