I need something that will keep me awake, alert, and reckless all night long. (AKA Laos to the end)

Day Eight: Woke up feeling better and ready for my last full day in Laos. I had no real plans but thought I would wander the town and check things out. I had breakky at the noodle lady next to my hotel, which was awesome. Fresh noodles, super cheap, filled with all sorts of delicious herbs and veggies. I wished I had eaten there daily. My bad.

I wandered around town, just taking in the sites and enjoying Laos. I stumbled across a different temple tucked in behind some old buildings. I took a walk through there and took pics. Eventually, the mid afternoon heat got to me and I went to Lao Lao for lunch, as it came highly recommended by many travellers. I had buffalo laap, sticky rice and Beer Lao. I also inherited a pet cat for the duration of my meal. I treated myself to sticky rice with mango for dessert. Very great place to eat and it was nice and quiet.

Beer Lao in a Tiger mug. BLASPHEMY!!!!!

After eating, I went back to wandering and taking more pictures. It’s nice in Laos to be able to walk pretty much everywhere and not worry too much about where you are, as all roads seem to lead back to the main area of town. As I headed back to the guest house, I walked past the night market setting up. Of course, someone was wanting me to buy more scarves and silk. Scarves when it’s 25+ degrees? Are you kidding? No thanks…



After a chill out at the hotel with some Crown Royal, I went to find a place to eat. I’d walked past this place called The Indestructible Rock a few times and thought it looked interesting. They had a set menu that looked good. After some explaining that I wanted that, which included me taking them to the sign out front and pointing, I had dinner on the way. Dinner was amazing, with some dishes I was not 100% sure what I was eating, but that’s all part of the fun!



I went back to the Ikon Bar for a few drinks. There was a couple in there from Texas and they seemed quite nice. I tried a few new cocktails of Lisa’s. She let me try one that had gin in it, but that was not so good. I am not a gin girl. I did try her “Very good Shot” shooter, which was Jager and Peach. Not the best shot, but still pretty good. :) She seriously makes the best cocktails I have ever had. Is it wrong to want to go back to Lao solely to go back to Ikon? I think not.



I left the bar in time to make it back before I was locked out. WRONG! I got home before curfew and was still locked out!! WTF!!! Thankfully, again, a slight door rattle roused someone to let me in. Day Nine (Last day, sniff): I woke up and went next door for more noodles. Must have the yummy yummy noodles. Since I had to leave the hotel by 12, but my flight was not til 4pm, I had to get all packed up so that they could clean my room. I walked around town again, just taking pictures of all the fabulous buildings and sites. I ran into the couple from Dallas again and sent them on their way to the market. I eventually had lunch, which was sadly, not the best meal I had in Laos. I should have gone back to Lao Lao, had I known. OH well. Live and learn.



Eventually, they took me to the airport and that was easy enough. My Lao send off was a construction worker cat calling me as I walked over to get a drink before leaving. Nice. Gotta love it.



The flights home were uneventful, with the exception of the prick next to me on the flight to Brisbane who was annoyed that I had a sniffly nose. I love Laos. It is one of the best places on earth to go visit and I strongly suggest that everyone go there before it gets too touristy.

And don't forget--your husband must go with you to China to pick up the baby. (AKA Laos days 3 -5)

Day Three:

The next morning, Emma took me to this darling little place for breakfast. I had a sticky rice pancake, which was way too sweet for me, so I also had soup and a baguette, because I'm a pig. It was an adorable place. I'd have never found it without Emma, so that's awesome. I love small, cosy, yummy places to eat. This was a great place!!







After that, we bummed around the town and went to the best place EVER to buy bootleg DVDs. What a back catalogue!! How fun! :) I could have bought more more more but worry about getting everything into Australia, since they are massive jerks.

We did a little shopping to see if we could find Emma a sofa for her house. Not much luck, but we did have fun zipping around Vientiane. We stopped by the French school’s arts fair and that was fun. I bought some gorgeous earrings and a calendar. It was bloody hot and I wish I had an IV drip of water...or beer. I saw Lara, who I met on my last trip to Lao. She is pregnant and seemingly happily hooked up with a guy now. So happy for her.



Then, Emma said the magic words, “Do you want to have sushi for lunch?” Do I want sushi? Is the Pope Catholic who shits in the woods?! I WANT SUSHI! We went to Fuji and OMG WE HAD SUSHI!!!!!!!! Sashimi, sushi rolls, Beer Laos. BRING IT ON! They sadly did not have edamame! SHOCKED! We had a great lunch and it was fabulous.



