Sa-ba-dee!! Arrival to Vientiane, Laos

Sa-ba-dee is what you say to everyone, all the time.  It is a greeting and I probably say it a few hundred times a day.  That along with cup chai or cope chai (which means thank you) are used constantly.

SO arrival was NO problem....except that I lost a day on the way here!  Left late Sunday night and woke up in Bangkok on Tuesday morning.  Immediately boarded another plane to Vientiane and hit the ground running.   Colby mentioned a guest house to start at and I was able to book a room with bath and AC for about 12$ at Syri 2 Guesthouse (There are cheaper but we went with a guide recommended to start).  I fell right back into the groove of backpacking.  Walked into my room, dropped my bags and walked back out.  Grabbed a map at the front desk and proceeded to get lost in the city in order to get my bearings.  Cool city but I could tell after a couple of hours that it could be seen in a day or two max.  Stopped by the tourist information spot and a couple temples before heading back to meet Colby.  I kept noticing people looking at me as I was walking around and thought that it was maybe my cool shorts or maybe my handsome looks....it only took a quick look down to realize that I was sweating a LOT...like pits, chest and back...so in the first day I went through 3 shirts.  The crazy part is that when I looked around, I felt as though I was the only one sweating...that was until I met up with Colby.  It was so great to see him again.  We sat and swapped war stories over a few beers then proceeded to walk the streets for food and more beverage.  Amazing food on any corner.  We like the spots with few tourists and lots of locals.  Pho soup and chicken curry for 3 bucks. 
The next day (which is today) we rented a scooter first thing....actually we had some amazing coffee first thing then rented a scooter for 10 bucks.  That got us around the city on a tour that included a few Wats and a trip to Friendship Bridge (DO NOT GO THERE, IT IS SO LAME) along with a stop at BeerLao brewery.  Unfortunately no tour but they did give us free beer...and it is GOOD!!  Then we decided to catch the VIP bus (8bucks) to Vieng Vang, leaving Vientiane at 2 which actually means 3.  We just got here and it is probably going to get a little nuts.  Colby hasn't partied much out here and is ready to blow off some steam and, well, if you know me then you know I AM DOWN.  Stay tuned.

Side note: I found out later that there is an incredible orchid garden/collection in Vientiane.  That might be the coolest thing in town.  Apparently it is some French guy's private collection if you can find it.