Vientiane (Laos capital)

I stayed at the 4000 islands for only one full day. I left there last Friday night and met a couple, Cheryl and John, from New Jersey. After we arrived in Pakse (where we changed to a sleeper bus 5 hours later), we went out to eat. We had Lao hot pot. Similar to Fondue but it does not take as long to cook. We walked around the city for a bit by the river and talked. It was very nice, we even found out we had a mutual acquaintance. Small world. I am glad I met them and we were able to talk! The sleeper bus was definitely interesting. The sleeper beds were for two people so travelling alone was interesting. However, sleeper and bus, are two words the US should put together. They are actually quite comfy. I also think there will be no rest stop or public bathroom in the states that I will look at again and say, "oh no, I can't go there"! I have experienced sights, smells, and other things I will not even describe for you. Anyway back to travelling.
I arrived in Vientiane at about 6am. It was still dark. We, 2 British, 4 Australians, and I had breakfast together in a cafe downtown at 7 since hotels/hostels/guesthouses do not open until 8am. It was fun talking to other people from different countries. After getting a room, dropping my bags, and washing up I decided to hit the town. I walked around Vientiane and saw the many monuments and many of the temples in 8 hours. I think the Tuk Tuk drivers were amazed that a foreigner walked that much. Since there is not much to do in Vientiane and the bus for Bangkok leaves daily at 5 pm I decided to head to Bangkok Sunday evening.
Sunday morning I got on the city bus in Vientiane and headed to Buddha Park on the edge of town. It is famous for its lying down buddha. On the bus I met another American, Ashley, from Easton, Maryland. Once again small world. (all these people I am meeting - maybe I am more like my father than I thought!) We walked to park together and took pictures for eachother. It was fun to let loose with another girl for a little bit. The park was a lot smaller than we imagined but still worth going to.
Afterwards I went back to the market in town and bought some coffee of course! I also had the best lunch. I ate at JoMa's coffee and bakery. I had a slice of pizza and half taco salad! Yummy!!
Then I left for Bangkok. It was a double-decker bus with seats for overnight. I was on the top in the back row (basically the worst - five people crammed in the back). I had a large Thai man to my right and a broad shouldered Canadian (who reminded me of my good friend Joe Hampton). Basically I sat with my arms folded for 9 hours. It wasn't that bad, I did fall asleep that is until the AC vent above me began to leak water all over me. It was exciting and woke me up. The good thing is it was about 20 minutes before we arrived at our destination.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Coming Up...
Bangkok