There’s not much on our programme today as we start one of a few days of travelling towards southern Laos and onwards to Cambodia. To avoid a long and bumpy bus trip (we’ve heard of trials and tribulations from everyone who tried it), we’re flying down - but every plane from Luang Prabang was booked so we’re having to go to Vientiane first. The fast train will get us there in under two hours - but it only runs in the afternoon so we can’t even do both legs in the same day!
At least it means we’re having a quiet one today - after a leisurely breakfast, we get dropped off to the station in a VIP minivan arranged by our hotel. This time, we are on one of the new trains - sleek carriages that are already waiting for us when we get to the station. The security team is more thorough this time and we get one spray confiscated, but otherwise boarding is just as smooth as during our previous trip - this train certainly feels of a more modern age than any other transport we’ve used so far! Our seats are very comfortable but unfortunately we are just in between two windows - no views for me again which is a pity as the road is indubitably scenic.
After some frustratingly fleeting glimpses of our favourite karst outcrops, we get to Vientiane station in record time. Annoyingly all of the train stations have been built completely away from the towns they serve, and Vientiane is no exception with another fifteen or so kilometres into town. Not minded to bargain for our fare, we swerve around the milling tuktuk drivers and head straight for one of the green public buses which will take us close enough. It’s a short-lived victory as the vehicle turns out to be a mosquito breeding ground - about a hundred of them buzz around and pester us for the whole trip. It does take us to town however, and soon enough we’re settled back in the very same hotel we stayed in a week ago.
We still haven’t cracked the local food scene in the capital, but by now we’re becoming pros at finding delicious, not-overpriced French restaurants - and we stumble on yet another gem right next door with Tango Bistro. As we arrive, the chef/owner is sitting outside with friends having a merry time - but we immediately gets welcomed in French and set up on the pretty terrace, and proceed to have one of the best meals of the trip, with amazing steak that would make the snootier Paris brasserie proud. And as a bonus I get a whole meal of (slightly raunchy) background conversation in French and a couple of nice chats with the owner - it’s always pleasant to get a taste of the homeland!
hahaha!