Vientiane

I haven't been to Ulan Baator yet, but I am taking a bet that Vientiane is one of the sleepiest capital cities in the world. Berne is also up there, but people still seem to do stuff there, here everybody snoozes, drinks beerlao and swats flies from their faces. I had the pleasure of going to a Lao nightclub on Saturday, quite funny being the tallest person among 500 people. There is still a slight curfew here, so we were all thrown out of the disco at midnight... Most disappointing.

Off to Pakse tonight, 10 hour bus ride - excellent, I was getting too comfortable here. Then on to Si Phan Don which is called the four thousand islands and is the widest point of the Mekong (14km across). It is also famous for the ugly-assed Mekong Dolphin of which there are only 80 left in the wild, so chances are I won't see one. Thanks to the Cambodian fishermen who had more grenades then fishing nets after the civil war.

Flying in over Hanoi (always wanted to say that) on Saturday night. The bus ride is only 23 and a half (not 24!) hours which is far too short to be a real bus journey.