Vientiane, population 160,000

Angela and I finished teaching at 7:30pm. By 8:30, we were sweating our asses off on an overnight train to Nong Khai, a Thai city just across the Mekong River from Laos. The next morning we hopped off the choo choo, tuk tuked to the border, shuttle bussed across the river, and touched down in Laos at approximately 10:30am. After 25km of rice paddies and water buffalo, we arrived in Vientiane.

Vientiane is a sleepy, dusty capital where one can easily lose sense of time while sipping Beerlao beside the Mekong. In many parts of the city, the streets are unpaved mud puddles. Most of the buildings are nondescript Asian-style cement blocks or shacks nailed together with scrap wood and rusty corrogated metal. Despite local complaints, traffic is barely a problem, especially when compared to the congestion that plagues neighboring Asian countries. After a month of the Bangkok cesspool, Vientiane's peaceful provincial-style streets are a breat of fresh air, both literally and figuratively.