Savanhaket and Vientiane

Our few days were happily spent discovering the 2 biggest cities of Laos.

Savanhaket or Savanh, for the locals, has our preference...

The smallest of the 2 cities, it is still a bit of a backwater, with relaxed and friendly locals and quiet streets.

When staying in that city, we had the feeling it was sunday everyday...not so much traffic, kids playing in the streets, men playing "petanque" near the Mekong at sunset, families walking the central plaza in front of the church...

The Laos temple

Bo and Biew, friendly monks. Bo speak really good english!

The church

The Vietnamese Buddhist temple

Sunset along the Mekong

In Savanh, we felt at home very quickly and it was difficult for us to leave...

Vientiane, on the other side, is taking some efforts to get used to and appreciate...

Actually, it looks a bit like a southern french town, from the tree lined streets, the high number of white people walking the street (outnumbering slightly the number of Laos, in the center), the Boulangeries, cafés and french restaurants and the odd colonial house that make us feel like home...

...only that at home, they finish the 1st section of the main street before digging out the next!!!

Peak hour in Vientiane...we read in the paper that the ministry of transport complains about the traffic...shall we give him a ticket to Auckland???

There is also a lot of Wats (not Whats?...Wat is actually the name of the temples...) which makes for interesting sights and breaks from the exhausting heat...

Please don't ask about drainage...this doesn't seem to be a priority in Laos...after all, it rains only 3months in the year, so why bother???

The buddhas here are different from the ones we saw in Thailand and Cambodia...they are more "simplistic" in their shapes and have a very pointed nose...

Pointed noses buddhas...

Reclining Buddha

Would-be reclining buddha...!

We have extended our visa in Laos for 2 weeks, to have enough time to wander our up country, along the Mekong, taking in some "cultural sights", in Luang Prabang, Unesco classified city, some kiking in the minorities and some volunteer work somewhere in between...

We will arrive in China in Yunnan, the very south tip of the country, and wander our way up to Sichuan, where we will be studying Mandarin from september...

Our first contact with Sichuan has been delicious food in a Sichuanese restaurant here in Ventiane, and the owner of the internet cafe, which is really friendly!...This seems like a good sign for the future...

More about Laos and China in our next posts...

07:39 - 18/05/2007 - Ajouter un commentaire