To resume, from my usual spot in front of my very own computer at home (a bit of an anticlimax really, but I am going to Italy next week...)
Thanks, Walter, the flight was fine but 11 hr 30 min is too long. Bring back Concorde...
When I reached Vangvieng I realised that I'd left my handbag with passport, credit cards and cash in it somewhere - my first and abiding thought was that it was in the taxi, as I'd got out in a hurry with bags of fruit and stuff. Luckily the Lao from Melbourne working in the restaurant was able to phone back to our Vientiane guesthouse and enquire. A different guy was on, and didn't know anything about us. I had an anxious three hours, although I was pretty sure it should have been in the taxi - but Bruno kept suggesting other places, like the ladies' loo in the fish restaurant, or the boat we'd hired on the reservoir! He's a bit of a gloom merchant... would say he was being realistic I suppose! Anyway finally the nice Lao girl phoned again, and YES, it was in the taxi, the driver was going to bring it back the next day, when we returned to Vientiane by bus. Which he duly did. All money and cards intact. I gave him all my Lao money - about 13000 Kip - which in truth was not a great deal, but he could see it was all I had! So I have had really good experiences in two countries that many would be suspicious of - Laos and Romania (where two courteous gents retrieved my bag from the gutter where it had fallen when we'd opened the car door, and refused to take any money as a reward). Wouldn't happen in London nowadays, I don't suppose....
Then we crossed over to Thailand again, and after a Mekongside curried veg, boarded the train for Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. I decided to go upmarket, and went to the best hotel, where I had a large and marbly room with aircon, a river view, service etc. I invited Bruno and Katie for dinner which we had in an elegant garden by the riverside - they fell upon the Italian food on the menu, but I stuck to Thai - plenty of time for Italian NEXT week. The bill for my overnight stay (with breakfast) and three dinners with beer and piña coladas all round was about £40 - $US60. You can't beat that!
The following day we went to Lopburi for Katie as she LOVES monkeys and it's famous for them. They scamper around the old town, swinging from the dangerous looking phone cables, but are concentrated on a temple. Offerings of fresh fruit are constantly made to them so they are content and not scarily aggressive like some of those in India and Nepal. Rope ladders have been provided for them to play on, and a swimming pool - they behaved exactly like adolescent humans, play-fighting, pushing each other off the ladders into the pool, peeling bananas etc. Enchanting.
And so back to the airport at Bangkok for the last night while B and K went further south in search of The Beach (they say it's paradise)... and then home.... Thinner and browner
and not too much poorer!!
