Breakfast at the Scandanavian Bakery

It was one of those sleeps that you aren’t 100% sure if you slept or not the whole night. I guess since I didn’t wake up tired this morning, I was able to get some sleep for more than 3 hours. It was dark in my room and I do know that I keep on waking up. When I finally checked my phone, I was surprised that it was already 9:57am. There was a window in my room, but it faces to a wall so there’s not much light coming in.

I got up and had a shower, and started to pack my things once more. By 10:50am, I was all set, and was greatly relieved to get out of my room for the last time. I left my backpack and Envirosax bag at the guesthouse, since I don’t want to walk around town carrying those. Besides, the bus will pick me up at the guesthouse, so I would still have to go back. With my camera and laptop in my messenger back, I set off for bruch at the Scandanavian Bakery Cafe.

Seeing the cakes and pastries on display was a welcoming sight, and I had a hard time choosing whether to get the breakfast set or the lunch set. I settled on the omelet breakfast set that comes with one omelet, 2 kinds of bread, butter & jam, coffee, juice and a fruit bowl. The set costs 29,000 kip. I also ordered this chocolate thing that looked like a beehive that has Sarah Bernhardt on its tip for 9,000 kip, and a 1-hour wi-fi access for 6,000 kip.

Our bus during the day

I said before that Joma Bakery Cafe was good. But now, the Scandanavian Bakery is my new favorite. The meals here are cheaper and they’re better too. Wi-fi is also cheaper; Joma offers wi-fi at twice the price. I dug into my brunch with gusto. The bread was fantastic. Though I’m not a fan of crusty bread, the bread they served was perfect. It had that crunchy crust, and a very soft inside. And did I mention that it was fresh? The omelet as sinfully good. It was cooked with buttter, instead of regular cooking oil, and inside it has onions, tomatoes, ham and cheese. The chocolate thing was pretty weird though. It had a biscuit that taste like gingerbread, had a chocolate mousse on top and coated with chocolate. It was just weird.

Still, for 29,000 kip, it was a pretty good and filling brunch. I initially planned on passing the time at Joma after this, but since they have wi-fi here, I figured I’d stay until I have to leave at 4pm. But geez, 5 hours in a cafe? I though I should have bought more wi-fi hours. On second thought, the wi-fi Internet was soooo slow. Urgh.

The same bus at night

So now I’m back in this Internet shop I’ve been frequenting since I got here. I’m basically just passing time until I have to get back to the guesthouse. I’ve exchanged my dollar to baht, and I’ve received confirmation from my hostel in Sukhumvit. Seems like everything is set for Bangkok.

Internet service just for fun

I left the guesthouse last night, and hailed a tuktuk to take me to that tourist area, to look for guesthouses. I was dead set on moving to a better guesthouse on Saturday, when my two nights are finished in my current guesthouse. While walking around, I saw Vientiane’s Cafe Croissant D’or, the same cafe in Luang Prabang where I was supposed to have my last dinner (I ended up moving to a different restaurant because they don’t have steak that night, and I wanted steak). I decided to give it a try, and ordered a favorite: chicken cordon bleu.

A cure for any bad day, I think, is good food. The chicken was bursting with flavor, and it does not have that weird cream sauce as it did in Luang Prabang at a different restaurant. It was easily the best meal I had in Laos (well, just next to that yummy street-side liempo). That eased my mood a bit, and after dinner, I walked around looking for an Internet shop. There weren’t any along Fa Ngum road that was still open at 7pm. I followed a tourist and came across one. The rate was the same as in Luang Prabang: 100 kip per minute.

Lunch at Tex Mex Alexia

After 30 minutes online, I hailed a tuktuk and showed the driver the card with my guesthouse’s name and address. It’s no secret that tourists get charged a lot more than the locals do. I’ve made it a habit to ask before getting in, and saying “too much” quickly became automatic when the driver gives a price. The driver quoted 20,000 kip for the ride, but when I said too much, he tried to reason that it’s already a fair price. I wasn’t giving in, and he sighed and relented to the 15,000 kip fare (which is what I paid for the ride coming to this area).

While I’m usually happy to go back to my room to rest, I was dreading this one. I wasn’t really keen on my room. This room made me apprciate my room at Vilay, though the shower here was much more appreciated than the puny one I had at LP. I had a hard time falling asleep, partially due to my unease with the room and the fact that I pretty much slept through the whole ride from Luang Prabang. I kept on waking up in the middle of the night, and struggled to fall back asleep. But this is not uncommon, as I generally have a hard time falling asleep in unfamiliar places.

