Today was earmarked to go and see one of the central temples in V-town and explore around that area to the north. Given we were in Asia, hadn't done it yet and they were right outside the hotel, we decided to get there by Tuk Tuk.

The staff at the hotel said for this journey (about 25 minutes) we shouldn't pay more than 30k KIP (£3). We went over to negotiate and leave. After a small negotiation (we didn't try that hard to be fair) he asked for 40k, which was fine. SO in we got and off we went.

It was a very odd experience. You're very close to the road and with scooters driving up everyone's ass, very close to other traffic, hot and exhaust fume-y. I noticed our guy seem to be taking us a very strange way (the power of google maps!!), but figured he knew where he was going. After about 7 minutes of driving he announced we were there. Bearing in mind this is a famous temple in the North, probably the 2nd most famous temple in the city situated in a park away from the river. So trying to drop us off somewhere near the river, I would've assumed he knew this. Also saying 40k for that distance, definitely trying it on. I got out, showed him the map of where we were and where we wanted to go (again) and off we went. Further into the journey, he still seemed to be going a weird direction, vaguely right but very long and roundabout. Assuming he was going to try and get more money, we were just going to stay firm at what he quoted. Then he pulled over and said we here. This was just a random little street filled with car mechanics. We said no, definitely still weren't there and showed him the map again, at which point he took my phone and went and spoke to another tuk tuk driver for a few (butt-clenchingly long for us, with him still having my phone) minutes, clearly trying to work out where this confounding location was (!). When he came back, he returned my phone, declared the location was very far away and we must pay him 50k, and took off again, presumably not hearing us disagree with the price increase over the noise of his engine. Convenient. 15 minutes later, with us still watching him go a roundabout, but not impossible, route to the temple, he pulled over again and said we were there. At this point we gave up and climbed out, still using our buddy Google for support, which showed us that (painfully) we had driven 45 minutes to end up 1.5 hours walk from the temple. Our best guess at what he had done was seen we wanted to go to a park (the temple is in a park) so was dropping us off at random bits of greenery. A sure-fire strategy for success?! Given we were further from the temple than when we started, we gave him a small amount of money and continued on our way, vowing never to bother using a tuk tuk again for as long as we both shall live.

One good thing, he had actually taken us near(ish) to a mall we were planning to go to another day, to see if we could stock up on a few bits. So we decided we would just walk to the temple, detouring via the mall for cooling off / potential food. But considering this was the mall in V-town, it was a little weird. Set up like an indoor market, it was 7 storeys tall. But after about 3, it just became a ghost town, with floors filled with shops that were 'coming soon' (presumably since it opened). Nothing tempting for purchasing or consuming.

So considering we had been walking for two or so hours, it was coffee and lunch time and we stopped at a place called Xigar coffee house. Really odd placement in a really out of the way location for the rest of the city, but it was great. Decorated in mechanic type things (chain lights and steering wheels on the wall etc). We decided just to have a coffee and share a dessert which i think you'll agree looks pretty good and tasted better than it looked too!

So onwards to Pha That Luang Vientiane, which is the main Buddhist site in Laos with a 44m tall golden stupa, with loads of other cool buildings and temples around it. 

From here it was a taxi back (and a big ol' middle finger to Tuk Tuks), then out for dinner. We went to a little fountain area called Nam Phou Fountain which has a number of restaurants around a small fountain, which plays live music. We enjoyed some pretty good sushi, average beer and a not very good singer.