Number 43

I just got back from what was probably the worst tasting meal I've ever had. Several of us went out to another restaurant on the Mekong River. Outdoor dining under the stars, on the river with the sliver of the moon and some planet all shining. Dinner was hosted by Thip's, (one of the Lao Professors) parents. They picked me up at the hotel in their long bed truck because the Government is building a new road by their house and is it's the only vehicle that they can get out of their driveway. Thip rode with Vaat on his motorbike and I rode with her folks. We got lost and it ended up being a whole lot more amusing them uncomfortable. Mr. Inthavong speaks English pretty well and Mrs. Inthavong understands but doesn't speak it much. He kept apologizing for not knowing where the restaurant was and she kept needling him. It was a beautiful night and I got to see a lot of Vientiane lit up. When we got there everyone else was already there and a lot of good natured teasing ensued. I used the word kidnapped a few times and everyone laughed.

So the usual one menu was brought to the table and was, not surprisingly, in Lao. The waitress brought one that was also in English and was about 20 pages long. Included in the choices were crocodile, ostrich, frog, pig tongue, snake but no monkey. I was really hankering for some monkey but had to settle. The first course was fried chicken pieces in a batter. Seemed harmless enough but was all gristle. Next was a fish soup that they ordered not spicy in deference to me. I took a sip and my mouth was on fire. The pot was filled with little red chilis. Even Mrs. Inthavong thought it was too spicy so they told the waitress and she brought one that was only too spicy and not WAY too spicy. Mr. Inthavong went to town on the spicy one and never broke a sweat. Once I could taste the soup I realized it was awful. All kinds of flavors that just didn't taste good to me. No one ate a lot of it except for Mr. I. Then came a fish dish which appeared to be diced pieces of fish in vegetables. Bad. Lastly there was some kind of vegetable and (I have no idea what kind of ) meat dish that, by now, I had learned to take a very small portion and hide it under the rice. Mrs. I kept clucking her tongue and saying in Lao that I wasn't eating enough. I tried really hard to not insult them and fortunately it was dark so no one saw the pile of food under the table near my chair when we left....

The day started with me having coffee in the hotel. I wasn't being picked up for an hour so I walked to the bank and changed some money, found a bakery and ordered a donut and some more coffee and walked around a little. Mr. Kahm picked me up around 9 and we went down the street to the Versailles. Well, that's what I thought it was called. It's a large monument built by the French to match something that I thought was in Versailles and everyone seemd to refer to it as Versailles. Later I found out that it's called DuSoi. It's a 7 story monument and when you climb to the top you can see a full 360 degree panorama of Vientiane. They also, for some reason, have killer rum raisin ice cream cones. It was pretty nice. We then hooked up with several of the others and had lunch at a nice place where the food was good.

After lunch we went to a Temple which was visually a treat. After wandering the grounds, we went in and the Laos all prayed and offered flowers and lit candles and then we all got good luck string bracelets from a monk who sprinkled water on our heads, removed our bad luck and infused us with good luck. This was followed by me taking a lot of pictures and then we stopped at a fruit stand that's on the Temple grounds and ate 3 kinds of fruit I've never seen and they couldn't name in English.

Next we went to the Thai Consulate so the Professors could get their Visas. It was odd to me because we had to pay an admission fee to get in. Once inside I realized they had changed their plans and we were at the Laos National Museum and the entrance fee made sense. It's small but has some really old statues and bowls and the like.

After the museum we split up and a few of us went to the Morning Market. It was mid afternoon but that didn't seem to matter. There were a lot of interesting things and more food. I decided to walk back to the hotel and check email, get a little rest and then it was dinner.

The weather was beautiful, the city is quiet and friendly and the people are amazingly generous and hospitable. I'm really glad I came here. All and all a pretty good day in Vientiane.