Yahooo... let's go holiday...
Udon Thani, 3rd largest city in Thailand... flat as far as your eyes can see. From here, one hour drive to Vientiane.
I was in Vientiane about 2 weeks ago. I celebrated the eve of Merdeka there, catching up chit chatting with my friend Keen until 2 a.m. Vientiane time. She works there and has stayed there for about 3 years. Ben reached Vientiane a few days earlier. The two of them fetched me from Udon Thani airport and we stopped at Tops and Tesco before heading to Vientiane. Tesco's arrangement was pretty much the same. I can easily rush for the things I want and pay without much hassle.
Fashion show organized by Indonesian embassy.
Ulam at Fathima Restaurant. They like their cili padi. So am I :)
Keen was invited to attend Indonesian Cultural Evening Fashion Show that evening. Even though we're very late, we dropped by to catch the end of the show. We had dinner at Fathima Restaurant. The food was OK since I don't have a proper meal ever since I flew to Bangkok the night before.
Compound of Keen's house.
Lovely colors at the market.
Gold and gemstones there are reasonably priced. Most are quoted in USD.
The next morning, I wanted to catch the procession of Buddhist monks in front Keen's house but missed them by a few minutes. By the time I rushed down the stairs and waited for the gate to open, they have passed by very quickly. Not to worry since I have few more mornings there. Our first visit for the day was Vientiane Morning Market. Everything was very colorful there I can't help clicking at every shop. Keen and Ben would always walked in front with me tailing them from behind because I was too busy taking photos. Whenever they stopped too long at a store I would get restless, as I wanted to see more shops and discover hidden treasures. We walked at the market until lunchtime, and then walked to Talat Sao Mall nearby for the only halal food at Nazim's. We saw a Lao guy 'tebar' roti canai there but I settled for fried rice while Keen and Ben tried the roti canai.
More colors at the market. I can go crazy with the bags and pouches.
Malaysian embassy.
Keen and Ben at Patouxay.
Reflection of Patouxay.
That evening, we went to Patouxay. It is a nice park and I like seeing so many people enjoying the evening, some walking with family and friends, some exercising and some jogging. Keen and Ben kept each other company while I took hundreds of photos. That night we helped Keen prepared some sandwiches for Merdeka Golf tournament she organized. We felt like a small factory actually. The next morning I couldn't catch the monk, as we have to leave very early in the morning. The event was held at Ang Nam Ngum Resort, about 1 hour drive from Vientiane.
The beautiful countryside on our way to Ang Nam Ngum.
Ang Nam Ngum lake.
We waited for the event to finish until lunchtime and then went to Dansavanh Resort to get a boat to tour the lake. It was really worth the wait. The view was amazing. I took some videos here. That night, we cooked 'nasi lemak' for Keen since she has not tasted any for about a year. I was a satisfied cook when she had seconds and thirds and fourths :)
The toll on the way to Ang Nam Ngum. This one is taken on our way back to Vientiane.
It rained the next morning. I waited for quite some time for the monks to pass by Keen's house but too bad I couldn't get a really nice picture. Ben and I spent the day resting while Keen had to go to office to complete some work. That evening she brought us to Pha That Luang where I took hundreds of photos again, catch the sunset over Mekong River from Don Chan Palace hotel (video here) and experience Lao herbal massage that night at Mandarina Body & Soul Massage. I love the massage and I don't think we can find it here.
Pha That Luang looking very majestic while the sun setting on its golden stupa.
Sunset over Mekong River.
The next morning it rained again. I wanted to take the monks photos but this time they passed by much earlier than the day before. Keen had to work so Ben and I decided to tour the city on our own, guided by a map and Lao Lonely Planet book, followed the Monument to Mekong walking tour mentioned in the book. We visited the morning market again to get our souvenirs. We had fun bargaining using the calculator since we can't speak Lao and they can't speak English. We're still not used to Kips big amount so we always asked the price in Thai Baht since it is easier to convert. The funny thing was, on our way back to Keen's office, we took our first tuk-tuk ride. The guy quoted us 50,000 Kips or 50 Baht. We paid in Baht because 50,000 Kips roughly converted to Ringgit is about RM20. 50 Baht is RM5. It is really a short distance and a straight route. I wonder if the guy is trying to get some extra Kips from us but get confused when using Baht. We went to have dinner at Reshmi on our last night there. I don't think I want to eat any Mamak or Indian food for a while when I reached KL. Poor Keen has to make do with Mamak or Indian food when eating out at Vientiane.
Finally managed to take some photos of the monks in front of Keen's house. I stayed in the house and zoom to the gate. It was raining and I was lazy to get nearer with an umbrella.
That Dam.
The President's Palace.
Our first tuk-tuk ride.
The next day, we celebrated Merdeka before going to the airport. The Malaysian Embassy hosted Merdeka celebration on the 4th September at Dong Chan Palace hotel. I missed home and can't wait to get back but still felt quite sad on our way to Udon Thani airport. Ben felt the same way. We kept some Baht and Kips with us and bought Lao phrase book at the market... we will definitely visit Laos again. Maybe to Luang Prabang the next time. I really enjoyed my holiday there. I got a few days to laze around before started working and despite that, it took me so long until I finally sorted my one thousand over photos and blogged about it. I brought my external hard disk and transferred the photos there every night using Keen's laptop so I can take hundreds more photos the next day :)
Malaysian Ambassador welcoming guests.
On our way to Udon Thani airport.
Lovely sunset as we're about to land at Bangkok.