You win some, You Laos some (second try!!)

Sabaidee!! (That's hello in Lao)

Laos is AWESOME.  I just arrived back in Bangladesh after a week in Vientiane and Vang Vieng.  Unfortunately I spent way too much of the week locked up in a conference room since I was really there for a training, but in the hours that I managed to sneak out and explore, I loved it.

The streets are chill, the food amazing, and the countryside lovely.  If you can survive the roads!!

Our first night in Vientiane (the capital city, population ~700,000) we went out to a traditional Laotian restaurant.

Vang Vieng is a beautiful town on the Mekong river that's a popular place for backpackers.  We stayed in a lovely resort right on the river.

Since our project focused on rural electrification and renewable energy (i.e. hydro and solar power), we spent some time on a dam visit and a visit to a rural village that had a mini-grid running on solar power.

 Typically it doesn't rain from November-March, but the day we went it poured and last leg of the trip, which was a dirt road, was impassable in a minivan, so we had to shuttle up there in a pick-up truck and SUV.  Wonder why they call it a "hard to reach" community?

A few mornings in Vang Vieng I woke up early enough to wander around before breakfast.  One day I even went for a run through town, past a few temples, across the bridge and over to the other side of the Mekong.  One of my favorite sights was the dozens of children that biked past me in big groups as they headed off to school.

Last night, to celebrate the end of the program, we all went out for dinner at a nice restaurant with an outdoor patio and live music.  The singers had killer voices and did a number of great covers, including an acoustic version of "What the Fox Say."

 What does the fox say?