Here it is, late July and no rain. For weeks. At the moment, Laos seems to be grappling with the worst drought it’s seen in decades. As a result, the Mekong is at one of its lowest levels ever recorded.
It’s dusty, it’s bloody hot, and it’s July, which historically marks the height of the monsoon. Local farmers are bearing the brunt of the current conditions, but the drought hasn’t impacted life in Vientiane too much…yet.
So, we hide indoors when the sun is blazing and the heat index heads well north of 40°c (104°F), and try to get out to enjoy the lack of rain when temperatures are more supportive of human life.
It also hasn’t been Lori’s week(s) to check out one of two available cars her work has for the six international staff.
That means walks…lots and lots of walks.
But first, it’s coffee shop time.
All of the nursery schools in town have a holiday break for the Rains. Generally, this coincides with the month-long summer holiday which many Western Europeans (such as Dutch and French) are entitled to by law.
Imagine that — rights enshrined in law to ensure that families and individuals have around four weeks every July-August to travel, relax, or simply spend time with family.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has the right to bear arms…which of course has only served to enrich American society…
Needless to say, nothing gets done during this time in those countries (even important things), which can be a bummer if you’re on the other end. But ultimately, it’s a very positive thing for society.
Here in Laos, things are a bit more customary, and Vientiane is a bit of an exception. During this period, farmers begin ramping up cultivation, so there’s no time for kicking back there. Monks are cloistered in their temples during Buddhist Lent brushing up on scripture and prolonged meditation.
For a lot of people in Vientiane, things grind to a halt. Students go away on summer holiday, and the large numbers of European expats living here go away to enjoy their month-long holiday break. With schools and international organizations either closed or working with skeleton crews, it becomes pretty chill here.
Noe’s school is currently on holiday recess for 10 days. He attends drop-in classes at Riley’s nursery school some days, while other days he’s home with me…or on this day, with Lori and me!
Lori wanted in on the action, so she’s decided to take a couple of days and a couple of half days off from work to spend time with Noe. That technically makes it a “Mommy Day” today, but Daddy’s tagging along for the ride…and the coffee (somewhat creepily lurking in the background working on his laptop).
They’re having a lot of fun (so it seems…).
Riley’s school will be closed in August for three weeks and one day. ONE DAY. As if three weeks weren’t enough, they just had to add that one extra day. Kind of like when Lori eats three of the last four chocolate chip cookies I baked, then takes a bite out of the fourth one and puts it back. You just couldn’t help yourself, could you LORI!!!
Taking little bro for a walk in the neighborhood. We can pretty much put this whole parenting thing on AUTO now…for like five seconds.
Noe, please don’t poke your sleeping baby brother in the face like that…
Meeting up at a neighborhood rooftop bar after work and school on a particularly hot day.
A while back, Luang Prabang-based Indigo Cafe opened up a Vientiane branch in Ban Anou near the football stadium. We finally got the chance to try it out. Pretty good brunch and Noe was occupied by watching the barista make foofy drinks.
All was going well until this…
The salmon Eggs Benedict was delicious, but the purple juice caused some issues on multiple fronts.
The server brought out three glasses of this exceptionally sweet and sugary “juice” drink. At first, we thought it was Taro water and didn’t think much of it. Noe downed his in seconds so we started to suspect otherwise. Moments later, Noe complained of a tummy ache. Immediately, the server saw the empty glass, and rushed over and refilled it. Noe lunged for it and we intervened. That’s when the poop hit the paddle fan, so to speak.
We will not be returning to Indigo any time soon.
Lao people regularly put offerings out on the curb for the spirits of their ancestors. Usually water, soda, and packaged biscuits. I don’t think I’d mind being the ancestor on the receiving end of this (that’s an Americano and pastries, by the way).
I swear there was a building here last week. They hauled away the remnants of a multi-family residence, but they just didn’t have room for the car, apparently.
Um…I think I’ll pass.
These Bauhaus style buildings are quickly vanishing in Vientiane, being replaced with soulless plastic Chinese-style blocks. This one looks safe…for the moment.
Tuk-tuk ride home.
Now that the Chunk’s got a few teeth, here comes Mommy with the toothbrush. And so it begins…
Strangely, he actually seems to enjoy it. And Noe always enjoys watching.
Phoenix Club. The hippest late-night joint on Thadeau Road…or so we’re told. I’m not even sure we’re still awake when it opens at night.
No wheels…no problem.
One of our favorite watering holes closed a few months ago. Today, we’re doing a bit of a trek to check out the new one. More often than not in Vientiane, that involves walking along sun-exposed roads sucking dust and fumes.
A marble spirit house. Well played, Mercedes. Well played.
Turning off of Thadeau to walk along Khouvieng is a breath of fresh air, literally. No other place in town has so much greenery!
We’ve arrived! The New Highland Bar. The old Highland Bar was a beloved and unapologetically Irish pub on the banks of the Mekong. The new place is…well…a work in progress overlooking a drainage canal. We’ll check back in a few years.
This is a common toilet setup in Laos. It’s a manual flush toilet, meaning there’s no flushing mechanism. You take a scoop of water and ever so delicately fling it down into the toilet bowl, effectively forcing a flush.
This setup makes complete sense in places with intermittent running water, but Vientiane’s water supply is about as reliable as it comes.
I guess you save a bit of money not having to purchase the tank, but beyond that…you’ve got plumbing, you’ve got the spout, you’ve got the porcelain goddess. For the love, just connect the dots already!!!
