Vientiane Day 2

Another en-chanting morning. The drums started at 4.45am. 

Still a magical light with the halogen street lights adding to the glow. 

This morning the monks were accompanied by a pack of dogs.

After breakfast the team headed off to work while I decided to walk around the city.

I asked about a cab to the National Museum and it was pointed out that it 

was only a short walk away. So off I went.

Opposite the National Museum is the National Cultural Hall. A truly ugly, 

monumental building that was built by the Chinese Government as a “gift for 

the people of Laos”. It was opened in 2000 but unfortunately the Chinese 

Government didn’t include in their gift an operating budget. This means it is 

rarely opened and is only used for visiting artists and government conferences.

I feel they would have done a much better job by investing in an upgrade of 

the National Museum. I couldn’t photograph inside the museum and I’m not 

sure why. It is an interesting museum but it is very, very sad. The photographs 

are fading and are suffering water damage and insect infestation. The dioramas 

are rather dusty. The exhibition labelling is occasionally in French, occasionally

in English and occasionally in Lao, these are also fading and hard to read. 

Whenever America  is mentioned it is as “the American imperialists and their 

puppets”. The Lao story is so dramatic that money spent on making it all so 

much more engaging would be wonderful.

After the museum I walked to the Nam Phou Fountain as I had been told that

there were plenty of restaurants around a lovely fountain. I found a few cafes 

facing a walled-off, dusty construction site. I ended up at Khop Chai Deu for lunch. 

I knew it was time to leave when a group of young Australian males sat down at 

the next table and ordered a bottle of bourbon for lunch.

Before the trip I had been asked to buy a traditional silk sarong. So that was the 

next task. I went into many small shops, tourist and non-tourist and could only 

find tat. I got on the web and found Mixay, which was recommended for using local

weavers, it close to the hotel so I dropped in. I asked the owner about sarongs 

and she directed me to the local markets. I explained that I was after a traditional

sarong. She only had two and I bought one. The design was exquisite.

We had an interesting conversation that should be a lesson for tourists in

developing countries. She told me that her local products supported women’s 

groups in Laos, but that traditional weaving was expensive by Lao standards, 

and tourists were after bargains. What they were buying was brought in from 

China and Thailand. The fabrics were of a lower standard (I can attest to that), 

the profits went out of the country and local industry was not supported. So 

please when you want some object to remind you of a particular trip, find

locally produced goods. Don’t send your money to another country.

I bought a few other things that demonstrated the beautiful embroidery 

and weaving of Laos.

Another thing for travellers is the idea of having to bargain for everything. 

If you are in a high-end shop go for it and good luck. But if you are at a street 

stall or market think about it. In Laos, $Aus1.00 equals approximately Kip 8,500.

So when you spend fifteen minutes bargaining an item down from Kip 17,000 

to 8,500, you’ve wasted fifteen minutes for the bragging rights of saving $1.00, 

that you could well afford, and probably means an awful lot to the vendor. 

Remember that you are probably buying counterfeit or illegally downloaded 

material yourself. Don’t get ripped off but don’t be an ugly tourist.

I meandered back to the hotel.

That night our client took us to a charming French Restaurant that could 

have been anywhere in the world. The food was delicious, the wine wonderful

and the company entertaining.

As I retire for the night I ponder that the British left their colonies with the 

Westminster system of government and law, brass bands and cricket. 

The French left their colonies with a taste for fine wine, great cuisine and the 

ability to make melt in the mouth croissants.

Hmmm....which would I prefer?

Singapore Day 3

Singapore is in the process of creating a miracle. Making itself bigger by reclaiming land.

We decided to go down to the Marina Bay area and check out what was being built on land 

that wasn't there a decade ago. In 2008 the Marina Barrage was built to create Marina Bay, a

freshwater reservoir. This was to help with the drinking water of Singapore and to help prevent 

floods in the Chinatown region. Singapore had always been hostage to neighbouring countries for 

their water supply so trying to become self-sufficient in water has always been really important. 

Around the bay has sprung up an incredible collection of hotels, office buildings and recreation 

facilities. On the water front is the lotus shaped Art and Science museum.

 We had lunch at Sky on 57, a restaurant on the top of tower three of the Sands Casino.

The view is extraordinary and gives a great idea of the importance of Singapore as a seaport 

as there are container vessels as far as the eye can see. And there are stunning views down 

into the port area where the ships are being unloaded.

 

 Although a lot of the area is still a building site some hotels and office buildings have 

been completed on the sea front of the Marina Bay area.

 The Gardens at Marina Bay will be a huge attraction when they are completed. The Gardens 

were designed by architect Wilkinson Eyre and landscape architects Grant Associates.

The Gardens are made up of large conservatories and a forest of super-tall solar trees. 

The trees range in height from 25 to 50 meters and are designed to collect enough 

rainwater and solar energy to run the conservatories. The tallest tree will house a bistro and 

two of the trees are joined by an elevated walkway to give you an over-view of the gardens. 

The trees will be planted with ferns and vines. They will supply shade in the heat of the day 

and help modify the temperature of the surrounding gardens. 

The Gardens are expected to be open in June 2012

 In 2002 the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay was opened. The shape of the buildings with their 

aluminium sunshades have lead to the nick-name, "The Durian", after the scaly tropical fruit

 

 The architectural jewel of the Marina Bay area is the Sands Casino. It was designed by Moshe 

Safdie and Associates and cost $8 billion, including the land. Joining the three towers is the 

world's largest cantilevered platform. On the platform are two restaurants, a swimming pool 

and an observation platform. The swimming pool is only open to hotel guests. The viewing 

platform will cost you $S20 or you can just go to one of the restaurants and have a drink 

while taking in the incredible view.

The three towers are joined with a huge atrium area that has numerous eating places and shops. 

I found it all a little cold and over-whelming in scale. It's lost that human feeling.

Attached to the hotel is the casino and shopping precinct. The shopping mall is enormous and 

contains all the usual international brands. Most of the shops seemed empty.

That night we went to the Singapore Night Zoo. This was my third visit and it is one of my 

favourite zoos. The concept of walking around in partial darkness to watch nocturnal animals 

was always going to be a winner. Like everything else in Singapore the entrance, which used 

to be quite simple, has been over-touristed with shops, cafes and fire-eaters.

 But the animals more than made up for it.

Back to the hotel to look at what to visit tomorrow.