laos

Hi. am back again after almost a year. Been to a few places in between but nothing new-Paris, Coutainville, Mumbai, Allahabad, Varnasi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Virinjipuram, Egmond in Holland, Satana, Vindyachal but what has triggered me to write again is being in Laos.
I reached Vientiane from Allahabad via Delhi and Paris- a circuitous route I know!
Vientiane is the capital of Laos. been so for a few hundred years. It is called Vieng Chan in laos. This city amazed me in many ways: The airport is just 4kms from city centre. The streets are clean with well laid out roads. My hotel is functional, simple and clean with all the reqd. amenities. No food or hot drinks, though. No problems 'cause the street down the hotels and several others around it are filled with little cafes and bistros where one can have a snack, breakfast , a quick salad / sandwich -at 4 kadam distance. The area around my hotel houses the National theatre, stadium , a fountain park surrounded by French, Italian restaurants reminding me of Toulouse. There is a chennaiwasi from Mylapore who has a restaurant that gives authentic Dosas if you please.
The presidents palace is 500mtrs away. very big and neatly kept. It has a huge temple on its grounds that is open to the public.
Last evening I went on a recce to the largest market complex, a kind of shopping complex with everything to everything available there. It looked like a bigger version of that plaza in Egmore.
People cannot prounce R - so evellything is velly velly nice. If there is a X in a word it is pronounced as S.
Lot of two wheelers- mostly scooty's , cycles, for hire too. Merc is a poor cousin, from lomborgini to porsche to mercs, to high end toyota nad hondas are seen in plenty. the mini markets are full of all imported stuff sold as normal 'cheeze';Bookshops are many. Old and new and copied books sold.
Street shops at night sell handicrafts to t-shirts to traditional clothes to silks to plastic to stuffed toys you name it it is there.