Yesterday I arrived in Vientiane, Loas via another Lao city to the north: Luang Prabang. That north-south-north path was taken so I could travel land north through Laos and see the plain of jars and Luang Prabang on my way to Hanoi, Vietnam. But I’m now thinking that I won’t take bus to Hanoi so I’ve paid for a flight (Luang Prabang to Vientiane) that I don’t need. But, fuck all that. I’m most concerned about the stomach cramps.
Vientiane is one of the quietest cities I’ve yet been to. This is the opposite of what I’ve expected. Not only is it the capital of the nation but this weekend represents the Lao New Year–AKA the water festival. It’s called the water festival because people throw water on each other for good luck. There are squirt guns, pails, and water hoses out for use. But the only wet I got was five minutes ago on my way to the internet terminal. Some little brat started running up to me with what looked like a pan of dirty dish water. I’ve got my BlackBerry in one pocket, my camera in the other, and my notebook on my back. I did all I could to dodge but couldn’t. But it seems the electronics are in good shape.
Besides that little bit of excitement, the vacancy in this town is unsettling. At the dry shores of the Mekong there are a dozen restaurants and beer gardens with capacity to sit many hundreds of people. On the street side of the same stretch are bars and restaurants that also could seat hundreds more. As I walked through the area last night I likely saw less than a hundred seats filled. One Frenchman handed me a flier to the first ever beach party in Laos on the sandbar of the Mekong. When I went down there at 10 the cite had capacity for a thousand but had perhaps 20 people present. And this in a town that curfew closes down at 11:00.
It might be good that I’ve stumbled into a sleepy area of the region because I’m having some GI problems. I had plowed through some pretty strange foods in my first week here with no issue. But I most have swallowed something bad yesterday because I had a few nasty sessions in the toilet. I was going to let it take its course until I was awoken by painful stomach cramps in the middle of the night. At 10:30 I relented and threw back a Cipro. Hopefully things will improve so I can leave for the rest of the country tomorrow or the day after.
I feel for you my friend- hopefully this vacation wont be like my experience in Peru. I’m not a doctor, but…. keep taking that stuff for 5 days once you’ve started. You dont want to just kill off the weak ones.