Morning in Vientiane

Good morning, Vientiane!

Laos, that is.

We began our first day in Laos with a hot cup of Laotian coffee - grown in the mountainous southern parts of the country - and breakfast at a small local cafe, one of the dozens of trendy cafes opening up in the country's sleepy and relaxed capital.

Cafe in Vientiane

Vientiane is the largest city in Laos, with a population of around 200,000. The entire country, in fact, only has a population of of around 7 million, which is less than Bangkok. Laos is a rural country, and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia.

cool outdoor seating area

It's a poor country, one of the poorest in the world, and suffered a very difficult history. Like Vietnam and Cambodia, Laos was a part of French Indochina. During the Vietnam War, the Royal Lao Government was overthrown and replaced by a Communist regime, like in neighboring Vietnam. Although it was never reported during the war, the CIA and US military carried out a secret bombing campaign in Laos, making it the most heavily bombed country on the face of the earth. Today, there are more unexploded ordinances in Laos than there are people; a very difficult situation to clean up (I'll write more about that tomorrow).

inside a small cafe

Despite all that, the Laotian people are incredibly laid-back, happy, welcoming, and friendly - even by Southeast Asian standards! Vientiane is a very small, quiet, comfortable city. There are lots of nice cafes, restaurants (even a brand-new Hard Rock Cafe that's still under construction), hotels, and more. I've visited twice, but I've never seen any other parts of the country. This time, we are only spending a day in Vientiane before heading north to see the rest of the country.

noodle shop for lunch

Being so close to the Thai border, Laotian food in Vientiane is almost identical to Thai cuisine. This isn't so surprising, though. The two countries share an intertwined history, and a related language. In fact, I can even read about 90% of the Lao alphabet, and can make a guess at the letters that are different from Thai.

inside the noodle shop

Spoken Lao is similar to Thai, and Pinky can get by speaking just Thai. Lao is actually almost identical to the northeastern (Issan) dialect of Thai. A few major words are different, which I'm learning. It's actually pretty easy to learn, since I already know a little Thai.

noodles for lunch

That's all for today! Check back over the next few days as I share more of my adventures in the beautiful and rugged Lao PDR, a country that I'm quickly falling in love with.