My eBid Cap Trip to Laos & Cambodia!

[Oldandintheway]

More, More Park

Bro missin' his pooch at home!

Asbestos underwear required at lunch!

Followed by something cold! (quickly)

On way back to Hotel

A Tuk Tuk ride

Past the Night/Day Market

Bro spots a cool Honda!


Till next adventure!

[sucadot]

That's one weird 'pumpkin'

[Oldandintheway]

Downtown Vientiane Walk - Patuxai (The Victory Monument)

A longer than usual walk today - off to see the Patuxai "Victory Monument" in the commercial part of town. (We walked past an ANZ Bank Building on the way).
I am lazy so here is another extract from the Lonely Planet:-
Vientiane's Arc de Triomphe replica is a slightly incongruous sight, dominating the commercial district around Th Lan Xang.
Officially called 'Victory Monument" and commemorating the Lao who died in prerevolutionary wars.
It was built in 1969 with cement donated by the USA intended for construction of a new Airport; hence expats refer to it as 'the vertical runway'. Climb to the summit for panoramic views over Vientiane.
The structure is about seven stories high, with most levels containing shops selling tourist type stuff.
An interesting place that's for sure, notwithstanding the shops.
On a completely different tack, we saw a 220 gram jar of vegemite in a shop today (Yay!). It was 78,000 Kip, or (AUD $12.20 (Boo!).
Lucky we brought our own hey?


Yes I try to avoid that if possible

Anyone for an orange?

And the main mode of transport is???

I've never been to a Grust House, even an orchid one!







cont. over:

[Oldandintheway]

Monument Continued







Tourist shops inside





cont. over:

[Oldandintheway]

Monument - Lunch & back to base!


That means you too NC & Poppy!

Man, check out those twin headlights!






Wow - Krinkle cuts!

Now for some serious Beerlaoing


fin:

[TanteGrete]

I hope they are enjoying themselves as much as I do

[Oldandintheway]

Vientiane Last Day (moving on to Cambodia today)

Pha That Luang Temple & The COPE Visitor Center

Hi all.
We visited two quite different locations today, this being our last day in Vientiane before setting off for Cambodia.
Pha That Luang is an important national icon, seen as a symbol of both Buddhism and Lao sovereignty. There are a number of buildings on-site but the most significant is the 45 meter high Stupa.
As I understand it - meaning this is likely wrong - every Stupa contains a relic of the Buddha. In this instance, a piece of his breastbone.
Legend has it that the relic was brought here by Ashokan missionaries from India in or around the 3rd Century BC.
On the way back to our Hotel we stopped in at the COPE Center - the Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise.
Around one third of Laos is contaminated by unexploded munitions and COPE play an important part in the creation and distribution of artificial limbs & wheelchairs. They do wonderful work in an area that the world seems to want to forget.
Cheers



Wedding Party

And guests

Bro taming a couple of dragons outside





cont. over:

[Oldandintheway]

Vientiane Last Day continued:











cont. over:

[Oldandintheway]

Vientiane Last Day continued:





The COPE Centre

First some good advice



Display - How a cluster bomb works

Where some of them landed in Laos

The end result


Moving along to more pleasant things over:

[Oldandintheway]

Vientiane Last Day - A street market

Left over French influence - Escargot

Coy Carp/Goldfish?

Strange curved yellow fruit



Next stop - Cambodia