Ho Phra Keow

My mood didn’t really improve when I woke up. I took a shower, then headed out with my laundry in tow to drop off at the nearby laundry place. I also took my laptop with me, since I thought I’d have brunch at that place across the street that offers wi-fi. However, on the way back from the laundry place, I passed by this Internet cafe, and decided to just use the facilities there. I checked my mail and sent off an e-mail, inquiring about room availability at the place where Ferdz stayed at when he was here last February. I also read about the places to see around Vientiene, and when I realized that there’e not much for me to do around here, I decided to just scrap the plan about taking the train to Bangkok and just buying a ticket on the bus and leaving at the soonest possible date.

I walk back to the guesthouse to drop off my laptop, and as I walking back out, I saw a sign for the VIP bus to Bangkok. It terminates at Khao San Road, and though I want to stay else where when I go back to BKK, it will do. I ask the guy at the reception the details about the bus, and booked for Saturday night. The ticket cost me THB800 or 200,000 kip. It was a very touristy thing, but it’s cheap and it will take me out of Vientiane.

My mood ligthened at that thought, and as I walked out, I felt slightly miffed because the weather outside was just gorgeous. It was as if it was giving me plenty of reason to love the place. I walked and walked, determined to find the Scandanavian Bakery that was always mentioned in Lonely Planet and Travelfish. I had the address, but as always, the tuktuk drivers cannot find it. The tuktuk driver dropped me off at the street where it was supposed to be, and I just walked since the road was already one-way going the other way. As I continue walking, I recognize some of the establishments along the road and realized it was where I was last night. It was surprising because I thought my guesthouse was too far from everything, where in fact, it was just a farther walk.

Vat Sisaket

I had lunch at Tex-Mex Alexia for brunch. Yup, another non-Lao restaurant. I am already in that phase where I’m starting to crave for food that I normally have, and starting to get homesick as well. It doesn’t help that when I logged into plurk earlier, most of the people in my timeline were plurking “happy independence day,” along with a screenshot of today’s Google doodle of the Philippine flag in celebration of the Philippine’s 111th independence. The restaurant certainly doesn’t serve Filipino food, but it does serve burritos and burritos make me happy. I ordered a set meal that comes with burrito, chili con carne, barbeque chicken, rice, coleslaw and french fries. While the burrito was a huge disappointment, the chili con was fantastic, and so is the chicken. It was a lovely brunch for 56,000 kip (drinks not included). While I was waiting for my meal, I took out the map I bought from the guesthouse (series 2006, an updated version from the 2004), and realized that most of the top attractions are within walking distance.

With that, I started walking after my meal, making use of my umbrella to take off some of the heat from the midday sun. I came upon a row of Internet shops, and I ducked inside one to enjoy the airconditioning and to make reservations for my hostel in Bangkok. I contemplated staying at Shambara again, since the bus is terminating in Khao San Road, but I decided to just stay the whole four days in the Silom area, at a fairly new hostel. Hopefully, their wi-fi is working. I plan on doing some unplanned shopping, and close access to the BTS Skytrain is a clear advantage. Also, being rigth smack in the CBD means there are plenty of street stalls that Thai office workers frequented. Great food for very cheap prices.

Patuxai

After the short stop at the Internet shop, I had another longer stop at Joma Bakery Cafe. This is the same cafe that I loved in Luang Prabang, and I popped in for tea and a chocolate cream pie. Also, it’s a great place to pass the time as the mid day sun shines brightly outside. At 3:30pm, I decide to finally leave the airconditioned comfort of the cafe and headed out in the streets. I walk the lenght of Setthathirath road towards Ho Prakeo and Vat Sisaket. Both temples charge 5,000 kip admission each, and I just barely made it before it closed. Of the two, I liked Ho Prakeo better because it seemed more hospitable of the two. Unlike its namesake in Thailand, the former house of the Emerald Buddha is much understated. It’s a lovely place to just sit and meditate.

From Vat Sisaket, I walk down Lane Xang Avenue towards Patuxai, the Lao version of France’s Arc de Triumph. It was a walking distance from the guesthouses, but it can be quite tiring, specially if there’s no shade. I didn’t quite make it to the monument, primarily because I was afraid that there’s no traffic lights to help me cross the road. I walk back to Saylom road instead, to pass by the laundry, and I’m back here in my dingy room.

Dinner at Le Provençal

Today was pretty good, as I said at the beginning of the entry. But there’s really not much to do around here, and the decision to leave Vientiane tomorrow wasn’t something that I regret. Now I just have to figure out what to do until 5pm tomorrow…

Luang Prabang bus station

The bus pulled out from the station just outside Luang Prabang at 8am. It was interesting to see how different the places outside LP looked. It was more modern, and there were no tourists in sight. Riding the bus were mostly backpackers on their way to Vientiene like me, or hopping off at Vang Vieng.

The bus drove up and down the mountains, going slowly as there are sharp curves that bends to the left and right. Still, even with the driver’s careful maneuvering, a lot of passengers still got motion sickness, and the plastic distributed at the beginning of the trip was fully utilized. We passed through the worst of it on the first part of the journey. By the time we stopped for lunch, everybody was ravenous. Luckily, this time, the food stayed in their tummies.

Gorgeous mountain views on the highway to Vientiane

While the bus was winding through the mountains, I kept looking at the electric posts that line the road. There doesn’t seem to be any lights along this road, and it must be really scary driving through the mountain in the dark. We arrive in Vientiane around 5:30pm, and since I don’t have any reservations, I just pointed to the names of the guesthouse I written down in my notebook and hoped my tuktuk driver knows where it is.

It turns out he didn’t. After conferring with a bunch of other tuktuk drivers, they really didn’t know which guesthouse I was talking about, so I pointed to another guesthouse at a different address. He knows where that is and drove me there. It turns out the guesthouse was full, and he insisted that he knows another place where he can take me. So he drives to this guesthouse that’s still pretty near the river, but I already had a bad feeling when I saw the door to the room. It reminds me of those hospital doors that are built wide to let hospital beds pass through easily, and inside, it was just as bad. It wasn’t dirty or anything, but it just has that feeling of being a hospital. I don’t think I can sleep there.

NFA rice spotting inside the bus

Not that the one I’m currently in is any better. I just relented since it was cheap and I just want to get rid of my tuktuk driver. I paid for two nights here, and tomorrow, I’m going to look for better digs. My target is to get out of Vientiane by Monday evening, so I have to buy my train tickets tomorrow as well.

Yuiichiro and Sayuri at Luang Prabang

It’s interesting, these two roads. The main road is filled with shops catering to every tourist’s needs, while the road by the Mekong is quieter and have the stores where the locals shop. I turned right on the road leading up to the National Museum, but I passed it to head to the main road.

I’ve been eating local dishes for the past 7 days, and I’m hankering for some bread. Laos have been under the French rule decades ago, and seeing French baguettes being sold on the side of the road is a common sight. I’m not much of a baguette person though, so I settled on a Croque Madame, a sandwich with 3 white breads, slices of ham in between and topped with cheese and an egg. It was okay. Not as spectacular as the one I had in Melbourne (which comes with salad and the bread is practically covered with sinful cheese and butter).

Croque Madame

While I was waiting for my food, a girl approached me, selling random knick knacks. I politely turned her down, but she doesn’t leave. I take out my Pinkies and started taking photos. She was a really cheeky one, this girl. She was muttering “beautiful” when she saw the dolls, and after I’ve taken the photos, she asked to see them. When I showed the photo preview on my LCD, she keeps on saying “next” to see the other photos I’ve taken. She then started asking questions, about my name, where I’m from, when I arrived. She started selling her wares to me again, and this time, I bought one keychain from her. I have been intending to buy one of these (as per Chris’ request), so I figured why not? Besides, the price she’s giving me is the same price at the night market.

My sandwich came and she runs off to try to sell to other tourists. I take my time eating my breakfast, and though I had a book in my bag, I didn’t feel like reading it. Luang Prabang is the sort of place that makes you just want to sit back and watch the world go by. I finish my sandwich, but spent 30 more minutes at the cafe just watching the people walking past. When the sun went behind a cloud, I took it as a sign to pay for my food and start walking. I walk back to the National Museum, intending to spend the hottest time of the day indoors. The main gate was closed, but the gate off the side was open. Just as I was walking up to the museum though, the grounds keeper saw me and shook her hand, indicating that the museum is closed. Oh well.

Mmm, liempo!

