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in Vientiane, the capital

Our passage of five days in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, was rather to obtain our visas for China ( we could not do it in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, because we arrived at the New Year holiday, and Khmer offices were closed ... It's part of the risks of traveling!).

Little story other hazards of the journey: from Siem Reap, Cambodia (the city of Angkor), we would have wanted us to fly to Pakse, Laos, to visit the region deemed magnificent 4000 islands, near the border with Laos and Cambodia. We learned by trying to buy our tickets Pakse airport was closed for work on the runway. We go to 4000 islands by road would take a dozen hours or more. So we reluctantly dropped the 4000 Islands our route and bought a ticket to Vientiane. Our flight made a stopover in the small town of Savannakhet, where we had to adjust the process of entry into Laos. Usually, it is expected those cases, but this time, we had not checked the cost of visas, which turned out to be U.S. $ 42 per person, including children, or $ 168 U.S.. We had to pay in U.S. dollars, but since he had not planned the coup, there was not enough money. And there was no ATM or currency exchange in this little country airport. It has persisted with officials to charge less for children, but nothing to do ... In addition, Canadians pay much more than visitors from other countries.

I do not know what he did, in Laos, to deserve this treatment. Anyway, we managed to get by on a ticket of 10 euros that I found at the bottom of my wallet and a French tourist dollars cons changed me. I imagine that the officials would eventually accept it, or by taking our remaining VND Vietnam. It shows that good organization is essential to avoid mishaps.

Vientiane is a small city of 300,000 inhabitants only, much calmer than Vietnam's cities. People are nice and relaxed. Moreover, the official name of Laos, in English, is Lao People's Democratic Republic, or Lao PDR - although there is no democracy here. Tourists translate Lao PDR by Please Do not Rush ...

not happen much in Vientiane. We ate well, drank well, we wandered on a motorcycle to visit a temple (we never dared to drive in a Vietnamese city, but in Vientiane, it was a charm!), We attended the center's library French culture, we visited the hospital

, we spent an afternoon at a hotel pool, where they encountered an Albertan who has lived in Laos with her husband and their two young Australian children. The charm of Vientiane was a bit spoiled by large earthworks along the Mekong River, which frequently overflows during the rainy season. The boulevard along the river is lined with food stalls, but it's not very interesting to eat next to a bulldozer, especially as work continues in the evening.

Our most interesting sociological experiment was our visit to two newly opened restaurants in Vientiane: The Pizza Company and Swensen's ice cream parlor's - both signs are found together in other Asian cities. It's good for children, and we also eat something other than rice or noodles from time to time. We were amazed to see what our neighboring tables, gulping. It goes without saying that one finds the most wealthy Laotians. A couple next to us started his meal with a plate of nine (!) Scoops of ice cream at Swensen's. Then they were to use the salad bar at will. Then they ordered a pizza, a plate of pasta and a plate of chicken wings, washed down with a pitcher of Coke. We left before we see if they would finish all their dishes. It seems that in Laos, as in China, you have to order more than we can eat to show his wealth.