Day 38, Summer in Asia, Vientiane, Laos
Foraging for coffee in a new city is one of my favorite activities. Initially, all we could find was a fast food American burger place which happened to have great coffee. Then we stumbled onto a French cafe that had even better coffee.
In the afternoon we walked over to the main temple area and had lunch at Joma before doing all the sightseeing. Always a bonus to support a coffee shop with a purpose.
While walking through the streets it’s common to see ornate gates, outdoor restaurants with tiny little table settings, a few tuks.
Pha That Luang is a gold Buddhist stupa in the center of the city. Next to it is a gold reclining Buddha and a number of surrounding temples. Reclining Buddhas symbolize the Buddha during his illness before he left his physical form and serve as a reminder that anyone can attain enlightenment. There was a working monastery area where monks were coming home from a day of monk activities. Wish I knew what those were.
After spending quite a few hours walking the grounds, we tukked home right before it poured. Most of these tuks are tilted a bit backwards, ready to dump you out on a good bump.
Later in the evening we went to a French restaurant that Paul had read some good reviews of. When we got to the restaurant it was closed, so we walked down the street until we found another French restaurant we liked. Laos was a French colony until 1953, and the French influences remain in some of the architecture, restaurants and cafes.
