Breakfast at Le Benetton this morning, its a good breakfast but but the Lao girl serving us is ever so quiet with a beautiful smile however her English makes it difficult to get the order correct. But we got there. Hbum and moi finish my low THC gummies. I’m sure they won’t affect me like hers near undid me back in Chiang Mai. All us good, all day!

Shopping at Lu’s place is first, we finish up with still  a bit more shopping, The Navigator does a bit more shopping, again, funny that. Our bags will be stretched to the limit. I think Lu likes Dave, just a little bit!

We take a break then lunch on spring rolls on the Mekong bank at Belle Rive Restaurant. Its pretty up market and attached to a very nice hotel The Belle Rive. Our end of town and the centre street is definitely the place to be. Our spring rolls are good, but not as good as Big Tree Cafe, which is shut today. The Chinese karaoke on the river blasts away at top volume, none of them aware of how crappy it sounds, its an abomination, sound polution.

There seems to be an influx of visitors today, new faces strolling with their cameras and smiles on their dials. 

I have a massage, the others go shopping, again. I walk along the river heading south, trying to find the cut outs in the river bank where men in singlets with smokes hanging from lips playing petonque for money. They were there three years ago but not now. That area is way grungier than our area, more a backpackers area.

Dave and I have drinks at Villa Santi Hotel, again, in their beautiful garden while the women go for a massage. A few Jamesons later they arrive back with smiles on their faces.

We decide on Popolo for dinner, funky venue, 70’s music, Italian food mostly. I’m looking forward to some regular food at home. We meet the boss, a French man who has been here 16 years, he runs 2 restaurants, and we have a nice chat about corruption, politics, family etc etc, as you do with strangers.

Last job is to try and pack the shopping in our bags and not bust our 23kg limit or our bags, I think we’ll be ok but The Navigator is a little worried. Tomorrow at the airport will tell us if she was right to be worried.

The trip has been wonderful, the Lao people are delightful and their country is beautiful but poor. We’ve had excellent travelling companions, travelling to remote and beautiful places..

Looking forward to getting home Tuesday afternoon

Ciao from Lao

Pauolo