GuerillaZ

Sihanoukville Many people seem to be enjoying this post. Thanks everybody for reading; there are 4 more Viet posts up ahead and another one soon to come.  I am only here for five days. I haven't been near the ocean for two and a half months. And these days I am a swim fan. So it's a wonderful moment. Thing is there's going to be very little to say here. I'm going to eat, sleep, read and swim. I'm sure I'll find something to reflect upon. Sokha beach, Sihanoukville Cyrstal blue waters. Perfect white sand beaches. Sokha beach in Sihanoukville. Sokha beach is completely private with its own guards. I still go there and hang out, where the locals do, at both ends of the beach. I may just make this post a photo essay and a very lazy one at that. Just to say that Sihanoukville was the scene of the last battle of the Vietnam war in 1975. The city was only formed in 1960. The tourist strip is grotesque but Sokha beach is protected from

As I said in the earlier post Say was an MP and the Prime Minister's financial adviser. He also acted as ambassador to Russia for a time. He was an MP between 1967 and 1975. Until the Communists, known as the Pathet Lao, usurped the monarchy. Say keeps active, studying Buddhism, Lao history, reading about the latest Chinese military hardware. Like some other members of that pre-1975 Lao government he is allowed to live quietly. He had, his words, to leave politics and 'turn to social enterprise'. Say was born into a diplomatic family. His brother was the Ambassador to Japan. His younger brother was also a diplomat. His brothers and sister are all dead now. A commanding portrait of his brother hangs in the parlour. The parlour. Gleaming hardwood dinner table with seats for six. Huge corner sofa for ten people. Five or six bedrooms, two cars and a collection of children. Five grown-up children in Vientiane. Four in mid-life living in France. A French wife then

Vientiane (Wieng Chen) Sai ba dii, After China's waking tiger I'm am laying back in Laos. Laos is very laid back. After China I felt like I was on speed when I arrived. Laid back in appearance maybe. But beneath is a powerful sense of something national. Speaking Lao is like cracking a nut. Truism. Some of the ex-pats here are cruel and rude to Laos. Ugly. The food divine. Reason enough to visit Indochina. Guess I knew that. But to be here. The barbecue is fab. The pork quan mee stir fried noodle, pho (soup), pronounced 'pherr', and dragon fruit juices are just lovely. And Laos understands how to make drinks cold. Anyone visiting for delicious food in Vientiane should head for Manivanhs at 125 Samsenthai Road. Unashamed promotion. But if you met them. You would do the same. These two women make the best baguette sandwiches I have ever tasted. The best sandwiches. The pork and pate with pickled vegetables, salad and herbs like mint and coriander. Want