Sandstorm

It has not rained in Vientiane in four or more days. As you may have guessed, since we’ve seen this before, it is now incredibly hot here. But last night, something new happened. We were out with our fellow interns from Vietnam last night (they are visiting Laos and working here for the week), sitting at some tables outside. I was facing the street and after a while, I began to notice a hazy appearance to the street, similar to fog slowly creeping in. I dismissed the vision, but the air soon became cloudier. Our table was covered by an awning and protected from the wind, so it wasn’t until we stepped into the street that we realized what the cloud was…it was sand. Vientiane was under siege from a sandstorm.

The lack of rain for days combined with a great deal of wind had caused all the sand and dirt on the roads to become airborne. As I stepped into the gale, I was pummeled with small sand pellets that felt like they were trying to drag the skin off my legs. Our ride back to our house via tuk-tuk found Zenia and I huddled inside, eyes closed, trying to withstand the constant buffeting of sand against our faces. By the time we returned home, we were covered in a layer of sand and dirt everywhere, even in our eyes. Who ever heard of a sandstorm during monsoon season? SE Asia has surprised me again.

Now, I hate to have to tell you this again, but I have been sick. I woke up yesterday morning with a stomach thing and stayed in bed all day to recover (except for my excursion out at night where I was in a bit of pain – probably not the best of ideas). Therefore, I am once again a bit behind on my blog. I will be working on it all morning though, so check in before bed time tonight ‘cause I will try to get it posted before then!