Finding our way

How not to give directions in Vientiane:
1) Give a street name: most streets in Vientiane have no names. Some streets have names, but nobody knows what they are.
2) Give an address. In addition to point 1, there are no street numbers.
3) Say that it is 'near a temple'. There are temples on every street corner.
4) Say that there is 'near the BeerLao sign'. One in three shops sells food, and all these shops sell BeerLao (and proudly display this on signs outside).
5) Say that it is 'near the Mekong'. Vientiane is built along the banks of the Mekong River. Everything is near the Mekong.

How to give directions:
1) Find out the name of the nearest temple.
2) Find out the name of the village, which is Ban (Lao for village) followed by the name of the local temple (e.g. Chris and I live in Ban Wat Sop).
3) Find some significant landmarks, such as a noodle soup shop or telegraph pole. This is how the internet people found our house.
4) Describe your house. Ours is the white house next to the brown house, with the dog out the front.
5) Find out where the one way streets are in your neighbourhood. This will dramatically alter the route taken. For example, if you want to go to the shop ahead on your left, turn right, travel 1 km to the first one way street going the right way, turn left, turn left again, turn left again and then turn left again.