Vientiane Times

I moved to Ban That Luang, right behind the That itself. This is the view from the rooftop patio. It was well worth it. I know can get fruit from the bicycle fruit carts and get to live in a Lao community and best thing is that I'm not getting stuck watching CNN and BBC at night. The CNN international broadcast has got to be the worst newscast on the planet. Don't know what else to say.

This is Katay and his friend. He lives downstairs with Mr. Et and Mrs. Pao. Et used to be a monk and swears that because he drinks Lao-Lao with a special bark in it that he has special powers and is immune to snake bites. Quite the character.

The Vientiane skyline from the Chinese market. Look at all them satellite dishes! It could be a bamboo house but there is a dish up top and peops inside watching Thai media.

This is montly routine, getting the inner tube of one of the motorbike tires patched up. Quite the inventive rig I thought. Probably more irons used for patch presses than their original purpose.

Jump starting a Vdub. I've been driving the red one since we got it going. Moon my landlady runs a Vdub club and has been great talking with all the Vdub volks here. She also insists that I drive the car as the battery will die if left for more than three days. Can't say I mind. I think Vientian rivals Mexico as far as the number of these beauties on the road is concerned

The Mekong at the end of dry season. You could just about walk to Thailand.

And wet season has begun, this is the parking lot at work that turns into a lake with the daily torrent.

So I was originally supposed to return home at the end of March but got a few more months working at the Institute of Foreign Affairs, part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here that trains government officials in English language. I'm running a computer lab that my friend Lisa started to get up and going and now have 20 computers from 1999 up on running and online. But the best part has been getting know the students through Pétanque, the favourite french colonial leftover game.

Don't think I have to say anything about this one.