Leaving Hanoi and arriving in Laos, FINALLY! (still one more stage to go... Vientiane to Pakse)
Arrival in Laos! Finally, almost to our resting place in Pakse!
We left Hanoi today and arrived in Vientiane (pronouned Vee-en-chen because Vientiane is a bad transliteration of the Lao spelling) in Laos. We said goodbye to 7 people (6 people staying in Vietnam and 1 going to Cambodia)... and some tears for my favorite kid in the world, Isaiah (zaya to the inside club). ...here he sports a manly pink fan for keeping cool. And we got to play cars... thanks Zaya! I haven't gotten the chance to play cars in a long, long time! We left Hanoi with a beautiful sunrise warming our backs. We had several delays at the airport (and some gate switching at the last moment). Also, something hilarious that caught my eye was the packaging on cigarette boxes (see the picture beneath the scenery below). Marlboro says, "SMOKING KILLS" and "Smoking seriously harms you and others around you" in bold letters on the box. Wow! Wish they'd make signs like that for McDonalds too ("Cholesterol from a Big Mac WILL eventually KILL you). The flight was about an hour (from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiane, Laos) and we were served a meal and full drink (take that cheap American airlines... not just half a plastic cup, but the full can!). I have a video of the landing which felt like we were either going to land in the middle of a rural housing development or the rice-paddy.
But, honestly, stepping off the plane and into my country of service felt great! And, I knew I was at home when the FIRST two signs to greet me were "BeerLao" signs BEFORE the official Laos sign welcoming me to the country. Fortunately, my teaching organization has this awesome policy about brewskies that does not allow me to imbibe anything close to alcohol (except mouthwash) while I'm here.
Yeah, I've seen those "Smoking kills!" warnings in some European countries, too. I don't know what the deal is with the US branding.
ReplyDelete