August 2,

We both woke with sore backs… another hard bed!😞 Jeff was using the TENS unit and its battery died – will have to try to find one of these. (9 volt batteries can be hard to find). Anyway, we got around and had our Javas and the Muesli, yogurt for breakfast. It was so good, as it has been awhile. Then we just hung out for the morning. For lunch we ate our salad from Anna’s place. Again, it was a huge portion, but it made for a nice lunch.

Around 1330, we went out for a walkabout. The area of Vientiane we are located in has many embassies. There are the Russian, Chinese, South Korean, Singapore, and Australian ones. There is also the US Ambassador Residence, not the embassy, nearby. Anyway, we first went to Wat Nak. It has a couple of very large Nagas coiling around pillars with a central standing Buddha statue. Then as we walked through the temple ground, we passed an interesting large mound of dirt, encircled by sitting Buddhas and two more Nagas. One stairway led up, but it was closed off. Jeff wondered if it used to be a stupa?? At the top is a shrine of some sort but the whole mound was obscured by a “forest of trees.” Anyway, it was puzzling and well I have my usual plethora of questions!?!? We walked onto a main road, which is right next to the Mekong River and the Laos-Thailand Border! I did not think about this as we were walking, but we were looking into Thailand. It’s kind of crazy that the capital city of Laos is right on the border here.

As we walked we came upon the Aussie Mart, we had to go inside. They had frozen meat pies, vegemite and Tim Tams… food stuff I think of from Australia. It was fun. We left and moved on. It was hot out even in the shade, when you could find it. We did choose the wrong time of day to do this… the hottest time! Such silly beans!🤣😂

Our next destination had much needed AC, but it was a somber place – The COPE Center and Museum. It is an organization made to “help people with mobility-related disabilities move on by supporting access to physical rehab services…” The COPE museum went into the different bombs dropped on Laos from the American ‘Invaders’ during the IndoChina War. Also how the Laos people find the Unexploded Ordinances (UXO) by accident or from searching for scrap metal to recycle and some become injured. As I write this I saw on their website that ⅓ of prosthetic/orthotic devices are for UXO survivors, ⅓ are due to traffic accidents, and the last ⅓ are congenital disabilities/other accidents. Some exhibits show the Laos people repurposing shells for boats, tools, or home bowls, and even for art work. There were also exhibits on the various ortho devices to replace legs or arms that the center has used in the past. The museum was somber but also hopeful. As we left, we gave a small donation in a donation box, as there was not an entrance fee.

We now needed a change. Jeff had found the Artisan Chocolatier, Felix & Cacao, that we had seen in a local shop near us. We went to their shop Pie My Love, as it was close by. We bought two 70% chocolate bars – one with Cranberries, and the other with Candied Orange. Yahoo!! Now we meandered into a mall, mostly to cool off, but also look around. Then we went on. Jeff checked a couple of scooter rental places, but he didn’t have his passport. So we decided to hire a Loca taxi to take us back to our place. We were just too hot! It was around 1600 when we arrived back, and had a much needed cooling siesta time.

For supper we decided to go to another place for more duck. We went back out at 1800, walking a short distance to Le Vendome 2 Restaurant. It’s a French restaurant, but the decor inside is mostly of Bullfighting paintings… Huh? I think of Spain when I think of bullfights.🤔 Anyway, we did better ordering. We basically ordered a three course dinner for one person: a soup, appetiser, and entree. The soup was Chicken Soup with Paris Mushrooms, so creamy and good. Next was the appetiser- a Gratin of Vegetable. It was a mix of carrots, long beans, baby corn spheres, and onion in a Bechamel sauce, Oh la la! Last was the lovely Duck Filet stuffed with Spinach and smoked Bacon with a Forest-mixed Berry red sauce. This duck was juicy and moist with that great sauce topping and a side of mashed potatoes. It was super fine.😋 We had a carafe of house red wine and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. This duck was hands down better than last night… we may come here again before we leave. It reminded me of a great restaurant we used to go to in Kansas City! Our whole meal cost 509,000 LAK – with a 20,000 tip because our service was outstanding. That comes to only $23.91! Not at all comparable to the price of the restaurant in KC!!! Great day in Laos!