This is a fairly new bridge, and has a sign indicating it is the Lao-Japanese friendship bridge. In deference to pedestrians, there are walkways in both directions, separated with barriers to keep the traffic from running us over. We are grateful.
The bridge has guard stands at both ends, staffed with soldiers. They don’t seem to be concerned
about us wandering around with cameras, so we proceed to cross the bridge.
We walk across the bridge, waving to the security camera
halfway over. Nobody waves back. Traffic isn’t too heavy at this time of day.
Petro Buffalo heading to town
We get a good view of the large Buddha statue overlooking the
city.
Buddha overlooking Pakse
Posing nicely on the bridge is an interesting insect. It may have been the inspiration for the design
of the B-2 bomber.
Insect posing on bridge
Even though we are in the city, farming takes place along the
shore.
Farming along the shore
After our bridge walk, we wander back downtown and find a
store that sells the front end of petro buffalos. There are a variety of engines from which one
can choose to power the mechanical beast.
It’s back to the hotel and then to the airport after our
downtown visit. At the airport, our
guide tells us to have a seat, and waits in line at the check-in with our
passports and flight information. We’re
amazed someone else can take our passports and check in for us. It’s probably not something one can do in the
US.
There is a sign by a door. The sign has an interesting way of saying ‘No entry’.
We didn't go in there
After we get our boarding passes from our guide, we go
through security. Ken sets off the security
check alarm because of his titanium hip.
He gets patted down. I make it
through okay, even though I apparently have a lethal weapon in my carry-on
luggage.
Our plane is on time, and we arrive back at Tan
Son Nhat airport safely. We filled out
the immigration forms on the plane, and since we already had visas, we got
through relatively quickly.
Tan Son Nhat Airport
As we cross the bridge, we see the address numbers are
getting close. Then we see a green
construction fence with 191 painted in large numbers. Our house number was 193, and as we passed
the fence, we looked down the alley.
This was the right address.
Tomorrow we will take the journey down memory lane.
Alley to our old house
At the hotel, we retrieve our luggage and ask the concierge to recommend a restaurant. He recommends a place called the Temple Club, and makes us reservations for 6:30. With some time to kill, Ken decides he wants to cash some traveller checks to pay for our Mekong delta excursion on March 6.
After much effort, we find a bank that says they'll cash the checks. They require a passport though, and Ken doesn't have it.
Since the bank has an ATM, I decide to try the prepaid debit card I got for this trip. The ATM accepts my PIN, and I request $200.00. The exchange rate is 20,800 Vietnamese dong to $1.00. I instantly become a multi-millionaire.
After the bank ordeal, we start out for the restaurant. When we get to the street to which we are directed, we don't find the Temple Club. There are several other restaurants, and an actual temple in the vicinity. We ask at the temple, and the man to whom we speak does not know of the restaurant.
So we wander along some other streets, and then decide to take one more look on the street where we were directed. This time, we find a small doorway with a sign that says Temple Club. The restaurant itself is upstairs. We get there about 7:00, and have perhaps the best meal of our trip.
Then it's back to the hotel for the night.
After much effort, we find a bank that says they'll cash the checks. They require a passport though, and Ken doesn't have it.
Since the bank has an ATM, I decide to try the prepaid debit card I got for this trip. The ATM accepts my PIN, and I request $200.00. The exchange rate is 20,800 Vietnamese dong to $1.00. I instantly become a multi-millionaire.
After the bank ordeal, we start out for the restaurant. When we get to the street to which we are directed, we don't find the Temple Club. There are several other restaurants, and an actual temple in the vicinity. We ask at the temple, and the man to whom we speak does not know of the restaurant.
So we wander along some other streets, and then decide to take one more look on the street where we were directed. This time, we find a small doorway with a sign that says Temple Club. The restaurant itself is upstairs. We get there about 7:00, and have perhaps the best meal of our trip.
Then it's back to the hotel for the night.
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