Lao people (2)

Meet Mee, my feisty 22-year-old coordinator who accommodated our every request and put her life on hold to show us the wonderful sights of her country. Also the person who expanded my lingo with colourful words such as "ka dek" (shameless), kic (more than friends but not boyfriend-and-girlfriend status) and "sexpert" (I have no idea what this means).

here i was during my first week, griping about how vientiane doesn't seem to be very vibrant because there is a lack of things to do at night. Not even night markets! Having come from Bangkok where my peeps and I cheong-ed a different night market every night, you can imagine how this was awfully disappointing for me. :(

Then, we met up with Roderick, the second-in-command of the Singapore embassy in Laos. He just made the city seem so much exciting by pointing out all the recommended eating outlets when he was driving us around. Optimism surged in my heart. Haha

But it wasn't until Mee and her friends brought us around that Vientiane steadfastly revealed her charms to us. KTV at River Side Restaurant. See and gasp at how big the room is! There is space for them to dance uninhibitedly! (Okay, I danced too but not with so much grace or boldness. haha). Chinese songs are available too but unfortunately they are indicated in Lao script, so never in my life have i sung so many boyband songs. A1, Blue, Backstreet boys, Westlife, the whole works.

After KTV, the night was still young as we sashayed into Romeo, the hippest disco in town. Notice how we are gathered around a table. Take note, there isn't a dancing floor in the disco, so people dance with a table separated between them! what a paradigm shift, i tell you. We Singaporeans, assertive (or pushy?) as always, tried to shift the tables and create a small dancing space but the tables were promptly reinstated. okay, we get the hint *sheepish grin*. it was a good night nonetheless.

After recovering from my hangover (oops), it was back to my heroic self as we promptly dug in at this korean bbq place, Seven Plus Health Centre (what an absurd name). it was quite a surreal experience as never in my life would I expect to eat korean food in Laos. But I did! And maybe it was the novelty but it tasted more appetising than the meals I had in Korea. haha

Mee and her friends also gave me the know-how so that I could bring my Singaporean counterparts to Moon the Night restaurant. I kept insisting that the name came about because it's all about exposing our buttocks towards the night sky in a show of defiance. Anyway, this is where I ate fried buffalo skin (very tough to chew!), fried Wai Wai (their instant noodles was so good that i bought one pack home) and to-die-for iced coffee (my smile on the above photo says it all). haha.

Of course, they brought us to other places but I was either too sick or lazy to take photos, so that's that. Anyway, without the hospitality of the locals, Laos wouldn't have been half as memorable. Shudders. It would have been such a shame if we returned to Singapore, armed only with anecdotes at how lackluster the food at restaurants such as Kua Lao and Le Central (duly recommended by Rough Guide and other travel guides) was!