Ah, Vientiane (population 150,000), capital of Laos and City of The Scandinavian Bakery, where you can get free refills on coffee and hot milk to put in it (definitely a rarity in these parts). Vientiane is also home to not one, but two Mexican restaurants. Just what I needed after being sick for a couple of days and stuck in a one-horse town (Tha Khaek). After the antibiotics kicked in, I was ready for fajitas - our single most expensive dish on this trip thus far at $4.80 - but it was well worth it.

We met a German man in Tha Khaek and ran into him again in Vientiane and he expressed amazement at how the capital city had grown in just the 14 months since his last visit. He said buildings had sprung up overnight and the sheer number of tourists was mind-boggling. We too were a bit surprised to see so many white faces around after being just two of nine in Tha Khaek.

Chinese New Year (also Vietnamese New Year or Tet) lasts several days, is quite a big deal here and has kind of wrecked havoc on our plans - although less so than had we been in Vietnam. Over half the shops and restaurants were closed in Tha Khaek, which apparently has a large population of ethnic Chinese or Vietnamese or just people who like an excuse not to show up at work. Not sure exactly which one it was, but it was slightly annoying. Vientiane is a much bigger town and the New Years festivities could be enjoyed without interruption in our eating schedule. In fact, the entire city had an air of excitement and it was hard to tell which part was for New Years and which part was jut Vientiane being a boom-town with holiday makers coming in from Thailand.

In addition to enjoying the food, we also played tourist and spent a morning at the National History Museum, taking in our quota of communist propaganda. The museum has some interesting paleontology and ethnology exhibits, but the entire top floor is devoted to relics and photographs of the Laotian communist party and the 1975 "revolution." It was funny to read all the placards that read "The Imperialist Americans and their puppets" but in a way they were telling the truth. There was just error by omission by not mentioning the Imperialist Soviets and their puppets. The propaganda seemed a bit anachronistic in today's world, and I found the hero worship of Lenin, Marx & Ho Chi Minh to be odd in the least, but the historical photographs were interesting.

For those that don't know, Laos was part of the "secret war" which was mainly an offshoot of the Vietnam conflict. After winning independence from France in the 1950s, Laos became a battlefield between the communists, heavily supported by Vietnam, and the "neutralists" supported by the US & its allies. According to some Geneva convention Laos was determined to be neutral in the conflict and all foreign forces were supposed to withdraw. That didn't happen and northeastern Laos remained occupied by (northern) Vietnamese troops. Not to be outmaneuvered by those commies, the US ran a covert war that included airbases full of pilots dressed in civvies who bombed the bajeebez out of northeastern Laos. They also incurred some of the heaviest casualties of any US troops in the Indochina conflict. Needless to say, however, it was the Laotian people who suffered the most in this global game of chess and they are still suffering today because of unexploded ordinance. Laos is reportedly the most heavily bombed/mined country (per capita) in the world, the thought of which keeps me well on the worn path when walking.

Overall the historical museum was mildly interesting but mostly just brought back bad flashbacks of reading Soviet newspapers in school in the 1980s. After the museum, we headed off to the Vientiane gun club where we shot off a couple of rounds from some Russian .22 - the fastest $2.50 we've ever spent. Then we headed off for more Beer Lao and fruit shakes. We figured we could spend another day in Vientiane eating and strolling the promenade but we decided instead to move on to Vang Vieng, 3 hours north, just for a change of pace. So here we are in Vang Vieng, which appears to be backpackers heaven.

Vang Vieng is a place most people love, and I can see why. I found the south of Laos to be rather dry, dusty and slow (although Pearse thinks I was influenced by my illness, which could be true). Up north it is much greener and the mountains are quite beautiful. The area around Vang Vieng is full of caves and rivers, which has somehow made it a popular kayaking and inner-tubing destination. Somehow, from that, evolved an industry that rents tires to foreigners, drives them 3 km upstream from town and then puts riverside bars up every 500 m all the way down the river, along with helpful chaps who throw you a rope to help you dock when you get thirsty. Now, as a thoughtful and intellectual grown-up this mix of booze, sun and inexperienced tubers traveling down a river with mild rapids sounds a little dumb. But it sure is a lot of fun.