SUPER BOWL MONDAY!

Happy Super Bowl Monday from Vientiane!  Up at the crack of dawn, John and I arrived at Tully’s Irish Pub (one of two locations here broadcasting the Super Bowl), in time for the 6:30AM kickoff!
We were part of a motley crew of about 23 in total, in a bar on the other side of the world, all watching American football, oh dark early!  How’s that for dedication!

It wasn’t long before we met Mark, originally from Canton, Ohio, a teacher in Laos for the last 26 years, who was celebrating his 65th birthday today!  He paid for Bloody Mary’s and breakfast for everyone present!  Not only did our team win (GO CHIEFS!) but we didn’t pay for a thing!  Happy Birthday, Mark!  Happy Big Win, Chiefs!    

 John enjoyed a few of these today!

After celebrating The Big Win with all of our new best friends, we left the celebration to walk around town!  We ventured into a couple of Buddhist Temples, which are all over the place!  Walking in Vientiane is NOT easy!  The sidewalks are made of bricks or stones and are in disrepair!  If one of us doesn’t break a foot in the next 12 days, it will be a miracle!

Starbucks were everywhere in Kuala Lumpur.  However, here in Laos, there isn’t one to be found.  On just about every street corner here, you can find a Cafe Amazon!

The town of Vientiane is on the Mekong River.  Here it is, in the distance.  On the other side of the Mekong is Thailand!

We loved browsing today; I particularly loved some of the signs!

We took a Tuk Tuk back to our hotel and discovered that hammocks are in every Tuk Tuk.  Between rides, the drivers rest in the back in their hammock!

We spent several hours poolside!  The good news—there are more than enough loungers!  The bad news—the pool water is COLD!  But the sunshine felt WONDERFUL!  We went walking again later in the day looking for a good dinner choice.  We stopped at The Hard Rock for yet another t-shirt for John.  This one was the cheapest of the bunch ($21.00).  

We chose Chateau Du Laos (another restaurant located across from That Dam Stupa)!  It was a beautiful space and the food was delicious.

Crazy (and we’re not sure why exactly) but look at the napkin holder that was on our table!

Here’s the unbelievable part of the evening — before dinner, John got a haircut ($5.00) and I got a mani-pedi ($5.00).  Then we had a wonderful dinner for ($20.00).  After dinner we stopped and, you guessed it, we each had a massage ($15.00).  How’s THAT for a perfect way to spend Super Bowl Monday in Vientiane, Laos!

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs, winner of the 2020 Super Bowl!!!