I continued walking down the path to the Mekong again. There are restaurants overlooking the river where I see some locals eating, but I walk past them, since I’m still a bit full from breakfast. However, when I came upon this stall selling some grilled meat, I stop and pointed at a lovely piece of pork chop and pork belly. Each piece costs 20,000 kip, and one order of sticky rice is 2,000 kip. Not bad. I settled down to eat at this roadside carinderia, which is something I don’t really do even back in Manila.

The rice was served in a small plate, and the meat in another. The utensils are inside a container and you just pick what you need to use. I get a fork and when I reached for what looked like a spoon, I discover that it was a soup spoon (the kind you use in Chinese restaurants). I used a pair of chopsticks instead. I pick up a piece of pork belly, and I can’t even begin to tell you how comforting it felt to bite into that yummy liempo. It was seasoned just right, and grilled nicely. It wasn’t perfectly tender, but it wasn’t tough or gummy either. It was just right. It felt so good eating something familiar, though it wasn’t the same eating it with sticky rice. Steamed rice is still the best with liempo, in my opinion.

A friendly puppy

After lunch, I continue walking along the Mekong, stopping by the roadside to take a photo of a puppy across the street. The puppy saw me taking photos of him, and he crossed the road and settled himself on the curbside beside me. Even the dogs are friendly in Luang Prabang.

I enjoy the breeze by the Mekong for a couple of minutes more, then I got up to walk back to the main road. I came upon one of the Buddhist temples in town, and made my way up the stairs to the temple complex. There was nobody around, save for a cat walking around. I walk up to the temple, taking photos, and realized that there was a young monk sitting on by the temple door using a cellphone. I think he was texting. I take a couple more photos and walked back down to the street level, and back to Vilay.

Texting monk

Early to mid-afternoon was spent indoors, taking shelter from the midday sun. It’s also the best time to edit photos and write blog entries, as the Internet is still down (I’m doubting whether it would ever go online), and the Internet cafe closes at 9pm. It’s 5:30pm now and in a bit I’m heading out again, back to the town to check out the night market again. It’s going to be another early dinner, and plenty of time will be spent online, since I have to decide when I’ll leave LP for Vientiane.

Believe it or not, there ARE great tasting airplane food

It was just past 7am on a Monday morning, and this being Bangkok, there was a build up already. Though we are driving out of the city, the inner roads leading to the express way was already congested. However, once we got to the expressway, the roads started to clear up and in just one hour, we were at the airport. My flight wasn’t until 11:40am, so I had plenty of time to kill. I walked languidly as people around me are rushing to get on their way.

Last night, when I got back at the hostel after posting my entry, I realized that I forgot the one important thing I should have done while I was online: research for guesthouses in Luang Prabang. I e-mailed an inquiry to one guesthouse the day before, so I was hoping for that reply. There wasn’t any, so I totally forgot about it when I opened my e-mail. After checking in and going through passport control, I looked for an Internet cafe. One thing I noticed while I was wandering inside the huge new airport, is that unlike Changi, there are still plenty of empty spaces. Changi has plenty of amenities to help you pass the time, but in Suvarnabhumi, there’s really not much you can do except to shop and eat. I was directed to the Internet cafe on the 2nd level, and received a shock when I saw the prices. I knew the prices in airports are bloated, but THB 100 for 20 minutes of Internet time is just too much. Still, I felt I had no choice and paid the absurd fee.

Bastos!

Vilay Guesthouse replied to my e-mail, and said that they do have a room for me. On that note, I hardly bothered checking out other guesthouses, since they didn’t have websites. When my 20 minutes was up, I made my way to Gate C1A. I was flying with Bangkok Airways, and all around the airport, I saw signs of their passenger lounge. I never did find that lounge, but I passed by he Thai Airways lounge on my way to the gate. The waiting lounge outside the boarding gate was virtually empty. And to my annoyance, I see two Internet kiosks being used by two other tourists. Damn it. I walked passed them, settling myself near the TV to watch the news. I was rapidly getting bored and then I remembered that I had my notebook with me. I boot up my laptop, and eagerly checked to see if there’s Wi-fi inside the airport. There were 2 unsecured networks, but only 1 works. I think I was able to get a wisp of the wi-fi from the Thai Airways lounge.

Thirty or so minutes of free wireless surfing later, the gate opens. We were directed to buses on the tarmac that would bring us to the plane we’re taking. I knew rigth then that we were taking a small plane, but it seems some of my fellow travelers weren’t expecting it. When the bus stopped beside an ATR plane, one lady gasped and said “omg, it has propelers!”

