For my previous posts on this adventure, click http://lynntowin.ca/thailand-and-laos, http://lynntowin.ca/bangkok, http://lynntowin.ca/chiang-mai, http://lynntowin.ca/laos, and http://lynntowin.ca/luang-prabang-laos and http://lynntowin.ca/vang-vieng Wat Sisaket We drove for a couple of hours on a new highway, built by the Chinese of course, to reach the capital, Vientiane. It sits along the Mekong River, and you can see Thailand on the other side. We visited Wat Sisaket, the oldest buddhist temple here. It’s the only temple still standing from a war with Siam, now Thailand, in the 1800’s. The temple and grounds are weathered and beaten, but beautiful. In the gardens are stupas containing the ashes of local devotees of the temple. We travelled by tuk-tuk within the…

For my previous posts on this adventure, click http://lynntowin.ca/thailand-and-laos, http://lynntowin.ca/bangkok, http://lynntowin.ca/chiang-mai, http://lynntowin.ca/laos, and http://lynntowin.ca/luang-prabang-laos Chinese railway From our hotel in Luang Prabang, we went in vans to the new high-speed train to Vang Vieng. (It actually wasn’t that fast, the displayed speed got as high as 150 km/hr, but I’ve been on others in Spain and Japan that go twice as fast.) The railway was finished in 2021, and built by the Chinese. Before the train, the journey was 8 hours by winding roads, and now it’s only one hour. The packed train was not all that comfortable, but I slept the whole time, due to our 5 am alms…

For my previous posts on this adventure, click http://lynntowin.ca/thailand-and-laos, http://lynntowin.ca/bangkok, http://lynntowin.ca/chiang-mai, and http://lynntowin.ca/laos Luang Prabang We got to our hotel after the Mekong river cruise after a twenty minute drive through the city. It’s famous for its french colonial architecture and many buddhist temples. We walked from our hotel through the night markets to a restaurant for dinner. I tried a local pork dish and disliked it. Thankfully my favorite, pad thai, is on almost every menu in Laos as well as in Thailand. There was a lovely street full of bars just past the night markets. Kuang Si waterfall and bear sanctuary In the morning we set off to…