Vientiane, Laos

1) view of the Mekong from the Orchid Guesthouse Veranda, Vientiane, Laos, as you can see it's the height of the dry season, further dams in China are creating even lower levels and delaying the shipment of cargo in Laos.
2) One of the sculptures in Vet Xiang Khouan, 27 km from Vientianes city center, a folksy scultpure park built in the 50's, one self-made holy man's vision of buddhist-hindu cosmology. You crawl into the mouth (like something from Pan's Labyrinth) and climb through a rather dicey series of stairs to find dim floors cluttered with idols, some looking like Mr. Howdy from the Exorcist.