Getting here and getting wet

Yesterday I ate lamb roast for Sunday lunch in Bendigo.

Lamb roast at Dad's

 

I then crammed 40kg of stuff - some of which I may never use or need - into several borrowed bags and started the journey to Vientiane.

Lots of stuff

At the airport I shed some water from my face and walked through an imposing doorway to join a queue. On the other side Martin and Clara and I waited to fly.

Clara and Martin and me

 

We flew. We slept a bit. We ate. We fidgeted.

Flight Path

 

We arrived! It was hot. We looked at as much as we could as we were driven through the streets of Vientiane.

Vientiane

We arrived at our hotel and collapsed.

I love air con

 

View from my room

 

Some time later, with a plan that included a walk, some food and maybe a drink, we set off into a light rain and much cooler streets.

We passed some grass...

Passing grass

We walked through a triumphant arch.

 

We walked to the touristy side of town where there are restaurants, cafes, internet shops, ice cream shops and signs that promise me a massage for around $5. (Tomorrow).

The touristy side of town.

We found an almost empty but quite nice café, ate delicious meals and discovered that a bottle of Beer Lao costs around $1.88.

And after all that I am MORE than ready to sleep through my first night in my new home town.