These 'pancakes' aren't made like the traditional Crepe or pancake. She rolls out a piece of dough into a round sphere (like with a pizza dough) that is very thin. Then she lays it on a frying sheet with oil to fry one half. Then the banana slices are added and it is folded into a square, which is fried further. Then the
'Pancake' is cut into squares to eat with tiny chop stix.
After returning with my Banana Pancake and a fruit shake, the Stray Bus was still not there. We then learned that one of the 4 girls who was to join our bus that morning had passed out and hit her head early that morning, and she was rushed to the local hospital. Our Stray guide and the local Laos guide had gone to the hospital with the other three girls to check on her progress and offer translation services.
Our guides returned with the bus about 10:30am, 30 min after our scheduled departure. The injured girl would need to be transferred to a larger hospital in Thailand and her friends had cone back to pack up their things and ride with her in the medical transport. So we loaded up our luggage and theirs and dropped them off at the hospital to make sure they were safely on their way before we got on our way to Vientiene.
[We were later told the gal was being held at the hospital in Thailand as she continued to have seizures due to the brain swelling from her head trauma. We were also told they did an amateur job of stitching her up in Vang Vieng and that one was better off having a friend stitch you up the healthcare was so unadvanced there. Note to self and other travellers to be extra cautious when engaing in high risk activities -- one more reason to rent that lifejacket or helmet and to stay away from 'happy' foods and drinks.]
We stopped by the Tham Jung Cave on the way out of Vang Vieng. It was a large, cavernous cave approx 200 steps up into a mountainside. There was a clearly marked path through the cave and made for easy exploration. Definitely one of the more impressive ones we have seen on this trip.
Along the route we stopped at the Thaua Village near a fishing reservoir. They had all sorts of fish bagged and ready to sell at their roadside stands. None of it was live and none of it was refrigerated or on ice. I bought some Squid snacks (think Cheetos in the shape of a squid and flavoured like squid) -- something interesting to eat as a snack later in the day. They tasted pretty good! Like squid, as advertised.
We arrived in Vientiene at around 3:30 and checked in to the Intha Phoungchampa Hotel, before reboarding the bus for a short city tour. We visited first the Thatluang Stupa, which is the national symbol of Laos. This was the third one, built in 1930's by French, as first two were burnt down by raiders. We also visited a neighbouring Wat that had a very large reclining Buddha under construction.
Next we went to the Victory Arch, which was built in 1950s and 60s to commemorate those killed in war. It is like the Loas version of the Arc de Triumphe. In an efort to snub US efforts to apologise for their indiscriminate, secret bombing campaign, the Arch was built with concrete from US that was meant to repave the Vientiene airport's runway. For this reason it is referred to as the 'vertical runway'. As the Arch was never finishedn, the surfaces are largely left undecorated (only the underside is partially finished with gold and decorative tiles. A placque near the monument actually describes itself as a 'concrete monster', as it is seen by locals as largely unaethetic. Compared to most monuments in the US, however, it seemed to me quite decorative. It just goes to demonstrate the Lao people's love for decor.
After returning to the hotel, Stephen and I went for a walk to a nearby western grocery store, as he was hungry and wanted a snack that would not disrupt his tummy. We then headed back to rest and shower before dinner.
We all met up and went to a nearby Indian restaurant located along the Mekong. This Indian food was much better than the Nazim indian place in Luang Prabang. The best dish was one selected by a fellow traveller, the vegetarian Butter Masala, which had cashews, pineapple, bananas, potatoes, etc.
Following dinner we retired to a rooftop bar for after dinner drinks where I ordered a Lao Gria for 35k Kip, not realising it wouldbe a massive pitcher of the Lao Lao version of Sangria. I got a whole pitcher of drink for less than one glass of Malibu Rum and Coke. It was a little on the sweet side, but otherwise fairly pleasant.
In the morning we would lose half of our group as there would be only 7 of us continuing further South into Laos. The rest were returning to Bangkok to go down to the Thai islands or flying to Hanoi to explore Vietnam. We said goodbyes before heading to bed, but agreed to all get up and have breakfast together at the same time.
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