22 September 2005 – Vientiane

I woke up at 05:45 this morning to “monk hunt” or “monk stalk” as it really turned out. The mist was exteremely thick and later in the day my Lao guide told me that the mist was unusual. The photos I took of the monks accepting their morning alms came out so-so and I will probably go out again tomorrow.

At 9:30 I met my city tour guide for our tour of the main sights of Vientiane. Several of the palces I had visited the day before were on the agenda but my young guide, “Nam”, gave me a lot of background on the sites and pointed out many details I had missed on my own.

In the afternoon I lounged by the pool and took a nap in my room. A perfect day!

Dinner at the hotel again but tonight it is French cuisine. I had the following:

~ Soupe á l’ Oignon Gratinee

~ Gateau de Foie de Volaille tiede, Sauce aux Echalutes (Chicken Liver Mousse with Shallot Sauce)

~ Magret de Canard au Poivre Vert et Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (Pan-Fried Duck Breast with a Green Peppercorn Sauce and Potato Croquettes)

~ Cinnamon Crème Brulé

The soup was very good – but not as good as mine! I find that restaurants don’t have the patience to carmelize the onions to the degree that I prefer. I accept that it is a long, drawn out process but I think that the result is worth it.

The liver mousse is light and perfectly accented by the caramelized shallot sauce.

The duck was cooked medium and the green peppercorn sauce was fantastic. The peppercorns added the right amount of heat to the sauce resulting in a sauce with many flavors that were nicely balanced. The meat was cooked to perfection – the meat pink in the middle and the skin crisp.

I completed som of my Christmas shopping today. Jackie, Barbara, Gretchen, and Robin got handmade Lao silver necklaces. I’m always as a loss at what to get them. Conservative, yet unusual, this jewelry seems a good choice. The kiddies get Peninsula bears from Bangkok. The men of the family are always a mystery although Krispen seems easier due to his broader outlook on life and the world.

I bought a carved stone box, very cheap, for myself. It has a butterfly motif on it and although I usually don’t like things like this it caught my eye. The cheapest purchase of the day, it will go nicely with my other Asian goodies in the house.

Despite foggy beginnings, the day turned out to be just beautiful despite the heat and high humidity. The sky was clear with puffy cumulus clouds here and there. I hope that a few photos turn out to be worth keeping.

In my mind, I was comparing Vientiane to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Vientiane seems to be better run. I have only seen one or two beggars on the street here whereas they are everywhere in Cambodia. Not sure why things are different, but they are. Vientiane seems to be very artisan-oriented with humble-yet-impressive shops reviving local crafts and showcasing Indochine style (I have no other way of describing it) all over the city.

Last evening young Wat told me that he was one of three boys in his family. The first two, of which he is the oldest, was directed to learn English rather than French. The third boy was told to learn French. I find this amusing considering this is a former French colony. My travels have taught me the French left little for their colonies where the British left, at least, solid infrastructures from which to build on. These people are smart and they know that the future international business language is English.

The music in the hotel bar is the worst, or at least amoung the worst, in Asia. Vintage Tom Jones is now playing. To make matters worse, Tom singing “Raindrops keep falling on my head” is some of the newer stuff. Augh!

It’s 8:30 PM, I’m exhausted, and another wild night for me in Asia concludes.