Escape from Vientiane: Redux

I may live to regret it, but I ended up getting the bus ticket to Hanoi departing tonight. The folks at the front desk even gave me my money back for the room I had paid for for tonight. That's the great thing about Laos, really...everyone is so nice and laid back. I'm actually a little bit nervous about Hanoi because I've heard from so many people how pushy and tiring the Vietnamese can be. For example, last night I was hanging out with an American couple who I met on the kayaking trip and at a little shop, I accidentally handed the shopkeep 20,000 kip instead of 2,000 (the notes can be confusing). The shopkeep just laughed and handed me back my money. Rebecka and Miguel told me that in Vietnam, that money would be gone. Furthermore, people will deliberately hand you back incorrect change and pass it off as a joke if you catch on and complain. It's such climates that can be especially taxing on the solo traveler since no one's got your back and you don't have the whole strength in numbers upper-hand during bargaining and negotiations.

Aside from such concerns though, I'm getting along well on my own. It's much easier to meet people on the backpacking circuit in Asia compared to some of my other travels in Europe, for example. Only a few times have I felt lonely--I think there have actually been more times when I would have liked to be off totally on my own during a hike or in the jungle for example. That being said though, there are so many experiences that would be enhanced by having a good friend along for the ride. The fact that I'm posting twice today definitely shows my lack of motivation to do anything at the moment...it'd be nice to have a friend along to at least chat with.

Anyway, today I just did some shopping and visited the Lao answer to the Arc d'Triomphe. I think knock-off shopping is my new favorite thing to do in the big cities. I picked up the 24-disc DVD box set of Studio Ghibli (makers of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke etc.) for like $30...probably costs more than $150 in the states. If anyone has any movie/DVD/video game (wii games for $5!) requests, let me know.

The Arc d'Triomphe is a beast of concrete. The expats call it the "Vertical Runway" since it was made from cement the US donated to Laos to lay an airport tarmac. I love the sign on it...it's clear the Lao don't have much reverence for the thing either:


It's a lot more derelict looking inside


Lol

OK, that's it for Laos. I'll miss it for sure and am glad I saw it when I did. Something tells me this gentle country which is still more or less below most people's radar will see big changes as surrounding countries like Thailand and Vietnam become tourist-saturated and the spillover starts flowing into Laos. Wish me luck on my 20 hour bus ride to Hanoi (and time spent in Vietnam thereafter).