The bus ride from Vang Vieng to Vientiane was long and rather bumpy. The scenery was mostly flat and unremarkable, and the road frequently turned into dirt tracks. We were happy to finally arrive in the laid-back capital of Laos.

I wish I could say we explored all the famous wats and climbed the Patuxai (Laos’ version of the Arc de Triomphe). But the truth is we didn’t. After many months of temple-hopping across Southeast Asia, they had all started to blur together. We did catch a glimpse of Patuxai from the back of a tuk-tuk and walked past several temples, but that was the extent of our sightseeing.

Instead, we simply wandered the streets of the old French colonial quarter, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. We stayed at the Mali Namphu Guesthouse, a charming spot with a lovely shady courtyard that became our peaceful retreat from the sun.

We had hoped to find excellent Lao food in the capital, but we were somewhat disappointed. The small local restaurants we tried were just okay — even the grilled chicken was average compared to what we had enjoyed in Luang Prabang. However, our culinary luck turned around when we discovered Aria, an Italian restaurant with fantastic pasta and pizza. Even better was Le Provencal, a French restaurant on Rue Panhkham where I had what was possibly the best pizza since leaving Italy. A wonderful surprise in Laos!

After a few relaxed days, it was time to head back to Thailand. We had a flight from Udon Thani to Bangkok. Unfortunately, we missed our international bus because the mini-van driver arrived late. With all other buses fully booked, we did what you always do in Asia — we found a solution. We took a mini-van to the border and then another onward to Udon Thani.

We spent one quiet night in Udon Thani before flying to Bangkok, already looking forward to returning to our favourite restaurant, Aquatini, and their incredible fish with lime and chili.