South East Asia on a Hamstring – February 21

Vientiane, Laos – February 21, 2000

The Intrepid trip notes say:

“There are serious concerns about the operations of Lao Aviation with regard to its safety standards and maintenance regime…you are advised by the Australian Embassy to limit travel…to essential travel only.”

I re-read the notes as we sat in the Luang Prabang Airport, waiting for the 40 minute flight to Vientiane. It was a bit dangerous for busloads of tourists to take the bus trip through this area, so we took the plane.

The plane itself was an old Chinese 50-some seater. During takeoff, steam spewed from the air conditioning vents into the passenger cabin. I read my book and tried hard to pretend I was elsewhere. We arrived successfully in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, and had the afternoon to ourselves.

We checked into a hotel with hot water and air-conditioning, both rare luxuries. Unfortunately, the electricity was out for the first six hours of our stay. Incentive to leave the hotel, I call it.

Vientiane itself was a surprise – it’s a dusty, small capital city. Almost all the buildings are new as Vientiane has been razed by countless wars. The “city” is really sparse, without the urban density that I associate with cities.

The Laos people, as usual, were friendly, and the number of tourists around was small. Wendy went down the street for a massage while the rest of us wandered the streets, looking at embassies and silk shops.

I got some e-mails from home and cascaded into travel-loneliness. It’s a byproduct of being on the road, and happens sometimes. Things that you’d normally brush off become a really big deal when your entire world is just you and your own emotions. I found a small grocery store by the American Embassy and bought a box of Chips Ahoy, intending to gorge on them and thus feel better but, fortunately, didn’t need it as I ended up having Indian food with the two young British women instead.

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