Lazy Sunday

I decided to go on a short walk this afternoon. Downtown Vientiane, where I live, is very walkable. Many places are closed on Sunday, but it was nice to walk and see what's in my area, and start to be able to navigate. I find walking is the best way to really get to know a place, since when you take taxis you don't really pay attention to how you get somewhere.

I stopped for lunch and had pad thai, which was perfectly spicy and very good, and tried my first Beerlao, which is the ubiquitous local brew. It was very good (not as cheap as Chinese beer, but what is?).

I stopped in a few souvenir shops that were open. I already love the Lao souvenirs. The most common items seem to be textiles, such as woven scarves and skirts. They are beautiful. There are also lots of Buddha and elephant figures, small instruments such as flutes, and lovely fabric purses and wallets.

I could not pass up a massage, one of my favorite activities in Bali. I decided on a foot massage, since my feet and legs were sore from the plane rides. I went to a spa and for $10 USD, I got a one hour massage that included feet and legs (lying down and relaxing), head and face, shoulder, arm, and even some back such as a spinal twist (back crack!). It felt amazing after my plane ride. It reminded me of massages I got in Bali, that combined Thai massage methods of stretching and pressure points with some Swedish massage type of rubbing.

A little worried I am going to blow my whole budget on massages, but I thought about it, and even if I get a massage once a week while I'm here, that's $70 US, which would only get me one 1-hour massage in America. So once a week massages seem reasonable to me!