Bikes, Beer, Guns...and more Temples.

The National Symbol of Laos - Pha That Luang.

Welcome to Vientiane.

Home of Asia's best beer, Asia's slowest capital city, Asia's most central firing range, Asia's version of the Arc de Triomphe and from what i have seen so far Asia's most simplistic stupa. (Stupa is a type of temple...it's a Bhuddist thing).

The ride in from Luang Prabang yesterday was a bit dicey and i wasn't feeling the best. Add to this when we asked the Tuk Tuk driver who picked us up from the terminal to take us to one part of Vientiane he took us to a completly different part of town just because he may get a comission from the hotel he decided to park us out the front of. We decided to walk around and find a place a bit cheaper and about 10 minutes later we stumbled across a place where by i think we are the only people staying there.

Last night we found ourselves in a ghost town as Vientiane isn't the most exactly populated of capital cities. Sure it pace is slower than a Datsun 120 and the streets are paved with dirt but that didn't deter my tavel buddy and I to get out the next day and see what this capital city has to offer.

Downtown Vientiane - Monday Morning -10.30a.m.

After borrowing bikes from our guest house Sab and i made our way down to the Cambodian embassy to get our visas for the last leg of our Southeast Asian tour. After eventually finding the embassy we decided to check out two architectual triumphs that dominate the Vientiane skyline. Actually a Meccano set replica of the Eiffel tower would dominate the skyline here. So after riding around in the drizzle we finally came across Victory Gate. This was built in 1962 and is supposed to be a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The resemblance was uncanny. From the pictures i've seen of the Arc in Paris it is a monument that draws you with it's presence and raw beauty. Vientianes Arc draws you in with its haughtiness and its raw concrete.

Teddy at the Victory Gate

Following the Arc we rode our way through more drizzle to the most important building in Laos. Pha That Luang is the largest stupa in Laos was built in the 16th century. Compared to all the other stupas and temples we have seen so far, i think i like this one the most because the design is simple. It's not flashy like most other stupas but its refined which to make makes it look more regal. According to the locals there is a part of Bhuddas body in here. With the number of temples we have seen that claim to have a piece of Bhudda, i'm guessing that this one contains only a discarded toenail from Bhuddas left pinkie toe.

On our way back from Pha That Luang Sab ran into some trouble with her bike. The chain fell off and some very nice locals helped her fix it. Actually the following video will tell you all the details.

With Sabs bike fixed it was time to squeeze off a few rounds at the Laos Shooting Range just behind the Olympic Stadium. Considering the shooting range is about two blocks from our guesthouse and we are pretty much in downtown Vientiane, it is by far the most centrally located firing range i've ever come across. Considering this is the first firing range i have been to loated in an urban setting, Sab and i did pretty well. We had turns of firing a Russian .22 calibre pistol and i had 15 shots and hit the target 13 times. Not bad considering it's the first time i've ever used a handgun. As much as i enjoyed firing the gun, i'm not about to join the NRA anytime soon. I mean its not that often you get the chance to fire a weapon in the middle of the city...unless you live in Detroit.

I am the Terminator!

After a hearty lunch Sab and i decided that we were going to pick up our Cambodian visas on the way to the Beerlao factory. Because this is by far Asia's best beer we though why not go on the tour and get us a couple of free samples of the liquid gold. As we continued to ride the drizzle that accompaied us all day the drizzle king decided to turn up the volume. What we thought (and were told by a sales representative at a local Honda scooter shop) was going to be a nice 30 minute ride to the factory ended up taking about 80 minutes through the drizzle and riding on those damned potholed dirt roads. Lucky I have an ass that's well padded.

We were drenched and sweaty but for some reason we didn't give in. This was turning into a pilgramige for us and no pissy amount of rain or ass numbing roads was going to stop us now. It was our crusade to get to that Beerlao factory, take the tour and sink some free piss. After eventually finding the factory we were informed by the lady at the front desk that there were no tours this week as the factory was under maintenence. Slightly dissapointed we made our way over to the beer tasting room where no beer before has tasted so good. Even Sab can testify that this is one of the worlds great beers and the effort to get here was well worth it. After picking up a couple of bottle openers for ourselves we had the task of riding back into town.

The best beer in Asia...probably the world.

Another 80 minute ride back into town though more drizzle and dirt, the sight of our guest house was heaven. I would say we rode about 50 kilometers around Vientiane and it was one of the best days on this holday so far. Tomorrow we are going to check out the local markets and the Lao National Museum. That's across the road from our guest house.

The bikes are going to take the day off.