Laos, Day 5, Vientiane, January 23, 2014
Vientiane, Laos
Today we
toured Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I'm feeling better and had most of my
voice back, but the cough lingers and is annoying. The weather is warmer and
sunny and we were all beginning to thaw a bit. The first stop was at a temple
complex, Wat Pra That Luang, which had many centuries-old buildings. Then we
visited the Victory Gate, which was built between 1957 and 1968. It was
dedicated to those who fought for Laotian independence from the French. With
the picturesque gate in the background we had our group picture taken. 
There were
two more temple visits but the most interesting was probably Wat Si Sa Ket,
which included a monastery. At the end one of the young monks came to visit
with us and answer our questions. Their life is full of education,
contemplation, and studying the life and teachings of Buddha. In other words, it
seemed kind of boring and very spartan by our standards. He showed us how monks
put on the robe they wear, which turned out to be much more complex than you
would imagine.
Lunch was
with the group. Then some went to the rehabilitation center for those injured
by bombs during the war or since the war. Thirty percent of all the bombs we
dropped in the area did not explode and people are still being hurt and killed
by them. On the walk back to the hotel Paul tripped on one of the many hazards
along the street and fell. He came back very dirty and with a bunged up knee.
We put ice on it and he was able to carry on. This is unusual since I am
traditionally the klutzy one in our family.
After some
rest we went out to dinner and topped it off with some Swenson's ice cream. We
don't have them in Oregon but I was told to look for it here (thanks Jan). It
was very delicious.
We went to
bed earlier in hopes of a good night sleep.
That's it for now. Grace and Paul
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