We set off earlier than intended this morning - as did our driver when our tuk to the bus station pulled away before i'd even put my bags down and got on - though once underway wasn't too bad a journey overall. We arrived quite early in the afternoon for a change so had a chance to get to the hotel and head into town to investigate.. Having a good stroll round we weren't really too sure of our bearings though managed to find the river front. At sunset it's quite a sight, a tiled promenade stretching more or less the width of the city; the Mekong river sprawls across your peripheral with Thailand a stones throw (by the hand of a grand stone thrower) away. A small night market was in place here opposite the main strip of restaurants and further along a towering statue of Chao Anou - King Anouvong.
Managing to find out a few things we wanted to see next morning we visited the Cope centre - a small foundation helping people with prosthetics across the country. It was another of those hard hitters. If you didn't know, as I didnt, basically Laos is the most bombed country. Ever. Apparently post-Vietnam the cost of shipping the munitions back was too vast so having already carpeted the area in an attempt to halt the supply line of the Ho Chi Minh trail the remaining armed weapons were dropped - around 30% not detonating . It has left its legacy, with unexploded ordinance (UXO) being either found by locals hunting scrap metal or any passing person or wildlife unfortunate enough to activate the damned things. Demonstrating the effect on the daily life of these subsistence areas was entriguing, with all arrangement of articles being forged from the casings of cluster bombs, engine fuselage and bombs or grenades - making house stilts, fishing boats, machetes, cooking stoves... Basically this place helps people in genuine need, also assisting people with the effects of polio and club foot. Quite an extraordinary place, plus they had free bikes to ride. So setting off into town on to wheels - with a nice 2ft sign on the back advertising the centre we took in the sights heading back to the beach then up to the arch called Patuxai. It's slightly taller than the Arc de Triomphe and was made from US supplied concrete, intended for building a new runway at the airport. Two snubs in one, brilliant. Just up from here was a fountain and a bit further the World Peace Gong, a gift from Indonesia. Smashing.
Next day we headed out to Xieng Khuan - the Buddha Park about 30km away, a pretty cold journey by tuk!! It seemed quite cool, various figures from Buddhist and Indian religions and a long tall reclined Buddha dominating one side. At the rear was an obelisk with a statue of a man seated for meditation in front. I assume this to be the creator of the park, originating around 40 years ago - the obelisk being for his parents. Nearer the entrance was a spherical building, inside stairs to access the roof for a whole view - and inside hundreds more statues and creations.. These seemed far more appropriate to what i'd expected to see so wasn't sure afterwards whether the park had been 'sterilised' for visiting tourists.. Still, it made for an interesting morning. That night we set off again, this time on a sleeper bus for 9 hours down toward Pakxe an important trading town..!!