Leaving Laos
Final destination Laos…the capitol city of Vientiane. One of the first things we noticed when we arrived was how quiet it was compared to Chiang Mai. Considering it is the largest city in the country, there was very little traffic. It felt peaceful and calm. There was French architecture all around us, many good restaurants, and friendly locals. Our first impression was a good one. After checking into our room, we walked around getting the lay of the land. It was very hot, in fact it was the hottest we had yet experienced in Southeast Asia. I quickly bought myself an umbrella which is how many, if not most, of the locals stay in the shade. No matter where we ventured, finding our way back to the hotel turned out to be pretty easy because of a nearby landmark …That Dam Stupa. Stupas are monuments to Buddha…a common sight around these parts, but the ... read more
Central Laos
When we first arrived in Thailand, we had to learn to convert our money. It was really more of a mental adjustment rather than any complicated math…the numbers here seem really big. 100 Bahts is equal to 3 US dollars…more or less. Jim made two little cheat sheets which he laminated and we carried around in our wallets for the longest time. We were getting pretty good at the money thing… and then we came to Laos. Laotians use Kips and…are you ready for this? Three dollars=100 Bahts=26,660 Kips. Yikes. So when you order dinner, your bill might be 90,000 Kips. This takes some getting used to, because even though it’s still cheap…it feels like a huge amount. To make things a little more complicated, the Kip is difficult to read having more than one large number printed on the colorful little bills. I must admit I handed over all the responsibility to Jimmy and ... read more