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Rhythm is everything

Tag: Vientiane

Noodle Soup Restaurant LC

2024-08-13 / / 0 Comments

Delicious soup for a fair price

One of those days it was that I had decided to walk down town. Walking keeps you in shape. Everybody knows that. And so does using a bicycle instead of a motorbike. I do both. I walk and I cycle.

Moving slowly also has it advantages. One sees everything and discovers a lot. My favourite way of getting to know and becoming familiar with a new town. New for me that is.
As I was walking along on and off the pavement, as cars are parked wherever the driver thinks it’s okay, I spotted a new restaurant. Noodle Soup Restaurant LC
30,000 Kip any bowl of soup. Hey! That’s not bad at all!
I peeked inside. Everything looked clean and well organised.

Trying it out

Let’s give it a try I thought as I felt a bit hungry. There is Chinese noodle soup with beef, pork, chicken, a fried egg, or even a Vietnamese style noodle soup. I decided on the fried egg one. It comes with a little bit of pork on the bone as well.

Friendly service

Your soup is served fast and in a friendly manner. And if ever they have run out of some of the ingredients they will quickly walk to the nearby market to buy some.
You will never have to wait long for a delicious noodle soup coming your way.
The owner on the left and her assistant cannot speak English. They can speak some Chinese, do understand Thai, and are of course fluent in Laotian.

Location

Noodle Soup Restaurant LC

The name shown is the name of a restaurant that was there before.
Noodle Soup Restaurant LC is a new restaurant at the same location.

So sad!!!! It's closed for business.

Our man from Louisiana

2024-04-20 / / 0 Comments

One of those sweltering days, it must have been by the end of July or the beginning of August, our man arrived. Our man from Louisiana. Our man was not in a good shape. His toenails had grown to a length that we had never ever seen before. He walked slowly and could only walk the spiraling stairway up to the third floor taking pauses. When he started talking, he had a stutter and often could not remember the words he wanted to use. He had had a stroke.

Our man was not in a good shape though his accent still was. A lovely accent. A Louisiana accent. Melodious and enticing to the listener. With a banjo on my knee he would repeat over and over when we — Mr Photographer and I — mentioned Louisiana. He had been in Malaysia and Thailand, and wanted to visit Cambodia. Our man kept his spirits high.

Malaysia yes, the highlands. In a way to say thanks for having found some friends at the dorm we both received a sachet of black tea. Looking at the way I hang all my clothes suspending from the bed frame triggered a memory. He had been a sailor working for the US merchant navy all his life he told me. There was more. He had a son. A son in Texas with a very negative attitude. A son who would only complain to his old Dad. He did not want to listen to his son anymore.

One afternoon … he started stammering “I gotta … I gotta leave! I gotta … gotta leave! We really did not get it. What did he mean? He seemed to be fine before.
Absorbed with our own issues and struggles we forgot to ask for details.

Dumb asses we had been.
“I gotta leave! I gotta leave!”, had been his way of saying I cannot pay anymore. The guy temporarily in charge of the hotel while the manager was on a study trip had told him to pack and sack. So, he did. Once I realised that something was definitely wrong I tried to give him a call. No response. No answer, and again and again .. no answer.
Our man from Louisiana was gone…

De werkdag

2024-01-25 / / 0 Comments

s’Morgens sta ik meestal wat later op. Een bak flink sterke koffie markeert vervolgens het begin van de werkdag.

Veel informatie willen en soms ook moeten verwerken, maakt dat ik ook veel slaap nodig heb. Tien uur is vrij normaal. Alleen al daardoor ben ik anders dan mijn leeftijdsgenoten die ‘s nachts juist veel minder slapen en overdag geregeld indutten. Zodra ik op gang ben gekomen ben ik ook nauwelijks meer te stoppen. ‘s Morgens nog in bed en ‘s avonds nog niet volledig in slaap bereid ik mijn lessen voor. Gewoon in mijn hoofd want dat werkt het prettigst.

Ik heb een collega die in hetzelfde jaar geboren is als ik. Een collega die jaloers is. Ook hij is anders. Hij heeft een hekel aan de leerlingen en bereidt zijn lessen niet voor. Al jaren draait hij dezelfde lessen en doet daarbij heel gewichtig.
Dat werkt vaak in zijn voordeel.

