Wasting Time and Hiding From The Heat.

Well folks, I only have a few more hours to kill before I can try to get a night bus to Luang Prahbang! Thankfully, it's raining now, but for the better part of this day, it was so hot it made me feel sick. I checked out of my guesthouse this morning, and so I have nowhere to crash during the heat of the day. I walked for awhile, and tried to go to a beautiful temple. They said the were "closed," and that I would have to come back later and buy a ticket. I'm really not fond of the temples in the big Asian cities. Sure, there are a few monks walking around, but the authenticity of the temple is robbed by the ticket and souvenir booths at every exit and entrance, trying to make a buck of every foreigner who walks by. For me, the lure of the temples isn't really the architecture. While incredibly beautiful, it's not what I go for. What makes a temple special for me is the people to worship and pray there. In a temple that's not packed with tourists, and doesn't have a gift shop, you can feel that. You can take off your shoes, and walk the same cool stone stairs that countless others have walked on their way to and from a meeting with their faith. I went into one temple today; it was 106 degrees outside, and I paid to go inside. I didn't like it. I wanted to see what it was like before any tourists like me started passing through and taking pictures. After another hot and exhausting stroll through the city, and one wearying trudge through the chaotic mall, I ended up and True Coffee, just as I have everyday in Vientiane. If you're looking for an authentic Laos experience, don't go to True Coffee. At any given time, there are about 20 foreigners and 2 Lao people. However, if you want to meet other travelers, check your email, or drink a slightly overpriced but extremely delicious and sugary coffee, True Coffee is the place for you. It has a definite appeal, as an oasis of hipster glamor and blessedly cold air. I like to go there and read, stare at other tourists, and listen to the many different languages and conversations that take place there. I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent a whole three hours by myself there today. It was just too hot to do anything else. After that kind of heat, the tingling of goose bumps and the very notion of being too cold seem like blissful and wondrous happenings. I've had a lot of caffeine today, and not a lot of food. The first, because I have nowhere to nap today, and I have to catch a night bus, and not a lot of food because, while I was staying on the farm in Thailand, I ate SO much. I can't even comprehend how I fit so many calories in my body in one month. Chips? Yes! Ice cream? Of course! Bread? I'll have half a loaf, please! So, I gained about five pounds, which, considering how much I ate, is pretty good. Anyway, it's finally raining. It feels as if the whole, sweltering city breathes a sigh of relieve when a storm comes to make the outdoors habitable again. Oh, I really want a nap. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. And a steak. A big steak, cooked medium rare. If anyone would like to purchase and cook a steak for me upon my return, the gesture will be greatly appreciated. Ok, well, I suppose I'll wander around a bit more. Only three more hours...and then nine more on a bus...Yay...