Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane is a sleepy capital city that lacked the charm of Luang Prabang. Thankfully, I met up with some amazing people that made the trip memorable.

I wandered around the first afternoon and pretty saw all there was to see from a tourism standpoint. The rest of the time I just ate and drank! Like in Luang Prabang, Vientiane has dozen of French inspired cafes. On the way to Buddha park, I made new friends with a couchsurfer from NYC. She invited me to dinner with her French host, and we ate the most fantastic upscale French food for cheap (by American standards). I ordered beef with a cognac flambé sauce with green peppers. It came with sides of BBQ potatoes with grilled onions, morning glory greens (not my favorite Lao veggie) and eggplant with cheese.

I'll also throw in a picture of the chicken larb I ate with sticky rice and a big beer Lao. I've already looked up where I can eat this again back home! So good.

Buddha park by the way is very bizarre. Check out the pictures and you'll see what I mean.

By the time this is posted, I'll be in Champasak after a sleeper bus from Vientiane. In the morning will be Wat Phu and then 4000 islands!

Katie