Arrival in Laos in Sleeper Train

I have long wanted to ride on a sleeper train and we finally got the opportunity in our trip from Bangkok to Laos thanks to Thailand Railways. The sleeper train was everything that I hoped for. The attendant turned the beds down and made them up with linen, a pillow and a blanket. There is an upper and lower bed on each side of the railroad car with the lower bed replacing the seats used during the day. Due to some sort of a problem, our over night train was delayed a day. Changing to new tickets resulted in the whole family being in the upper bunks. The kids we delighted and Dad was less so. Shinnying up a steal ladder and swinging into the bunk concerned me a bit. With a little practice, it wasn't a problem and I was safely tucked in my real sleeper bed. Susan and the kids were as delighted as I was. It is like being rocked to sleep with the rhythm of the train wheels on the track. I felt like a character in Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express". As I fell asleep, I could hear the distant sounds of various languages whispered in Thai, French, English and who knows what other languages. Similar trips on a sleeper train in the US are very expensive. A sleeper berth on a trans pacific flight would probably cost well over $5,000. If you care to travel to Bangkok, you can have this delightful experience for $20.00 and wake up the next morning near the outskirts of Laos. In the morning the attendant converts the car back to seats where you can eat breakfast ordered from one of the attendants and watch the scenery through the windows. Laos, by all accounts is a poor nation. I was very surprised to find the capital city of Vientiane is beautiful and far from what I expected. You see the French colonial period reflected in the old architecture and French style layout of the main boulevards. There are lots of restaurants and people strolling along the walkway that runs along side the Mekong River. After the hectic pace of Bangkok and Phnom Penh traffic, it was gratifying to see a less hectic pace during the off rush hour time periods. I also saw signs of economic development with new hotels and other building projects. Our friends have given us a wonderful tour of the city and I could easily envision living in a community like this. On Sunday we will head off with our friends for a visit to a village (where we will help with a literacy project and experience the hospitality of a village family that has invited us to spend the night and join them in their meals) before we move on to explore many of the beautiful sights of rural Laos. Tonight we will attend a performance of a Laos Vietnamese Friendship Circus. First impressions are important, and Laos has made a nice impression on us thus far. Undoubtedly we will see signs of serious poverty in the days ahead, but there are also signs that the Lao people are a resilient and happy people with lots of potential.