Arriving in Vientiane,
the World's Most Unassuming Capital City, and Soccer on
the Mekong River Flats
Neil,
David, and I were dropped off at the central square in
Vientiane (actually, it was a circular area), and after
having them watch the bags I set off scouring the city
for accommodation. This proved to be far easier than I
was anticipating because Vientiane must be the world's
smallest capital city - the picture to the left is what
every street looks like! Eventually, I located a
place called the Youth Inn, which is located
across from the Mekong River, and being newly
opened they were desperate for business. I have really
come to enjoy traveling without travel guides because I
am finding far better deals on my own.
I
settled in for a viewing of Bands of Brothers in
our spacious triple room (only $5USD/person with air-con
and hot water) before falling asleep for an afternoon
nap. When I finally awoke I decided to set out and see
more of the city - I had already seen most of it while searching
for a hostel - and decided the waterfront was the most
happening place. I spotted a variety of cheap goods for
sale, but the jars of snake wine (shown to the
right) were a pleasant reminder of my time in China. I
once tried to make my own snake wine while conducting
research in Dalian for a summer, but I didn't have
enough time to complete the 2-month process.
The
waterfront itself was misleading: the Mekong River
had all but disappeared as this is the dry season. In
retrospect, it was worth sacrificing a fine river view
because the river flats had come to serve an even better
purpose: a place for local Laotians to play games and
enjoy themselves under the glow of the setting sun. I
could see clusters of people out on the dry river flats,
and I decided to find my way down the embankment for a
closer look.
About
200 meters out - Thailand itself is 400 meters away on
the other side of the river - was
a group of 15 young Laotian boys playing football in the
heavy sand with a pair of beaten-up sandals marking the
goal posts. I called over to them,
"Saibadee!" and gestured like I wanted to play.
They started laughing, but invited
me out to join them nonetheless.
The
boys were all around 15 years old, judging by the look
of them, and each of them came up to me and introduced
himself as a famous footballer - Kaka, Ronaldo,
Ronaldinho, Rooney, Gerrard, etc. They are probably the
first group of people who didn't give me a funny look
when I said "Beckham!" (Progress.) Anyway, we ended up
playing for about 45 minutes, and by the end I was
exhausted and sweating heavily from running in the deep
sand. Even now, I can hardly believe just how dry
everything is at this time of the year - there was dust
and the kind of heavy dunes one finds in the deep sands
of a beach.
I
headed back to the youth hostel for a shower, and at
around 7:30 pm David, Neil, and I met up with the
Canadian couple we met on the bus from Bangkok to
Vientiane. We drank cheap Beerlao on plastic
chairs along the 'waterfront' and ordered fried spring
rolls to eat. The food and beer were both served by a
transvestite waiter (not that there is anything wrong
with it), but I wonder why there are so many of them who
work in this part of the world? Thailand, especially.
Anyway, when the mosquitoes became too oppressive, we
headed back into the city to find a restaurant for the
evening. Several people were in the mood for Indian
food, so we stopped at a place called Nazim's Indian
Restaurant where I ordered a chick pea masala
with naan - tasty!
Neil,
David, and I were dropped off at the central square in
Vientiane (actually, it was a circular area), and after
having them watch the bags I set off scouring the city
for accommodation. This proved to be far easier than I
was anticipating because Vientiane must be the world's
smallest capital city - the picture to the left is what
every street looks like! Eventually, I located a
place called the Youth Inn, which is located
across from the Mekong River, and being newly
opened they were desperate for business. I have really
come to enjoy traveling without travel guides because I
am finding far better deals on my own.
I
settled in for a viewing of Bands of Brothers in
our spacious triple room (only $5USD/person with air-con
and hot water) before falling asleep for an afternoon
nap. When I finally awoke I decided to set out and see
more of the city - I had already seen most of it while searching
for a hostel - and decided the waterfront was the most
happening place. I spotted a variety of cheap goods for
sale, but the jars of snake wine (shown to the
right) were a pleasant reminder of my time in China. I
once tried to make my own snake wine while conducting
research in Dalian for a summer, but I didn't have
enough time to complete the 2-month process.
The
waterfront itself was misleading: the Mekong River
had all but disappeared as this is the dry season. In
retrospect, it was worth sacrificing a fine river view
because the river flats had come to serve an even better
purpose: a place for local Laotians to play games and
enjoy themselves under the glow of the setting sun. I
could see clusters of people out on the dry river flats,
and I decided to find my way down the embankment for a
closer look.
About
200 meters out - Thailand itself is 400 meters away on
the other side of the river - was
a group of 15 young Laotian boys playing football in the
heavy sand with a pair of beaten-up sandals marking the
goal posts. I called over to them,
"Saibadee!" and gestured like I wanted to play.
They started laughing, but invited
me out to join them nonetheless. 
The
boys were all around 15 years old, judging by the look
of them, and each of them came up to me and introduced
himself as a famous footballer - Kaka, Ronaldo,
Ronaldinho, Rooney, Gerrard, etc. They are probably the
first group of people who didn't give me a funny look
when I said "Beckham!" (Progress.) Anyway, we ended up
playing for about 45 minutes, and by the end I was
exhausted and sweating heavily from running in the deep
sand. Even now, I can hardly believe just how dry
everything is at this time of the year - there was dust
and the kind of heavy dunes one finds in the deep sands
of a beach.
I
headed back to the youth hostel for a shower, and at
around 7:30 pm David, Neil, and I met up with the
Canadian couple we met on the bus from Bangkok to
Vientiane. We drank cheap Beerlao on plastic
chairs along the 'waterfront' and ordered fried spring
rolls to eat. The food and beer were both served by a
transvestite waiter (not that there is anything wrong
with it), but I wonder why there are so many of them who
work in this part of the world? Thailand, especially.
Anyway, when the mosquitoes became too oppressive, we
headed back into the city to find a restaurant for the
evening. Several people were in the mood for Indian
food, so we stopped at a place called Nazim's Indian
Restaurant where I ordered a chick pea masala
with naan - tasty!