Moving on

Monday, July 3

Farewell Laos

We bid farewell to Laos and jumped on a plane for Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Laos has certainly turned into one of the highlights of our trip.  I compare travelling Vietnam with a move Laos with our travelling into India and then going into peaceful Nepal.  The boys were saying we should have spent less time in Vietnam and more in Laos.  Laos is a country worth visiting for anyone wishing to see this part of the world.
We landed in the early afternoon, caught a taxi to our hotel, and determined that this is a big city that is very busy.  Traffic is comparable to that in Saigon.  Our room at the hotel is actually two bedrooms, a foyer, and a washroom, so we definitely have space.  Cindy and I leave the boys in the room and we check out the Central Market that is a few blocks down from us.  It has been said that you have not been to a country until you have smelled it.  Well, we certainly can say we have been to Cambodia.  The market had many sections, as we scouted out a possible area for dinner, we quickly determined that this would not be it.  We did purchase three canned Fanta drinks.  The lady spent a bit of time cleaning the top of the cans for us but once we got outside and saw the tops of the cans had to throw them out.  Walking the streets is difficult.  Sidewalks are for parking so you need to walk on the street.  One way streets mean right away on the lanes, cars and motorbikes will still travel the opposite direction down the sides.  And headlights are not always used.  We are back to having our heads on a swivel for basic walks down the street.

An easier street to cross.