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Mellow Vientiane 2

Posted by Stuart at 11:22 AM on March 08, 2003

I have been spending the morning walking the streets of Vietiane. It is quite a charming and quaint city and it is even quieter now than it was when Rupert and I visited last year. Last time, we just happened to catch the Boat Racing Festival at the end of the rainy season. The crowds were huge and so was the Mekong. But now just a few people stroll or sit along the river and the river itself has shrunk so that a broad sandy beach extends half-way to Thailand.

There are a lot more tourists here than what I have seen in Isaan (which is not saying much). Most of them tend to be couples: either backpackers or retired senior citizens. For some reason though, they don't seem to stick out as much here as in other places I've been. Maybe it is because of the colonial architecture here (Vietiane is one of the most European cities I have been to in Asia). Maybe as I eat a delicious chocolate croissant at the Scandiavian Bakery, I expect to see a lot of white faces. In any case, for some reason they blend in. Perhaps that it is because these people have opted for a little adventure, rather than a trip to Asia just to smoke and drink and party on Bangkok's Kao Sarn Road.