Vientiane

I spent way too much time in one place again. I arrived in Vientiane on Friday night after the Vietnam Embassy had closed. Thus I was not able to apply for my visa till Monday morning. I applied for the cheapest one which takes 3 days to process. While I was pretty much satisfied with my stay by Sunday, I couldn't leave for Hanoi until Friday.

The first picture is of me in the mouth of a large statue/structure at Buddha Park about 45 minutes outside of Vientiane. The second picture is of That Luang, a must for all visitors to the city, but a monument that I thought was less impressive than it is made out to be. The third picture was taken at sunset as I passed by Victory Monument, otherwise known as "The Vertical Runway." It was built using donated U.S. Concrete for the construction of a runway.

The last picture was my sad attempt at capturing the incredible beauty of the mountain ranges jutting up out of the mists while whipping around high mountain passes at breakneck speed on the road from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. By the end of the drive even several locals had taken vomit bags.