Residents of Vientiane jonesing for a Frapuccino, Big Mac or KFC hot wings just have to get over it … or get over the border. All those things can be found in Thailand, just a few short miles away. Until last week, Laos was fast-food franchise-free, and many of us liked it that way. You can get the best coffee of your life on almost any street corner for less than $1, and while several restaurants have mastered slobber-inducing burgers and other tasty Western fare, that’s not what attracted us to Southeast Asia.

Last week, however, Vientiane’s first international fast-food restaurants opened their doors: Swensen’s ice cream parlor and The Pizza Company. The Lao-Thai venture cost $500,000. The two shops occupy one building in the shadow of the National Culture Hall with a parking attendant and first-class service.

Here’s my favorite quote from the Vientiane Times article about the franchise opening:

The manager said that she had confidence that her fast food service would be attractive to many Lao people, especially the middle- and high-income ones.

Considering Laos’ per capita income is around $800 a year, I’m guessing she’s on to something.

We checked it out on opening day, but frightened away by the prices, we walked a few blocks further and ordered pizza at the independently owned Swedish Baking House. (My attempt to boycott the cookie-cutter chain wasn’t entirely successful: Tony got a double scoop of cookies-n-cream in a waffle cone.)

We wandered over to that neck of the woods again today. The waitresses really freak out when you try to order at the counter. They prefer that you sit at a table and peruse the menu before ordering your ice cream, even if it’s just a cone to go.

I barely had enough time to snap this photo; my ice cream was melting all over Tony’s hand. Today’s high was 99F/37C. No wonder all the upper-class fast-food junkies enjoy their treats inside.