Thursday, March 27, 2014
A long drive today, but rewarded with Vientiane (the Capital of Laos). Found a delightful hotel on the edge of town. In the early evening we went exploring for a) the Land Rover dealer and b) the Belgium pub. We found both. Tomorrow we will try and get Sterlin serviced, which is much needed. I am afraid to see the state of the air filter. The Belgian pub was nice. Caroline was extremely thrilled with her Americain Préparé and Chimay Blue. I stuck with Hoegaarden.
The high temperature in Vientiane today was 39°C or 102°F, but in the early evening the temperature dropped significantly (maybe 34°C) and we had a lovely stroll along the embankment of the Mekong. We thinks we are going to like this town.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Today we had things to do, so we were up early. We found the local Land Rover Dealership and in turn found the local Land Rover Service Center. Fortunately they were not too busy and we were able to get Sterlin serviced on the spot. And a few little things taken care of, more details can be found in Sterlin blog posts. The best news, no major issues found with Sterlin. We also headed to the Mongolian Embassy to just check that we do not need a visa to enter via land into Mongolia. The Consular official was very friendly, chatted about our trip and confirmed we were good to go under Mongolia’s visa waiver program. Next up, and just down the road we headed to the Chinese Embassy to try and correct our 30 day China visa (should be 31 days). No real luck. here, but they did confirm that we can extend the visa once in China if needed.
So, all in all, a busy day. Maybe some sightseeing over the weekend.
We got a SMS alert from our bank a few days ago about a suspicious cash withdrawal. And as we were back in good internet coverage, we logged into our bank account only to discover that one of our ATM cards has been hacked. Someone had withdrawn money in Vietnam. A quick phonecall to the bank and our card was cancelled. In the 3 days the activity had occurred, quite a bit of money had leaked out of our account. Hopefully the $0 liability offered as part of our card does the trick.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
A lazy day today. Stephen tried and succeeded in getting a hair cut. It is a little weird wandering around town in the middle of the day. The streets are completely empty. We assume that all sensible people hide indoors during the heat of the day. But once the sun starts to set, everyone emerges. I know this all makes sense, but it is very strange actually seeing it.
Over dinner we took a good look at our route through China. So much to see and so little time. Our future travel companions had done all the hard work to propose and establish the route. All we were trying to do was transfer the itinerary onto our map and cross reference each place with our guide books. It was actually harder than we thought. But by the end of the night and a few drinks later we felt like we had the route worked out. We are getting pretty excited about the overland trip through China.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Another lazy day. We thought we had to checkout of our hotel, as they were full. But at the last minute they had a cancellation, very nice. We got to stay another night. We also had great plans to do some tourist activities, but they never eventuated. The research on China continued throughout the day and we even started to look at a route through Mongolia. Spent time looking at other people’s blogs and got all inspired.
In the late afternoon went for a walk down to the shores of the mighty Mekong River. Very pleasant indeed. It felt like we were only 100 meters or so from Thailand, but it was probably a little more. We enjoyed yet another lovely sunset over the Mekong. I think it could be easy to get trapped here in Vientiane.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Coen and Marijke were passing through and joined us for a coffee. It had been almost 2 months since we saw them last. It was fun catching up and plotting our shared trip through China. Also exchanged information on how to keep dust out our cars.
After lunch we moved to a new hotel. Stephen went on a big walk in search of materials to dust-proof Sterlin while Caroline had her teeth cleaned (“French Style”). Stephen got to see the local markets and shops but failed to find any weather-strip type of material. Presumably sealing doors from the cold is not that important here in Vientiane. Caroline’s cleaning was superficial to say the least.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
We headed 25 kms south east to the Buddha (Sculpture) Park. It was interesting and a little weird. But well worth the drive. As we drove back into Vientiane the thermometer hit 40°C and as soon as we got back we hit the air conditioned comfort of our hotel room. Stephen futzed with the car trying to dust proof the rear door, servicing our stove and other minor changes in Sterlin.
By 4pm we were getting cabin fever and headed out for a stroll around town and our goodbye meal and drink. Our replacement ATM has not turned up, but we decided it was time to continue the journey. We still have 2 weeks in Laos and still have quite a bit to see.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
After six days in the relaxed capital of Laos it was time to move on. It was also time to fire up the fridge which had been turned it off during our stay in Vientiane. Unfortunately it did not fire up, but instead blew a fuse. Both the fuse and fuse holder were fried. So between the scrambled eggs and the pot of tea, an emergency repair was completed. The fridge now has a new 12v adaptor and fuse.
After breakfast we checked to see if our replacement ATM card had arrived, it hadn’t. So, that was our cue to head North. We bid farewell to the Mighty Mekong.
