Last night's bus was a little more comfortable then our previous night one. Berths were stacked two high and we were nearly able to recline completely. Still, the road was curvy and rough. Several times I think I nearly ended up in the aisle and from the top bunk it would've been quite the fall.
So after paying 40,000 Kip (almost $3 each) we were happy to get downtown to Hotel Lao. It was a bit before 8:00 and the day staff hadn't arrived yet. There was apparently also a full house as we later saw delegates of some sort running around with ID badges. So it we nice when we were offered a temporary room to get some sleep until our room would be ready at noon. We had to pay for the buffet breakfast but will get it for free fro tomorrow morning. It seems as if room 401 had an air conditioner that functioned for only about an hour. We woke up sweaty at around 11:30. We moved into room 204 at about quarter past twelve.
This city is hot. This city is very, very hot.
We walked out towards the river. In the part of town the Mekong is wide and shallow. In fact, as it is the dry season, we can nearly see the water from the riverfront esplanade. We ate at an Authentic Indian restaurant. After we walked a bit around our area of the city and it seems as if it holds a great many Buddhist temples.
We caught up on or sleep deficit in the afternoon. After sunset it was marginally cooler. We walked around past an enormous cultural center. We found the night market stalls near the river. This is quite a sophisticated little city.