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It was February 20, 2002 when my boyfriend
and myself visited Laos. We took a daily express train from Bangkok´s Hualamphong Train Station which runs through
the middle of the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai. The trip took around 11 hours to 13 hours. We started 20:30 pm
and arrived 9:40 a.m. Well, you know the Asian mentality about punctuality. The train had sleeping carriages, a very convenient
means to get an early morning start across the border at the same time saving money on a hotel room. It was really a very
cheap land trip including breakfast. From the railway station we took a small vehicle to reach the borderline and tried to
fill in all paper requirements for the entry. We had our passport stamped with exit visa. Then, a mini van brought
us to the peaceful riverside capital, Vientiane, which is about 20 km. away from the pass control point.
We stayed in Sihon Guest House in a double
bed room with hot shower and an electric fan just for 10$ per night. After arranging our backpacks in the guest room we started
to look for a restaurant where we could tank-in our empy stomach. Along the center of the city we landed in an Scandinavian
Restaurant "Le Provincial". Lots of tourists from different nations were eating here too. This was my first time to eat Lao
foods. I found out that Lao cuisine is almost similar to Thai. Most of the dishes are cooked but they used to serve the cooked
foods with fresh green leafy vegetables too. Their foods are highly seasoned with hot spices and ingredients and mostly they
used "MSG" Monosodium Glutamate, which gives a pleasant flavour to most of the soups and dishes. The Lao Beer was also very
soothing especially for these warm-moist days.
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