Anatevka -

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Coming back from Bangkok, I had the feeling that Vientiane was exactly the way Bangkok was 50 years ago. Coming home was like stepping into a time machine.

Despite the massive vehicular traffic, this is largely the case.

Vientiane is still a series of little villages within a city. Even the central core remains intimate and full of pot-holes.

Some wise acre had the bright idea to totally rebuild the cornice on the Mekong, however, so that bit of quaintness is now just a jungle of earth-moving equipment and mounds of mud.

But other than that, little Vientiane is still a collection of unpaved roads and main arteries. When you look at these pictures, try to remember that these are of the centre of a nation’s capital city, and not some provincial village.

So far I have shown you pictures of specific places. Here is an overview of the village we have come to love, the place in our hearts that we – after only one month! – have come to call home: Vientiane! This love has become a passionate affair.

Things are moving along as they should. I have found work and permanent visas seem to be just around the corner. Our container has arrived in Bangkok and we are awaiting the proper paper-work to clear it through to Laos.

More than ever I feel that we are in the right place at the right time. Those of you who should be here will be here. Of that, I have no doubt.