After that, we hung out for a bit before heading into town to meet with Grégoire and friends at Sticky Fingers. They were talking about Emma’s Epic Xmas Eve Party, which I was secretly so sad to be missing. They were going to spit roast an animal of some sorts!!! *jealous* Afterwards, we went to the Cope Concert, which was interesting.

http://www.copelaos.org/cope_news_stories.php?WEBYEP_DI=21

The music, in my opinion, was horrible and the MC was OMG annoying. Emma left me there with the promise that I talk to Grégoire before leaving. I should have gone with her because I left shortly after she did. Gwaw (Grégoire’s Lao nickname) showed me to the road and thankfully, we caught Mette and family leaving so they kindly gave me a ride home. On the way to Emma’s, we followed a VERY drunk Lao man on a scooter. It was frightening how much weaving he did in traffic and how hard it was for him to remain upright and on his bike. It was scary. I do hope he made it home ok.

Sat up chatting with Emma when I got home and then went to bed.

Day Four: I woke up fairly early and decided to get into town for eats and proper internet. After internetting (aka playing Angry Birds and properly checking Facebook), I went to Sticky Fingers for breakfast. And Beer Lao. WHAT? It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!!!! I had a yummy breakfast of laap, sticky rice and beer. MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!!!!!!! Beer Lao and laap…the food and beer of the gods. Emma texted me and said she would collect me to go to Kelley’s for the Baci, which was most gracious of her.



I also walked past the abandoned place I took pics of last time I was in Laos. It's still there, but you can't go inside as you used to be able to do. I still took pics.



We went to Kelley’s baci, which is a Lao baby naming ceremony. On the way there, we stopped for drinks and food. You know you're in Lao when you can cruise around on a scooter with baguettes. I'm cool, no?



It was incredibly interesting. They do this thing after the ceremony where you tie a white string on the baby’s wrist and make a wish for the baby’s future. I think it’s a cool idea. One of the old grannies there grabbed my wrist, said a few things to me in Laos and tied a string around my wrist. COOL! You can do this with other guests. I wished Emma all the luck with having a baby and I truly hope she is happy. She's so wonderful, she deserves all the happiness ever.



After that, we went out back to start the party. I’m already one beer in. BRING IT ON! Sadly, they were unable to get Beer Lao, but they did have Tiger Beer, which I also love. They also had two totally slutty Tiger Beer girls serving beer to all the guests. Nothing says baby celebration like slutty beer girls!!!!



The afternoon was awesome. Lots of people came and went. Lots of beer was served. Kelley served me an awesome sugar cane drink, which tasted much better when fortified with 2 fingers of very ice cold vodka. The food was delicious and the conversation was entertaining. Tucker, Kelley’s dad, is a freaking hoot. I love that guy. Loka, the baby, was super cute and had all those adorable baby rolls in all the right places. He reminded me of Sheri’s baby in Hong Kong, Matteo. No, fuck off, I am not clucky. Someone brought amazing tarts to eat. YUM!



We left late into the afternoon and then hung out at Emma’s and ate food and watched TV. We tried to watch Ted, which I had seen. There were no English subtitles, so Gregoire was not into it.

Day Five: My last day in Vientiane. Sigh.

Emma was most gracious, as always, and took me to Joma for breakky/lunch. I had a turkey dinner sandwich, which was turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce on bread served with a side of gravy. OMG I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!!!!! It was totally yummy. While there, the guy from the Teamworkz website rang me. Teamworkz is an AWESOME website that you should all use if you ever go to Laos, Cambodia or Thailand. The guy who rang was double checking my arrival time and also a few issues with my room booking. Not major issues, just that I would need to move to a different room after the first night for slightly more money. No biggie. I was TRYING to be more chilled and not let travel bumps bother me this holiday. All things considered, I think I did pretty well, since I had NO flights to Luang Prabang booked when I arrived and no hotels booked. GO ME!



We went and did a few errands and then Emma had to go to work. I sat at hers, made sure I had all the things packed for my flight to Luang Prabang and just relaxed. I took a tuk tuk to the airport, which was interesting. TukTuks are always a fun ride!



Got to the airport in plenty of time, especially since the flight was delayed. I had a Beer Lao at the airport with a serve of some odd fried rice. Their menu was a great example of Engrish and I loved it.



I also made a new friend at the airport. He was pretty cute. See?

An hour later than we should have boarded, we boarded the plane to LPB. FINALLY!



When I landed in LPB, I was met by a guy from the guest house, which was great. I hate dealing with random taxis/tuktuks. The guest house was at the end of the main drag in the centre of town. It was a great guest house. I thought the room was one of the cutest things I have ever seen in a long time. The bed was rock hard, but that’s minor. It had a good aircon and a decent shower, so I am happy. Plus it had a little sitting out area out front of my room, so I could watch the monks walk past.



After getting settled, I wandered out to find food. I went to some random place along the Mekong and had a yummy dinner of grilled fish, sticky rice and….wait for it…Beer Lao. I also tried one of the house cocktails, but nothing beats Beer Lao when it’s sticky hot out and I’m in Lao. I’m sorry, but 10K-12K kip for a 660ml beer trumps all the cocktails ever (except for the ones at Ikon Bar, but that’s coming).



