Last day in Vientiane, Laos

Constructing a new building from shipping containers.

                  My first day in a new city is usually an orientation. Yesterday, I walked the route of the major temples, the palaces & the principal thoroughfares. On the second day, as I did today, I approach the city differently, especially a small city like Vientiane. I purposely walk slowly (except crossing busy streets!) and try to go into photographer mode---not just looking, but seeing and trying to understand things and hopefully try to talk to folks that I meet on the street. Having said that, it is not too easy here in Laos as very few speak English. Actually this has surprised me,  as I would have thought that with the internet, internationalization et al, that more of the young people would have spoken English.
                 

Tomorrow, I am returning to Vietnam, so there is an observation that I would like to record about Laos before I depart. A country with strong ties to China, (Laos was the only country that voted for China on the South China Sea issue at the recent G20 meeting held in Vientiane, September 2016) its own communist government certainly has a very low profile compared to Vietnam, where police, the military, hammers & sickles and propaganda boards are very evident. This past week in Laos, I have not seen a single policeman, soldier, ambulance or in fact, any evidence of the "authorities" except of course the large & imposing buildings of the various ministries dotted around this capital city of Vientiane.
                    After today, my journey schedule calls for me to swing back east into Vietnam.

Bottle top draughts.......

Research especially with other back-pack type travellers that one meets in this city, has indicated that the only bus back to Vietnam from here, is a 16 hour overnight sleeper bus, no seats, only beds, so one is obliged to be nauseatingly prone for 16 hours on very twisty mountain roads. The beds are a box structure built to accommodate short Vietnamese and Lao people, not the typical 6 ft European  frame. Moreover, the bus arrives at the border point, up in the mountains at 3.45 am with the post  not opening until 7.00 am. Decided to stick-handle around this issue with a flight direct to Hue, Vietnam. The famous citadel city and continue my journey south down the coast from there.
More tomorrow.