Vientiane Day 13. The man under the tree

Riverside,where the Swedish buffoon passed out.

I was taking pictures of the neighborhood when someone with a foreign accent called out "Sabaidee".I turned to see a caucasian in his late 30/early 40 smoking under the tree. He asked me where I come from and he turned out to be Swedish. He just arrived from Bangkok the day before and had too much to drink the previous  night and passed out at the riverside. He woke up and found his belongings were stolen, including the passport and money. Well, he's a buffoon for passing out by himself in a foreign country. But then I remembered my horrendous experience being stranded for 5 days in shitty Kuala Lumpur because my passport, wallet, handphone,BB were stolen.

Back to the Swedish guy, Since it's a Saturday he can't really do anything to process his passport. He asked me if I can give him 20,000 Kip ($2.5) to call his mother, which I did. He had a pretty expensive looking glasses on and looked quite pittiful asking people for money. I just hope he learned his lesson like I did. You can never be too careful.

Vientiane Day 10. Words I never typed until 5 days ago.

Political commitment.Political space.National Assembly workshop.

National Strategy Plan. Results-based management.Women machinery.

Inclusion of gender-responsive budgeting.State budget procedures.
Legal review of provision for domestic violence. Conation.

Putain. I'll get my bike and meet you there.

Prince Chao Anou

Vientiane Day 8. Things I will never take for granted. ever again.

1. A good mop (and a matching bucket)
As Vientiane sits on the bank of Mekong River, and the fact that my apartment is 7 mins away from the riverside, the wind continuously blowing dirts and sands into the city. And VTE city is in a dry and windy climate this time of the year. Spaces and items accumulate dusts easily. When I first stepped into my room, it felt like Rolland Garos. I borrowed a mop and a regular round bucket from the flat's owner on the day I moved. God knows where the mop had been and what kinds of liquid the bucket had carried. The amount of dusts made me change the rinse water every 2 dips and I have to squeeze the mop with my own hands.Yukk.

So we decided to get a more 'modern' mopping tool set, the one that won't require you to put your hand in the murky water. The big traditional market near the house doesn't have it. Nor others that commonly found around VTE.We spent nearly an hour on foot to find THE mop at the one-and-only "Home Ideal", the Carrefour of Vientiane. It's pink. Yay.

2. A proper junk food.
You know how the Pope kisses the ground whenever he visits a foreign country? Well I honour the ground I walk on by visiting its local KFC chain. So far, I found KFC in the Middle East countries the best. But that's not the point. 
We decided to go for a junk food dinner at "MCK -  A Happy New Choice", a fried chicken chain from Guangzhou. I got the chicken burger and Sarah got the fish burger. You can't go wrong with a burger, so I thought. Well, my chicken was on steroid and Sarah's fish burger was...just wrong.

Why a Guangzhou joint? Well, it promises absolutely delicious mouthwatering experiences. Plus, there's no Coloner Sanders chicken or McD here.

3. Hairmet
Watch Scrub season 3 episode 4:My Lucky Night. John Dorian's Hairmet is a genious invention. It is a helmet that prevents his hair from being mussed.

I can't let my investment of time and energy to work on my hair wasted within 10 mins bike ride to work. Now I know why most people at work have messy hair.

Vientiane Day 7. Sarah Gonzales the Imogen Heap

I was trying to remember who Sarah looks like. Now I do. Imogen!. Even Sarah thinks so.  

Vientiane Day 6. The day we cycled 10km to buy cutleries and can opener.

My new flatmate wanted to check out a garage sale for some household stuff. As usual, in the absence of an exact address, we follow the direction given to the place. Go along this road until you see a shop that sells swimming pool (?), turn left follow the street until you see a neighborhood shop, turn left and you see a house painted in light blue. Very Clear.

We cycled forever under the sun on what looks like a highway to Vietnam.And passed a signage that says KM4.(Whaaa...t). We got lost. We just have to.

We got there around 2pm and everything almost gone. "People came here early", the lady said. In the spirit of shopping, and the fact that we have cycled accross Vientiane, we got ourselves drinking glasses, butter knives, spoon and can opener. Significant.


The best thing we got is a Budha embroidery that the seller used to wrap our glasses.

Clockwise:4km sign!, Sarah asking for directions, passed Singapore embassy on the way.

The loot.

Vientiane Day 5. People that I met.

Janet.Khemphet.Ting.Mit.Kikou.Laura

Sarah.Sarah.Julia.Julia.Renu.Nganh.Nina

Patricia.Mathilde.Diego.Toby.Allison.Kelley.

Diego.Hannah.Anna.Martha.Iwone.

Rob.Shane.Soulivan.Delphine.Sophie

Vientiane Fun Facts Part 1.

• People go home for lunch.
• Most places don't have address.They'd indicate location by the closest landmark ie.temple,market,hotel, clinic.
• It's such as small place that I bumped in to the same people in different places for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks.