Joe and I were recently treated with a visit from one of my friends (some of you know her!), Krissy. She is volunteering in Thailand for the summer and took a break to see the sights in Laos. Her first stop was Vientiane where we spent two days seeing as much as we could: Patuxay (a tall cement structure that has stairs to a birds eye view of the capital), Talat Sao (the morning market), and our favorite restaurants Joma and Makphet. We squeezed in some temples too: Wat Sisangvone, Wat Phonxaysetthathirath (really!) , That Luang, and Wat Ha Phra Keo. It was a sweaty endeavor, but we managed to keep hydrated and even shop silk weavings till we found the most beautiful one in town which will be hanging on Krissy's living room wall later this summer :)
Unfortunately, Joe was laid up with a badly banged ankle; he slipped getting out of the tuk-tuk on the way to work, and a tender part of his ankle met metal with force. A lot of greenish blusish swelling came out of it, but we don't think it's broken as it has been improving. That being said, he was off the hook for the aforemtnetioned intense trekking excursion.
It's great to have visitors so that you can see the sights! Although Joe and I have seen many together, sometimes the ones right under your nose go unnoticed because they are so familiar. Everywhere we went, in classic Lao style, the people were very friendly. The monks at the temples practiced their English with us, the kids posed for pictures, the vendors smiled at us even when we didn't buy anything, and the sun occasionally cooperated by going behind a cloud (or was it the clouds that covered the sun?). Thank you Krissy for getting me out and about to see some new things, taste some new fruits, find new ATMs, and for teaching me more about Buddhism all in my own backyard!
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