Pretty side street

Bangkok Airways planes are all festively decorated, depicting sites and landmarks from their destinations. The plane has a 2-2 configuration, and has 19 rows (though row 19 only has 2 chairs). There was just enough legroom, as as soon as we were settled, the flight attendant went down the row, offering a wet towel for freshing up. The plane was just about 35% full. We can all have our own rows, and there’d still be empty rows. It’s not surprising — it’s the off peak season for traveling, and Bangkok Airways isn’t quite the backpacker’s choice for traveling up to Laos.

The plane was out of its parking space and into the runway within minutes and in no time, we were up in the air. We hit some turbulence on the way up, which probably didn’t do much for those flying on a prop plane for the first time. As soon as we reach cruising altitude, everything was smooth. We were offered drinks, then the lunch meal. There were no questions asked, it was chicken or nothing. The meal was chicken curry with steamed white rice and steamed red fragrant rice that was organically grown by a community in Thailand. I was a bit hesitant about eating it first, since I’m not really into spicy food, but I thought since it’s airline food, it probably wouldn’t be spicy or have any flavor at all. Boy, was I wrong! It was flavorful, and it had just the right amount of spiciness. It’s like that wasabi nuts they served in Singapore Airlines before — it had the taste, but not the spice. I like it! The meal comes with a Thai salad made of bean sprouts and a cake-y bread pudding-like dessert. This is easily one of the best airline meals I’ve had.

Waiting for the sun to set at the Mekong

Bangkok Airways brands itself as a boutique airline. I’m not sure how a boutique airlines should be, but their service is really quite good. The flight attendants were courteous and very professional, and for the wine lovers, they enjoyed the rounds of red and white served on board. They also have the best inflight catalogue. All of the airline catalogues I’ve seen selling various duty free items and airline branded goods are boring. Their is very cute, has a very imaginative layout that makes you just want to buy or kick yourself for not having enough money to buy the cute things on offer.

One-hour and forty minutes after we took off from Bangkok, Thailand, we landed in Luang Prabang, Laos. The weather seemed fine, though there were clouds that treaten to rain. Like all the other airports, there was a health screening at the entrance of the building, though no thermal scanner. The lady was concerned about my congested and runny nose, but I assured her that I never had any fever. I passed the screening, and was directed to the immigration booth. Of the entire plane, I think there were only five of us that didn’t need to apply for a visa on arrival. Thank you, ASEAN.

Luang Prabang night market

The Luang Prabang airport is tiny. Right after clearing immigration, you find yourself in the baggage claim area, boasting of one conveyor belt. I pick up Viktor, and made my way to the airport’s exit. I exchange my dollar to kip at the forex just inside the door, at the rate of US$1 to 8,500 kip. It’s like being in Indonesia again with the numerous zeros in the local currency. I walk out, looking for a tuk-tuk, but there were none in sight. There was a taxi counter, and a ride to town costs 50,000 kip. Seeing that I have no other choice, I accept it and got on a taxi that looks like a multi-cab (truck with two seats running on both sides of the bed). There were no traffic, but the driver drove leisurely. I’m not sure if there’s a speed limit in Luang Prabang, but this is already an indication of how laid back the Lao people are.

It was short drive to the center of town. I was dropped off right outside Vilay, and I made my way inside the house. I was showed the room I inquired about, that has a double bed, a fan and ensuite toilet and shower. The room rate is US$7 per night or in the local currency, 180,000 kip for three nights. I question if I did the right thing, since I found out later on that the internet is down. Curses! That was my only reason for booking here! Oh well. Let’s just hope for the best.

Steamed chicken with Lao herbs and sweet chili

I rested a bit then went out to walk and explore Luang Prabang. It’s a lovely place for walking. The streets aren’t crowded, and there are plenty of things you just want to take photos off. I came upon the night market, that has already started setting up. There are plenty of lovely items that I’m just wishing I can buy, but I’m only on my 2nd week of traveling, so it’s not really advisable for me to buy that cute wooden parasol. At the end of the market, there’s a row of stores and restaurants. I pick one out randomly for an early dinner. Dinner tonight was steamed chicken with Lao herbs and sweet chili. It didn’t look appetizing, but it was actually pretty tasty. The chicken was tender, and the herbs were really packed with flavor. It was perfect with steamed rice and the blanched unseasoned veggies that came with it.

After dinner, I slowly made my way back to Vilay to write this entry and to check if the internet is already up. It’s still down, so I have to hurry up and finish this because the Internet shop closes at 9pm.