Sam's Lao aventure

For those of you who tweet, you probably already know that I am in Laos. We have been wandering around the streets of Vientiane on this lazy Sunday and for a city that is already pretty laid back and chilled out, it’s a very lazy Sunday. We find ourselves walking in the middle of the road and crossing at inappropriate times, as there is very little traffic and we have discovered that this is the only way to do it as there is a ‘look and avoid’ policy on the roads and if we don’t cross, we would never be able to – ever. The road below is in the Chao Anou district in Vientiane which I would recommend as a place to stay. The road I am standing on, leads directly to the Mekong. It is a very small city so you can get around by foot to most places of interest, or hire a bike. This area is close to the  Marais of Vientiane, French food, Jazz bars, lots of interesting people that you can stop and chat to.

Halfway through our morning walk we stop for an espresso to which I add a spoon of ice-cream to have myself an affogato! This supermarket is french-owned and run. I think that the owner is married to a Lao person. Every time we come here we see them hanging out outside with a coffee and cigarette, chatting to the locals. What a great life. You can find frozen steaks, fish, western foods and supplies. It has everything that you would need and crave when staying in Laos. They also have motorbike hires here.

On the way back to our hotel, we walked past our favourite bar called ‘Jazzy Brick’ and as the name inplies, it is a Jazz bar. They have a wonderful atmosphere and it has a relaxing ambience. We spent last New years here and had front row seats to the fireworks that appeared t0 be put on for us but of course weren’t. I have a suspicion that these people are Lao-born Australians and they also run a Lao restaurant adjacent to this bar, off the dusty lane which we had our first dinner at. Brilliant Lao food that is a bit more expensive that the rest of the place but gorgeous setting and the food is great.