Our next stop was Vientiane, the capital of Lao and our first Servas host
experience...

After yet another bus journey from Luang Prabang, (10 hours), we arrived in
Vientiane. Considering that its the capital of Lao, it sure is sleepy and quiet. Aspects of the French colony are everywhere, in the architecture and food especially. We met up with our host, Pat at a small cafe and went over to her house. Pat is a teacher at the Vientiane International School and has lived in Laos for about two years, and is from Australia. It was great to chat with her about what we've seen and experienced as well as compare notes on what we understand...or don't understand. That night, Matt and I cooked our first meal in ages, pasta with sauce and watched a movie on DVD. Now that was living high! Pat was an excellent host and really made us feel welcome at her house for the time we were there. Here is a photo of the three of us.

NOTE: We also voted in Vientiane, Laos, at the American Embassy. We were expecting lots of Americans sitting around, talking about sports, but what we found was a very sterile concrete bunker and a very nice Lao staffer to give our ballots to..

After two days of sightseeing in the capital, we headed back into Northeast Thailand. Pat gave us the suggestion of staying at the Ban Thai Guest House in Tha Bo, which is just over the Mekong River in Thailand..

The resort was very nice and quiet, we were one of only two couples staying in the nice bungalows, which were located on the Mekong River. We stayed for three nights, just hanging out and eating great food cooked by the owner, a Japanese woman who lived in France for about 20 years, who then ended up in Thailand.

Our next stop after this was Korat, with expectations to head to the Population and Development Association (PDA) resort called Cabbages and Condoms. The resort is so named because the PDA began its work in the 1970's based on family planning and food distribution for the less advantaged areas of Thailand, namely the northeast. The resort would be where we could visit a silkweaving village and see Phanom Rung, ruins which are dated back to the Khmer Dynasty, same as Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

More on northeast Thailand next entry...