Behalve dan bij de meer bijzonder dan andere leerlingen. Die stellen hem vervelende vragen. Vragen waar hij geen echt goed antwoord op kan geven.
Daarom heb ik die leerlingen toegewezen gekregen.

www.taal.cafe is er mede voor de leerlingen. Omdat de twee jongsten — 7 en 11 jaar oud — niet alles mogen lezen, heb ik op een aantal artikelen een wachtwoord gezet.

A Turbulent Life

2023-10-08 / / 0 Comments

Johnnie

Johnnie was a lovely boy. That’s what his Mum in the US had always told him. And indeed he was. Never ever did we hear him say anything nasty or demeaning. Never ever did we sense any envy when other guests stated their successes in life. True stories of real successes or just imaginary successes aimed at steering attention towards themselves.

Johnnie hitting the strings

Johnny liked to grab the guitar to play a few chords to entertain … Sure! …
Though he played foremost to attract attention, using Oanh’s guitar which she gracefully has made available to just anybody at the Rainbow Hotel who fancies hitting the strings.

Johnnie had a head start at just any conversation with anyone new. Whether it was your appearance, your new piece of apparel, your skills at speaking English or just anything that he could relate to you, being special. He would say something positive.

Johnnie would highlight the positive side of others.

Johnnie’s life was however not that positive. Johnnie had a talent for getting involved with the wrong kind of people. Women, notably! Down and out local women who had assessed him as easy prey. A man like a boy longing for sex and affection where the latter was never there for him.

At the conclusion of yet another nightly journey roaming the streets down town Vientiane he would arrive just in time for breakfast. Then started sleeping on the couch.

Waking up he would be thirsty for a beer and many more. Johnnie would then start telling about his latest sad adventure. She stole my money man! 300 dollars man! Shit man! She also took my keys. Shit man! I cannot enter my room. Shit man! Which explained why he had missed out on a good night’s sleep again.

Whenever Johnnie experienced unbearable distress he would utter:
“Mum always said I am a lovely boy”. And indeed he was.

Inconsiderate guests

2023-10-05 / / 5 Comments

Ocean Blue Hostel in Vientiane, Laos

My bicycle broke down. I was downtown Vientiane near the night market when the rear brake got stuck. Without any tools, no way to repair that kind of brake on the fly. It was already late at night and I was stuck! – well kind of.

To stay the night I decided on the Ocean Blue Hostel. A friend of mine had been staying there before. She liked it.
So … why not?

It was a bit of a mixed experience. Nothing wrong with the hostel though. 

Staff members are friendly. Breakfast is okay and quickly served. Mattresses and bedding are clean. The hostel is well designed and everything is kept in good order. There are separate dormitory rooms for men and women. They are on separate floors as well. That’s probably a good idea.

I guess it was just bad luck. One of the young men staying at my dormitory room was smoking during the night. That’s strictly forbidden and incurs a hefty fine. He apparently couldn’t care less. I guess inexpensive hostels sometimes attract guests who just refuse to behave. 

A Great Experience

2023-10-01 / / 0 Comments

The Rainbow Hotel in Vientiane, Laos

I arrived from Thailand in April 2023 with the absolute minimum to sustain my life. Knowing one of the managers from previous trips, I naturally decided on a long-stay at the Rainbow Hotel. Staff members at this place are friendly, welcoming, helpful, and most of all … considerate. The hotel is a business. But that’s not all and everything. There is more to it. They make you feel at home.

It’s an old building. So there are still some things to repair and improve on a technical level. Staff and owners are working on it.

The front entrance and restaurant.
Hotel front and restaurant
Holiday makers.
Holidaymakers
The photographer.
The photographer
Sometimes one needs a nap.
Sometimes one needs a nap
Teachers waiting for their visa.
Teachers waiting for their visa
Young and less young.
Young and less young

The hotel is also a restaurant. The front part — which comprises the tables inside and the terrace outside — functions as a place to talk with other travellers, having a great though inexpensive Lao beer, to act out as a digital nomad, to be a philosopher aspiring to inspire, to find models for your next photoshoot and of course … to enjoy a delicious nutritious meal.

Oanh, the cook, is from Vietnam. Vietnamese, Laotian (Isaan), European, and Thai dishes. She does it all and fast.

I stayed at the Rainbow Hotel until early September when I finally could afford renting an apartment close to my new work place.

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