I went to the night market to find a Beer Lao hoodie. Are you sensing a theme? You should….. I bought a hoodie and a silk scarf for more than I should have paid, but meh. I now own a Beer Lao hoodie. I FUCKING WIN AT LIFE. I went back to the guest house and had a few Crown and Cokes and went to bed.

Are you a travel agent? (AKA Laos Days 1 and 2)

Laos Day 1: I left Brisbane at noon on Wednesday and flew to Bangkok. Sadly, I had an overnight stay in BKK but not long enough to make it worth going into BKK proper and staying overnight, since my flight was at 1130 AM to Vientiane.



I stayed at the Bangkok YHA Airport, which was nice and close to the airport. They sent a car to collect me. The woman on the phone said to look for a ‘blue car’. She wasn’t wrong. It was blue. ELECTRIC BLUE souped up hot rod. Awesome.







The room was basic, but clean and had its own shower and toilet. Silly me forgot that I should bring towels to a hostel. Oh well. It had aircon and nice pillows. I also arrived on the King’s birthday, so the main street was well lit up with flashing lights and birthday wishes. It was pretty, so I went for a walk after I turned on the AC to cool things down for my return.







I went for a short walk around the area, took heaps of pics and then went home to have a nice drink of Crown and coke, courtesy of Duty Free.



The next morning, I had the most processed, sugary breakfast EVER. The hotel provided 'breakfast'. LOL. Crackers, cookies and a sugary drink. Awesome.







The hostel had Wifi, which was great. I did some research into entry into Lao, since I am an idiot. Passport photos? USD? WHY DID I FORGET THAT PART???? *sigh* BUT…the staff was fabulous and drove all over suburban BKK to find a place open at 830am to take passport photos. They are HILARIOUS. See?



Made it to the airport, checked in, was dinged 700 Baht since I left the airport as a departure tax. Jerks. Grabbed a bite to eat and a beer before the plane to Vientiane, went to the gate and headed to LAOS!!!!



After a nice, short flight to Vientiane, I got my visa at the border. Why Canadians have to pay $42USD for a visa when every other country pays $30 or less is beyond me. Jerks. This alone may push me to get my Aussie passport/citizenship so that I can go back to Laos cheaper.



I cleared customs and the Visa people, grabbed my bag and headed out. When I walked out the doors, I saw the most beautiful sight…EMMA WAS THERE!!!!! She is one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, I have ever met. I was so so so happy to see her.



We grabbed a taxi to hers and dropped bags off. We sat out back in her gorgeous yard and fabulous house and had a BEER LAO!!!! BEER OF THE GODS!!!!!!!! I was so happy. We talked about life, got caught up on things and just relaxed. It felt so good. I may have drank my first beer too fast....







We eventually went into the Spirit House, which is a fabulous cocktail bar in Vientiane. I love it. They make THE BEST cocktails and have some great tapas. Ginga, the manager, asked us to test cocktails for him. OMG YES PLEASE!!!! We had MANY cocktails and Ginga provided more tapas. The aranchini balls, dried beef, fish sticks and Asian bruschetta were yummy yummy yummy!!!!







After that, we went to the Chokdee café, which is a very nice beer bar in Vientiane. I am sure I offended Grégoire by having a Tiger draft beer. Meh. After that, we went home and I offered up the Crown Royal and Canadian Club I brought from Duty Free. I may have been a bit wasted. Oops. I also forgot that I was the only one on holidays. Sorry, Emma!!!





Day Two: I woke up at 4am, which is 7am in Australia. I was AWAKE but hurting. I tried to go back to sleep. I played Angry Birds on my Playberry for a bit and then read. I dosed off and on, only to be awoken by the roosters and the dogs. I must have fallen asleep because when I did wake up, Emma and Grégoire were gone.




I eventually caught a tuktuk into town. Sadly, he took me to the wrong Joma café so it was a bit of a double whammy and I felt very confused and hungover in the hot sun. My bad for not having my map more handy and knowing where I was going. 70,000 kip lesson well learned, DOH! I finally made it to Aria for their all-you-can eat pizza and pasta. CARBS!!!! I met Kelley and her dad, Tucker. They are lovely!!! We had a nice time and the carbs helped the hangover.




After lunch, I wandered about in Lao and found wifi, Beer Lao and a place to sit before meeting Emma and going back to her place. I also went for a massage, but there was a mix up and she started giving me a facial. Oops. We had plans to go to a Xmas party that night. We went back to hers, ate snacks, chatted and just relaxed til it was time to go to the party. The party was nice with very pretty decorations and free-flowing booze and food. We didn’t stay long as Emma was tired, I was still hungover a little (as well as tired from being awake since 4am) so we left. Being at that party made me want to live in Lao more, since the house was just gorgeous.