Saturday morning, Vientiane, Laos

I sent some photos to Anna yesterday and she posted them. They follow this entry. They are not spectacular like so many of my photos are -lol!

Yesterday was a day for equipment maintenance. A hand strap on my backpack was about to strip out. It is a little hand strap on the top of pack that every bus man and baggage handler grabs to throw my pack around with. It's about to rip out. And then on my DAY BAG (man purse) the strap is pulling out of its seam.

So I set off from the hotel with two sets of directions, one close, one 10 to 15 blocks away. The one close did not do that type work, so off to the morning market to find the shoe repair man. I was told if I walked up past the "Black Dukka" - an ancient Buddhist temple, I guess - I would have no trouble finding the shop.

I got to the suggested location and saw no sign of a shoe shop. I asked a lady shopkeeper, .... well I didn't exactly ask, ........ I showed her my pack, and the tear, and then did my finger up and down like a sewing machine (you just can't have any pride when you don't speak the language).... Since I have had a lot of experience in this form of communication she knew exactly what I wanted and pointed to some buildings across the parking lot and street. Saying "hobb chai" (meant to be 'thank you'), I walked over to where I thought she had pointed and there was nothing there but a parking lot, a coffee shop, and a closed store.

Not being discouraged, I went back to the lady, and shrugged my shoulders, pointed at my bag, and held my hands out palms up. She just pointed with more emphasis by harder shaking her finger at the building across the street, and smiling more.

So with another "hobb chai" I determinedly went back across the street and stood in front of the coffee shop (the entire front of the shop was open). Then I noticed a table and chair at the very front of the shop and a little man standing next to the table. I pointed to my pack and the torn strap, and he just beamed and started nodding his head up and down. I showed him the other bag, and he nodded and smiled. So I said in English, "I will come back in an hour", and he said in Lao something. We both nodded, and I went to get breakfast.

When I returned both bags were finished, and through many hand signals, I found the charge to be 20,000 KIP. Actually not hand signs - just me pulling money out of my pocket and him pointing to which bills he wanted. 20,000 KIP is $2.38. That's one of the things I like about this place. He was happy --- I was happy.

That evening I went to dinner with a friend and a Laotian couple. We went to a steak Restaurant and the dinner (steak) was delicious. Not sure what cut of
meat, but very tasty. I loved dinner. Then we went to meet with a man who works all
over the country drilling water wells and other community projects. He was very
interesting and amazing.

Now back to Friday. I went to a Christian wedding in the afternoon. --see photos.
--- The Church here is a government controlled church, but can operate freely as long
as the government approves of there activities.

The steak dinner Friday night had put in the mood again for rice and vegetables.
I found a little Lao restaurant that had written on a white board in the back the
restaurant with English names of there dishes. They were all soups, so I ordered rice
soup and pork. It was good and cost less than a dollar, and I got a glass of iced tea!
Now ... not southern sweet Lipton tea, .... but cold (that's good) and not bitter.
Then for dinner I had the ole stand by, Fried rice and chicken. It was good and cost
$1.15.

I leave for Bangkok tomorrow - Sunday night - on a night sleeper . So only one
more day here in Vientiane. It is , by the way a very nice city. Clean, and
prosperous.

okay - all for now - thanks for coming along with me on this trip.
I had dinner with a friend who lives here and a Laotian couple. We went to a steak restaurant