beijing okay

Hello all, quick hello from Vientiane, the capital of Laos!  The city is a lot more developed than I expected, although mostly within tourist spots.  The seperation between locals & foreigners feels very Colonial, quite unlike Thailand.  The capital is full of charming, dilapidated French colonial buildings and Communist style monuments, also dilapidated.  Locals seem surprisingly unSoutheast Asian in that they are meek and seem nervous around white foreigners, who are numerous in the city centre.  This city has the strongest & most authentic cafe culture I've seen in Asia.