That thar yonder is a giant neon sombrero adorning Gringo’s Tex Mex restaurant. Until today, we had never noticed it. Not sure how that happened.
On our walk back, we got a request for a chocolate-ice-cream-bar stop. Not by Noe, of course. That would just be silly. Nope, it was all mommy. And of course, Noe doesn’t care. Now, purple juice on the other hand…
If you’re wondering where Riley is, good question! We may or may not have left him at the Irish pub. Oops, just kidding. Turns out he’s right here in the stroller next to me.
No pics of that, but here’s a tuk-tuk!
Our neighborhood’s main drag at night.
Our favorite Indian place (I think the only Indian place) in the neighborhood.
Time to stock up on fruits and veggies for the week at our neighborhood market. Every week we get fresh and local lettuce, tomatoes, onions, garlic, limes, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, mangos, dragon fruit, bananas, avocados, dill and cilantro — and either a watermelon or pineapple — for about US$10 total.
Near the market, we noticed this place for the first time. It looked like any other hole-in-the-wall BeerLao place except for one thing — the words “DRAUGHT BEER” emblazoned across the sign. Intrigued, we decided to check it out.
It helped that there happened to be a giant construction site across the street for Noe.
He particularly enjoyed watching the workers haul the sand and bricks up to the top floor the old-fashioned way — wheelbarrow attached to a hand-drawn rope and pulley system.
Unfortunately, the draught beer tasted like draught sewage water.
Dinner time!
Lori was participating in a virtual wedding shower for one of her good friends back in the States via Skype. Riley was allowed to stay, but Noe and I were kicked out of the house for a couple of hours. And it was already pretty hot and steamy outside (surprise!). Nothing that a 15-minute bike ride to one of Noe’s favorite coffee shops couldn’t cure.
That’s a freshly-made creme brûlée doughnut. Getting a little something sweet has become a special thing we do on Daddy Days.
Lori and I don’t do ice cream, cookies, or that sort of thing with Noe ever (just Riley, which really pisses off Noe…ha ha…just kidding…), but I’ve made it very clear that this is a very special thing we do on Daddy Days and he gets to have a Noe bite.
We’ve done this a half dozen times and haven’t yet had an issue. He’ll slowly nibble on his Noe bite, say “Thank-you daddy,” and go play without asking for any of daddy’s share.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
Parking lot in Vientiane.
That evening, Lori and I went on a date night. It was actually a really pleasant evening and quite a few people were out and about. We came upon this impromptu amusement park and Lori thought it might be fun to bring the boys back for Noe to ride on the kiddie train as he’d never done anything like that.
As we walked along the Mekong, we remarked how different this July has been compared to the past two. We remembered avoiding the promenade through much of the rainy season because it was more or less nonfunctional and there was no rain cover.
Which gave me an interesting thought. What does the riverfront promenade look like when it rains? It occurred to both of us that in nearly three years we had never been down here during a rainstorm.
We were tempted to join the daily sunset Zumba on the river, but opted for an upper-body workout instead…at a nearby riverfront bar.
The next evening, we decided to act upon Lori’s idea the previous evening to take a taxi down to the waterfront and check out the amusement park with the kids.
We asked the taxi to drop us off a bit early so we could walk through the night market first. Noe had outgrown most of his PJs and was in dire need of some new ones. So, Lori shopped for cheap PJs at the market while I ran interference against the boys.
By the time we emerged from the market and climbed the steps to the top of the levee, we found ourselves staring straight at this.
And coming straight for us! When these sorts of storms come through, umbrellas are useless. The wind will basically shred it and you’re going to get soaked either way. The best thing to do is to find cover and quick.
There isn’t any cover along the river, only a handful of cafes, bars, and restaurants. We weren’t quite ready to eat, so naturally, we headed to nearby Bor Pen Yang bar (it means no worries…) for some real draught BeerLao and to watch the storm from the covered rooftop.
Which may or may not have been the smartest thing we could have done. Already on the walk (or run…) over to the bar, pieces of market stalls were flying through the air, and loose metal sheets and scaffolding from nearby construction sites were crashing down all around.
We ascended the four flights of stairs to the bar, only to realize the metal roof was flapping and pieces from the construction site next door were flying in…not to mention the place has no way to close the front area to the elements, which just happened to be facing directly into the wind.
Within moments, the power went off and the rain began to blow in through the opening in sheets (but not before we got our beers!!!).
Thunder and lightning crashed all around. We get these storms frequently here in Vientiane, but it had been a few weeks since we’d gotten any measurable amount of precipitation. And rarely are we in a building open to the elements like this.
Both boys took the storm in stride, but you could tell Noe was a bit more concerned than usual (he usually sleeps through violent thunderstorms that wake up Lori and me). Riley was…well…Riley.
The power eventually came back on, the driving rain gave way to a steady rain, and we proceeded to our dinner stop for the night, Tyson Kitchen, joining about a half dozen other storm refugee families in the process.
Love these posts. So many fun pictures. Miss my sweet little guys but this helps a lot. Noe’s smile is amazing! He is getting so big. Riley is adorable. Smiley Riley.
Agreed! Both boys are growing a lot (especially Smiley).
David has really captured charming expressions on the boys’ faces. Love the way Riley enjoys his food! Cute father son shot at the bar.
Grammie
Thanks, Shirley. Riley definitely enjoys his food!
Love this daily life section—brushing Riley’s teeth really brought back a lot of memories—as usual, your boys are adorable
Thanks, Jan. We think so, but we’re just a bit biased.