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We arrived on a VIP bus from Vang Vieng. To call the bus VIP would be the a huge stretch but it got us here in one piece. The capital city of Laos Vientiane is exceptionally quiet. Due to Laos' slow moving economy since the secret war the capital has not experienced a large amount of growth as people still have a better standard of living from farming. The capital is wrapped around the meandering Mekong river. Our hotel was right on the water front in the heart of the tourist district. 

We stayed in Vientiane for four days as our last relaxing stop before a brief trip to Bangkok and then on to Sydney. The city is known for its cafes and bakeries, with such a strong influence from the French Colonylisation the majority of the architecture has a French flavour. Each cafe we visited had plenty of wonderful pastries and the lovely Lao coffee.  The prices are so cheap it is unbelievable. 

We visited the Cope Centre which is dedicated to helping people with disabilities from all causes. The main disabilities treated at the centre are those caused by unexploded ordinance dropped by the US during the Secret War ( US bombed Lao in an attempt to stop Vietnamese soldiers entering Southern Vietnam through Lao). Lao became the most bombed country in the world with over 80million bombs dropped which the majority are closter bombs.  The shocking fact we learned was the only 30% exploded upon impact. The most heavily bombed part of Lao was in the south at the border with Vietnam.  One of the most shocking things is 30 years after the war the majority of bombs are still live and have not been cleared up. The US has  contributed 15 million over 15 years to the effort which equates to the same amount of money they spend on a single day bombing Lao ( they bombed it for three years). 

The country can't function properly as nobody can roam into the countryside but must stay in-between the red marking posts which signal the area has been cleared for unexploded ordinance. That visit was truly humbling and reminded us as we have been throughout Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos that we are very lucky to have grown up in Ireland!

The next day we went on a cycling tour of the capital which was cool, the bikes we rented were a bit on the old side and lacking brakes. We took off around the capital on an adventure that would bring us to the Royal Palace, Lao version of the Chans D'Leyes, a few of the capitals famous wahts (a.k.a temples). It was really cool and we had great fun. All  that was left was to indulge in the amazing bakeries and get our penultimate plane to Bangkok.  

Laos is amazing we had such a relaxing time minus the tubing!! 

Hope all is well at home, keep safe

Roy