My journey took me past one of the sights that I have been trying to capture for ages:
The whilst sleeping shot:
The tuktuk drivers keep their bed (in the shape of a hammock) on the job, so it is always there when they need it. I am constantly amazed by the way many of the locals sleep on the job. I guess there is no such thing as a lunch break so they just put their head on their hands and nod off, wherever. On the counter, behind the shelves, in the car - anywhere. And most of the time you can walk into a shop, look around, sometimes even talk to them and they do not blink. Hillarious.
I get home and it wasn't long before the book came out, the feet went up and I think at one stage during the day the eyelids were checked from the inside. It was warmer with a lovely breeze so no more winter woolies for the time being. The thought of snow in Sapa is a bit sobering so at some stage I will have to suss out some warm gear. Takeaway Pho for dinner was perfect, light, tasty and warming, not the real thing but very good anyway. I can't wait for some Vietnamese Pho Bo in Hanoi and hope it is as good as that which I was having in HCMC.
Friday started late after I forgot to take my ear plugs out so didn't hear Bee and Michael up and about. I was going to go to Bee's school Xmas Party but by the time I surfaced it was too late.
But not too late to go into town to Lao Kitchen for a yum lunch. Riverweed, a fish dish similar to larb, fresh spring rolls and of course sticky rice. Yum.
My walk today took me to the west of the city along the river front. Beautiful apartments with views out to Thailand, some lovely parks. On the way home I did a bit of shopping caught a tuktuk and arrived safe and sound in Saphanthong where I spent some time creating a dog proof gate to keep DeeJai in and other dogs out. The most unglamorous and tacky work ever seen but considering i had no tools at least it serves its purpose.
Dinner was at a super place close to the lovely neighbourhood where I went walking the other day at a place called Masa Spoon. Divine. Mozarella potato balls - fluffy potato mash formed around mozarella cheese, rolled in crumbs and deep fried. Should have been called yum balls. The fried chicken wings with asian seasonings were pretty damn good too as were the onion rings coated in a light batter and deep fried. Crispy and yum.
My Spagetti Putanesca was one off he best pasta meals I have had, a little light on anchovy and capers bit still incredibly tasty. A shame they didn't serve it with Parmesan (maybe they though it constituted a seafood pasta which should never come with Parmesan) but still it was really tasty.
My meal was finished off with a Barry Chocolate Fondant. I thought it was a typo and they were trying to put berries in a fondant but once the waitress explained that Barry was a type of french chocolate I ordered. I had never heard of Barry Chocolate, but glad I have now tried it (quite a sweet but dark chocolate, not bitter like most darker chocolates are). Not the best fondant I have had but the taste was sublime and the berry conserve that came with just set off the flavours and contrasted with the very slight bitterness of the chocolate. An Earl Grey Tea finished it all off nicely.
A lovely end to my Friday.
Saturday mainly started with a trip to the dressmaker then a super lunch at a wee food stall where I had fried flat noodles. Can't remember what it was called but similar to a Char Kwey Teo and very tasty. I do love the food that is cooked in these little stalls and sadly there are not a huge number of them in Vientiane, they have been overtaken with some rather bland international food. A pastry at le Banneton destroyed the lovely after taste that I had from the noodles but oh well.
The afternoon was spent wandering and looking until I came to a wee souvenir shop that I decided to check out. On going in I found that it was attached to a massage place which looked up market, clean and professional. I was right as I found out when I treated myself to a foot massage (NZD12) which turned out to be one of the best that I have had. I might go back tomorrow.
The kids had gone out for the night so I busied myself sorting out all the junk I have amassed and trying to figure out what was going to go with me to the next stop and what was not. Checking out temperatures it looks like Hanoi will be quite cold as well so I had better be prepared.
SUNDAY started with a walk to the new best coffee shop in Asia and sure enough another great coffee but a really horrible breakfast of tasteless greasy bacon, overcooked greasy eggs and rather boring white bread, square slice toast. We all walked home with a stop off at the korean hairdressers where we all had our hair shampooed, conditioned and blow dried. Mine took a while being so thick and at one stage there were two girls blow drying and a mass of onlookers checking out how you cope with thick curly hair, which I suppose, here, is a real novelty. Despite the fact that they broke all the rules about hair styling the "correct" way, I walked out with beautifully styled, soft, straight hair that bounced as I walked. I gave nearly a 50% tip but still it came to about $15 so everyone was happy with the outcome. It's the first time my hair has felt really clean in a long while and was the best shampoo I think I have ever had.
The afternoon was spent lolling around doing very little of anything before going to Jazzy Brick for a Mojito and then to La Gindola with Michael, Bee, Tom and Tiak. Another lovely evening with great company and great food.
And so my stay in Vientiane is over. I will be back for a few days here and there but tomorrow we leave for Hanoi where we meet up with Matthew ( my step son) and Amy (his gorgepus partner) and Michael's family. We will all have Christmas together ther. I have a few practical things to do but for the most part it will be exploring this city before I don the winter woolies and head for Sapa, where it was snowing last week.
Goodbye from Vientiane.
No comments:
Post a Comment