Like a little French Republic in South East Asia

Well we crossed the border from Thailand into Laos about 5 days ago. We had been warned that as Laos is a communist state, it loves to stamp documents about a million times before you can get into the country. As Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles, this country had quite a lot to compete with. However, i can honestly say that Vientiane is the most friendly place that i have ever visited. For example when ya want to get the bill the usual method is to smile at the waiter/ress and they usuaully come to the table. Nope, not in Laos, cos when you smile at the waiting staff they simply smile back proving that a smile in Laos is concerned primarily with pure friendliness rather than mere customer satisfaction. Ok, enough of the cultural observations. When i first started to explore Vientiane, it soon became apparent that it really is much and accurate to describe it as a beautiful French city right in the heart of South East Asia. As you walk one of the main roads you can barely believe your eyes when they tell your brain that there is an Arc de Triomphe at the end. I really loved the story behind the Laotian Arc de Triomphe. The entire city was just scattered with French architecture and most importantly for me, was full of proper French cafes and restaurants. On our last night, we were very sophisticated and went to a truly beautiful French restaurant called Les Caves des Chateaux. While we were sitting in that restaurant there were a few times when i forgot that i was actually still in South East Asia. I think i loved Vientiane so much because it was able to provide me with my favourite type of cuisine without feelin any guilt about eating French food in an Asian country. I did try some Laotian food while we were in Vientiane but it was not a great experience as the place by the river was owned by a very obsese woman screaming commands at both staff and customers alike. I ordered Laotian BBQ river fish, which i went to eat with a fork and spoon as usual but was then told that i had to wrap each mouthful in a leaf parcel. This proved a bit of a pain in the arse as we had waited an hour and 15 mins to get our food and then the good old Fish 'N' Leaf technique meant that it took me about 40 mins to finish my dinner. That was the only negative experience of Vientiane, oh except for the lack of ATMs. Vientiane is the only place that has provided me with truly spectacular food. Oh and a one day i had to collect some laundry and was wearing a check shirt and the young guy on reception noticed that there were 2 other check shirts in my laundry. He then started a conversation on the exciting topic of check shirts and as i was leaving he shouted in broken English "when you come for more laundry i will call you......call you... call you MR. CHECK!!!!! He was so pleased with himself and i was in stitches. It briefly replaced my nickname of Spill (for my lack of pouring skills) but after a few glasses of wine we decided that my new name shall be Mr. Spill Check. So i shall report more on the possible crazy, action-packed adventures of Mr. Spill Check in Vang Vieng in a few days.