August in Vientiane (& other places)

August was a messy sort of month. Originally Andrew was supposed to go to Burma when we got back from Borneo, but that got deferred. So, with a bit of time on his hands, he went back to New Zealand for a board meeting. He managed to fit in a trip to Arrowtown to see his father and Anne & Ron. He then sped back to Wellington, got some tasks done, visited Albinia, experience the big earthquake and managed to cook a bit of red meat for himself. Whilst he was away I was supposed to head to Burma for a Month's work, but that too got deferred. So I rattled around the apartment & Vientiane. It was VERY nice when Andrew got back. But then he wanted to do things his way, and I had a lovely routine in place, so there was some readjustment needed.

We decided to get new computers while Andrew was back in NZ. I couldn't support him on Skype because that week a lightening strike took out the security system and Internet at the apartment. I had Internet, but it was very slow. Apparently my instructions sounded like Y-y-y ou neeeeeed op [silence] [silence] [crackle] [silence] ooooooooos keey. Andrew couldn't understand this and the next time we talked he told me he had had some help. I did wonder if he had talked to the 2 school boys over the road (hi Marcus &Kirsty) who would have been light years ahead of him. But no, Andrew with the help of Geeks on Wheels got his laptop set up.

Then he decided he was afraid if he opened mine he might stuff it up...he does have a reputation for being technologically challenged. So he brought my machine back to Vientiane basically new out of the box. Highly excited by a new toy I lifted the lid and...nothing, just a black screen. After a series of emails the good news was that it was covered by International warranty. Even better news was that Vientiane, as of a month ago, has a Samsung agent. Sadly their 1st case turned out to be a difficult one. Two foreigners with a non functioning laptop. Joy for them. They don't get their technical staff until next month so the laptop was dispatched to Udon Thani, in Thailand, the nearest service centre. After a week it was diagnosed as having a non functioning mother board and is not fixable. Udon is talking to Bangkok about what happens next.

Andrew's trip to Burma turned into some home-based review, which on the positive side meant he didn't have to travel.

With a little time on our hands we made some effort to visit or revisit some of the restaurants in town we had been meaning to eat at.    One thing I’ve noticed is that the signs have improved since we first arrived…