Thailand
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עברית
January 17, 2007
There’s not much to do in Vientiane. I bought a ticket for a VIP bus to Vang Vieng in the morning for $6 USD. The bus leaves around 2:30 PM and picking up from guest houses starts at 2:00 PM.
Around Vientiane
I had a couple of hours free so I drove to the Buddha Park. It’s located thirty kilometers from the city. On the way you have to go back to the Friendship Bridge, the same place where the border with Thailand is located, and keep driving for seven more kilometers. If you come to Laos from this border, you should save yourself the trouble and ask the driver to go through this park first.
The road goes through a rural area along rice fields, cows that walk on the road and the river to the right. The roads are not good in some parts.
Buddha Park
The Buddha Park is a place to pass an hour in. There are interesting statues and on one of them, shaped as a huge boulder, you can climb and see the view around. If you go inside with a camera, you have to pay extra for using it.
Near the big interesting statues I found a strange symbol which reminded me the Shield of David. Something that is not related to Buddhism at all.
Inside the park I met a group of Jewish people who came from the US to visit Laos. I asked one of them to take my photo and was immediately recognized as an Israeli by my accent. We chatted a little about stuff going in the US and Israel and went on our way. Already then I came to a conclusion I should keep my Israeli accent for the Hebrew language only, and keep it out from other languages.
Sisaket Temple
I came back to the city, and has some time to visit Sisaket temple. It’s a nice one but nothing special. Entrance fee is 3000 kip (25 cents).
I went on a pickup truck along with some other tourists. The gather around from the entire world to one place. When I got on the bus, I immediately heard Hebrew. It lasted for the entire ride. The alternative for this was a local bus that should have passed the same way in seven to eight hours instead of the four hours of the VIP bus. This is according to the man from the guest house who ordered the ticket for me.
Vang Vieng
We arrived at Vang Vieng just before 7:00 PM after less than four hours. The initial shock of the average traveler who comes to Vang Vieng is quite expected in light of what’s going in the center. The bus stops in a guest house that probably works with the bus company. You can continue on a pickup truck (5000 kip) to other guest house in the center.After a short ride I arrived at nice guest house called Sisavang. It’s located in the center of the center within a small alley. The price of $4 USD sounded like a joke considering the conditions you get. The place is well kept, floor is made of a marble material, the room are clean and pretty. There’s a fan, toilet and even hot water in the showers. A room with a television costs one dollar more, but there’s no need for it after you see what’s in the center.
A couple of steps away from the opening of the guest house, dozens of pubs and restaurants are scattered around on a not so big area. I went into one of the restaurant, if you can call it like that, I sat down on one of the improvised sofas and for four hours I didn’t move from there, just like the rest of the tourists who sat inside. The restaurant is made of couches padded with carpets. Over each couch there’s a small table on which the food is served. Two televisions are showing episodes of the series Friends nonstop. People who walk outside the restaurant are constantly looking amazed at the mysterious wonder. I stopped counting the number of times they took a photograph of the place while sitting there. Just in front of it there’s a similar restaurant. In the entire area they show movies, episodes of Seinfeld, The Simpsons, soccer games and whatever. Just let the tourists in to sit down and eat.
At 11:00 PM the place closes down when the last people left the restaurant.
This article was originally written in Hebrew. It was translated to English at a later time.
English
