Feb 9-10, 2011: The quickest way to travel from Bangkok to Luang Prabang, my next main stop, was by plane, but there’s little competition on that route and I wasn’t willing to pay the asking price. Instead I rode the night train north to Vientiane and then took a much cheaper flight on to Luang Prabang. I spent one night in Vientiane, Laos’ small capital city, on the way north.
A lot of people seem to get upset at the idea of taking night trains, but – provided you get at least a second class berth – the Thai night trains are a very civilized way to travel. The berths are parallel to the sides of the train, and come with curtains, so you have complete visual privacy. And I’ve yet to have trouble with noisy fellow-passengers.
In day-time configuration two seats face each other on each side of the aisle, and when I boarded my train I found a young Australian woman already seated in my section. She would have the upper berth after the conductor came through and transformed the train. She was taking a break from her job as a dive instructor on Phuket, and I enjoyed talking with her over dinner – garlic shrimp ordered from the restaurant car. Next morning we shared transport to the border and on into Vientiane.
The train from Bangkok stops short of the border at Nong Khai. You can transfer to another train to cross the border, but it doesn’t go all the way to Vientiane, so it hardly seems worth it. Instead the two of us took a tuk-tuk (30 baht, and don’t be persuaded to stop for a visa) to the border, and the shuttle bus into Laos (15 baht). After we filled in the visa forms and got in line, processing stopped while the official went off for breakfast, but once she came back things went quickly and we were soon in a tuk-tuk into town. (100 kip, turned out a faster taxi at 150 kip would have been a better value.)
After I checked into the Hotel Khamvongsa, where I immediately felt that I was back in Laos, I walked down the street for lunch at the Khambang Lao Food Restaurant, full of locals. The very good grilled fish, spicy papaya salad and heavy Beer Lao all went down well. I spent the afternoon wandering around Vientiane, noting some new restaurants and cafes, and a sterile, wide expanse of concrete along the Mekong. I’m not sure what that will be when it’s finished, but it’s driven the river-side cafes well back from the water – not that there was much water in the Mekong in February.
My favorite place in Vientiane, Wat Si Sakhet, was also undergoing change. One reason I loved the wat was it’s obvious age, and air of gentle decay. I’m not sure I will find it so atmospheric once it’s been cleaned up and renovated.
Unfortunately my day did not end as well as it began. I had made a dinner reservation at the well-reviewed L’Adresse de Tinay, and was looking forward to some good French cooking. But when I arrived, on time, they seemed to have no record of my reservation, and indeed, no interest in me, and I wound up feeling so unwelcome I left. Instead I ate at the Caves des Chateaux by the fountain in the main square, but it had gone down hill since my last visit and the food wasn’t that great. At least I slept well.
[Note: After I posted a review of L’Adresse de Tinay on Tripadvisor I got some unpleasant, rude, hate mail from one of its regular customers. S/he seemed to think that the bad service, if not actually irrelevant, should be excused by the fact that the chef was also acting as maitre d’ because his wife had recently given birth. But surely they had had many months in which to train a replacement? It seldom works well for someone to try to do two jobs at once.]
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