One of the big ways people judge each other when traveling is, obviously, how long they were there. I am getting better at not doing this. If a guy wants to selfie hop his way around the world, peeing at the airport and calling it a trip to Dubai, fine because there is this were it gets weird. You are judged both on how many places you've been and how long you were there. I've yet to figure out the perfect number of places and length but, ideally, it seems like you should grow up in two different countries outside where you say you are from. That's, somehow, part of the snobbery. "Well, I say I'm from Ottawa, but I spent six years in South Africa and seven years in Pakistan, but I finished high school in Ottawa."
That's cool. I spent almost a YEAR in Pennsylvania as a kid so... Yeah. Exotic bingo.
My point! I have one! All this leads me to my point that I don't think the length of time should be such a focus. Some people spend their entire lives within walking distance of their birthplace so clearly it can be done. "I spent six months in Vietnam." Okay. That's cool and I respect that to a degree, but quantity doesn't always equal quality, right?
I think anyone who knows Vientiane would be amused I spent five days here. There is, in the words of everyone you meet, not much here. Pretty much Vientiane is where you fly in if you need a visa on arrival and then get out to any of the cool, impressive, marvelous places a ten-hour bus ride away.
This is, according to every guidebook in existence, a very laid back town. It's slow. And I am here on the off season so I couldn't tell whether or not half the places I saw were open or not. Most restaurants had no one in them or maybe -A- party of two. It's a tiny place, most people seem to rent a scooter or bike and knock out all the sightseeing in a day, two if they drag their ass.
Another thing that made my week here amusing. I changed $200 into Lao Kip. This is kind of like having $2000 at a neighborhood yard sale. Yeah, you CAN spend it, but it's very easy to leave with pretty much every dollar still in your pocket after you buy a cup of lemonade. Also, you walked to the yard sale, to factor in my baggage allowance, so you aren't overly keen to shop.
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Two hours later since starting this post. -----
So. I had, let's say, $600 to spend. I didn't, but that's an easier number to work with given the currency. ("Okay. I'll have a smoothie and fruit salad. Holy shit. 47,000??? That's like...$3. Bloody hell.")
Mmmmmm....favorable exchange rate. My favorite flavor. Also, spicy peanut fruit salad. Not. Not bad. Odd, but not bad.
Anyway, I went to the market tonight with, for me, a lot of money that must be spent. Pretty much, Christmas this year for my family will be stuff from Laos. The problem remains with my backpack with limited weight allowance. Two more flights to go, though. Let's support the local economy!!!
Random thoughts about Vientiane.
At the COPE exhibition. Everything you ever wanted to know about what happens when kids find cluster bombs that didn't go off.
For once, couldn't it be Canada responsible for all the children and old people missing limbs?
I didn't like this city at first. I didn't know how the Hell I was going to spend a week here. Now that I am flying out tomorrow... I'm not going to go so far as to say I don't want to leave, I do, but the past few lazy days have been fantastic. It's not like I was laying about in Little Rock, Arkansas. I got to sleep in the best bed I've had in actual, I counted, years. I stayed at a nice hotel that I never once really enjoyed. (Pool, gym, onsite restaurant? That's nice. There's air con and HBO in my room...) When I did head out, it was LAOS! Laos! Laos, even if you're not a backpacking spiritualist, is amazing. It's another one of those places I never thought I'd go to.
Mary, welcome back. Hungry?
Will I ever come back to Laos? No, probably not. I have no interest in securing employment here unlike I felt in Taiwan or Australia. Would I automatically say no to a job here? Huh. I'd think about it. I don't think I spent an impressive amount of time here, but who gives a shit? Who am I trying to impress? I spent quality time in Vientiane. I'm not going to pretend that I learned this city in five days, but I formed my own ideas of this place and was here long enough to build a version of my myself here.
Holy shit balls. People at hunting tats and one guy just killed one the size of a cat. I wanna go home.
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