We're sick! It's hard to tell how sick--maybe just a little--but B has been having muscle aches for over a week and I've had them for two days. Worst-case scenario is dengue fever, but if so we have very mild cases--it just feels like there are little bugs burrowing into bones and muscles. We both are running slight fevers and have headaches, but nothing else--no rash, for instance, so dengue does seem fairly unlikely. We'll be in Thailand where there are good doctors on Saturday, so for now we're taking painkillers and trying to hold out. The really bad news in my mind is that Daddy says not to run until this is gone. What about my marathon? I'll just have to make it up in Norway on the beautiful trails in Marka.

Otherwise, Vientiane (Vin Chang, pronounced) is the most chilled-out capital city in the world, I'm quite certain. We're on a street right in the center, by the Mekong, and there is no traffic. Only a couple of streets seem to carry what could be described as traffic, and my guess is, they're mostly bringing in goods from Thailand which is only 25km away. Now's when we realize just what an effect the lack of infrastructure here has on the local population also: food, drinks, pretty much everything is just a bit cheaper in Vientiane than we've seen so far. Of course, people who live in Vientiane are less likely to be poor than people in very rural areas.

We had dinner last night in the absolutely friendliest restaurant I've ever visited, Fathima's. The proprietor made us feel like royalty, which was especially welcome after the horrible experience we had at the Lane Xang hotel when we arrived. We had called on Monday to reserve a room because the hotel had a fitness center, so we decided it was worth paying a bit more ($33) per night in order to have easy access to it. B had confirmed all of the details when he called, but when we arrived at the hotel--bone weary after a horrible bus ride from Vang Vieng that was supposed to take three hours but took four and a half, muscles/bones aching the whole way--they had no record whatsoever of our reservation.

At first, the manager was totally unhelpful. He must have asked us at least five times whether the person we had spoken with was male or female, when we called, and so on. He didn't seem to want to do anything to rectify the situation whatsoever. (My suspicion is that it was because we were carrying backpacks with raincovers. Backpackers are never popular in more "upscale" places, although the hotel didn't seem very upscale to us.) He kept saying that they would be happy to send us to another hotel (?!? our reservation was here), so finally I burst out crying and magically he decided to upgrade our room instead. The bellboy first took B to what was clearly the manager's own private love nest (mirrors in the ceiling etc) but as B was being shown the room, the manager changed his mind and decided to give us another room, less "upgraded", but that room was not ready yet. B decided to go look at the fitness center, the whole reason we were staying at that hotel: no treadmills. Yes, they advertise that they have a fitness center, but there are no treadmills. So, having waited at least 15 minutes for the second room to get ready, we up and left and checked into another hotel around the corner. This hotel is nothing special, but we have a TV which is nice while we writhe on our beds in discomfort. But it really took the wonderful proprietor of Fathima's to take away the sour taste that was left by the complete lack of professionalism at the Lane Xang hotel. (Now, it would have been another matter if I hadn't had to start crying for the manager to be willing to lift a finger about what was clearly laxity in his own staff's training. Imagine just not writing down a booking!)

I've forgotten to mention the amazing tropical storm that we saw in Vang Vieng. Lightning must have struck several hundred times (seriously)--it was like a strobe light lighting up the mountains. Lightning would flash maybe 6-8 times in a row, then we'd hear thunder as the rain and wind continued to intensify and intensify. It's hard to judge just how severe a storm it was for us non-tropics dwellers, but it was incredible to watch (from our private balcony, at $12/night).