Arrival in Vientiane

I have arrived in Laos for the first time today and checked into a hostel in Vientiane. I said goodbye to Jessica and Thuy back in Saigon this morning; they stood by the gate of the house and waved like anxious parents as I left by taxi for the airport. It was a two-hour flight to Hanoi, where I transferred planes. After a bit of confusion I found my way through all of the airport structures. I’m not very good at airports; today was not the first time I’ve tried to go through departures without checking in first. I passed the two-and-a-half hour wait in the departure lounge chewing on my new favourite treat- peanut coconut candies made in the Mekong Delta. By the time I boarded the lounge was emptying out; the sun was low and red as we walked across the concourse to the very small plane. There were only around eighty passengers on this flight, which runs once a day.

It was dark when we touched down in Vientiane an hour and a half later and I felt very alone. After buying a visa and exchanging some US dollars for Lao Kip, I went to take a taxi to the city centre, 4km away. I had read that only official taxis are allowed inside the airport and strangely, are required by law to run a flat fare of $7 from the airport to the city. I could have tried walking out of the airport and negotiating the price for a tuk-tuk, but at night, alone, with a big backpack and in an unfamiliar city, I settled with convenience.

The hostel is fair enough; it is adequately clean and all of the staff and guests I have met so far have been friendly. But my one (very significant) complaint is that there is no lock on the door of the shared bathroom. So far I have been too nervous to use it, but this is hardly sustainable for a five-night stay! I was also disappointed, but not hugely surprised, to find that breakfast is not included in the price, as is stated on the booking website I used. I showed this to the manager and he was very apologetic, but when I suggested he could give me free breakfast as I had been falsely informed, it was a short ‘no’. There happens to be another woman from Leeds staying in my dorm and I had a good chat with her. She too had been fooled by the ‘free breakfast’ clause, and we shared our grievances.

As it was still early when I arrived, I went out to see the night market down the road. I walked around the vast market which was thumping with the bass from a set of muffled speakers, and lit up by the lights of ferris wheels, dodgems and children’s flashing plastic toys. When I had had enough I found a nice-looking Belgian bar where I went for a rooftop beer overlooking the market. Instead of a Leffe or Duvel, I opted for the national BeerLao, which is apparently a national pride as one of the country’s few exports. I liked it, but then I’m no beer expert.

Tomorrow morning I will have to grudgingly pay for breakfast, over which I will set about deciding what to do with myself on my first day in Vientiane. 

A girl tries to pop balloons with a dart

Traditional Lao dresses for children

Smiley-face doughnuts on sale in the night market