Into Vientiane

Tuesday October 31, 2017, 15 miles (24 km) - Total so far: 1,336 miles

(2,149 km)

Vientiane traffic was a bit of a shock....given that, less than two weeks ago, we were cycling through villages where not a single person owned a car. We consoled ourselves with iced drinks and cakes at Joma bakery before heading to That Luang.....apparently we have timed our visit to coincide with the That Luang festival, the largest in Laos. It was not a peaceful experience! We did a loop and took a few pictures, then headed over the Patuxai for a similarly brief visit, before braving the traffic once again.

We are staying at Sport Guesthouse which is very central, clean and cheap (80,000 kip for a double fan room). The staff are friendly, the shower is great, and the wifi works some of the time.....
Lunch was at Ban Lao beer garden - a pleasant spot with cheap food and a friendly welcome.
Dinner was at the Taj Mahal, ditto to all the above and the food was really excellent.

We also had a stroll and a beer by the Mekong, and wandered some of Vientiane's leafy streets. First impressions banished, it's pretty nice here. I think I might like it more than Luang Prabang as it feels a bit less like Disneyland!