Crazy Days in Vientiane

So lest you think our days are all filled with ant eggs, spirit houses and backrubs in the bathroom, I thought I'd share with you our rather mundane day today.

Katherine's day:

Katherine rode on the back of Vone's motorbike to the market to buy stuff.

short digression...I want a motorbike. 80-90% of the vehicles on the road in Vientiane are chinese built motorbikes. They're like vespas, but sleeker, and with cooler names like T-Max, Superbike and Magna. They're everywhere, and they are the family car in many cases. I've seen families of 5 riding one bike, I've seen a father, mother and nursing baby riding on a bike (and the father was wearing the helmet), I've seen 4 grown men sharing a motorbike. You get the picture.

Anyway, I want a motorbike, but Katherine thus far won't let me get one. She says it's too dangerous to drive a motorbike in Vientiane because (and here she's got a point. I'm not conceding totally, but she has a point) there seems to be no discernible traffic rules or patterns that are followed here. Notice Katherine's cunning use of language. She doesn't say it's dangerous to ride a motorbike, but it's dangerous to drive a motorbike. That way, she's off the hook riding all the livelong day on the back of Vone's motorbike. Okay, she's ridden 3 times, but she's got a helmet now for just such an occasion, so I figure it will continue.

So what if drivers merge, turn, pull out in traffic, stop, change lanes (lanes, as if) start, etc. with out so much as a look to see what is oncoming. It's like a symphony, but instead of different musical instruments coming in and out of the piece, you've got dozens of shoddily built chinese motorbikes, cars, refurbished Korean trucks, tuk-tuks and bicycles coming in and out of traffic lanes. So what if two of the four bodies at the morgue I had to visit last week to identify a deceased American were victims of a traffic accident. Wouldn't happen to me, I have cat-like reflexes.

So anyway, I want a motorbike. Katherine won't let me get one. She gets to ride a motorbike whenever she feels like it (and Vone is around to take her someplace) and she even has a fancy new helmet. I want a motorbike. It's not fair.

But I digress.

Then Katherine had lunch. Fried rice.

Then Katherine sent some e-mails.

Then Katherine made an inventory of what is arriving tomorrow in our first shipment of stuff (by copying a previous inventory that we had).

Then Katherine went to the Australian Club for a swim, followed by a drink by the river.

Phil's Day:

I got up at 7:00 and got to work by 7:45. Nothing exciting happened.

Then at 5:00 I went to meet Katherine at the Australian Club for a swim, followed by a drink by the river.

Now it's 10:29, and we just finished watching a god-awful American sitcom called Yes, Dear. What utter garbage. I can honestly say that I think just about any tv show would be better than that. But our books arrive tomorrow, so I don't have much to read right now. So I watched it. I feel like I need a shower to clean off the filth associated with such terrible tv.

Friday is a full moon, so we're going to Wat Si Muang, the largest (in terms of # of monks) and one of the most important Buddhist Temples in the city. I'm not certain what goes on at the Wat on full moon nights, but we've been invited to go with some friends, so go we will.