Goodbye Laos, Hello Vietnam

Walked to Morning Market which is permanent and goes on all day. Never thought I would say this but I think I am over markets for the time being. It is rare to see anything different but at least here you are not hassled to buy. Walking through the food market, we found the Wetlands marked on the map. What a disappointment. I had imagined little sitting terraces where we could have a fruit smoothie but instead there was a car park and a large amount of rubbish. It seemed a pity to have such an underused resource in a busy city but further along there did appear to be building work going on to perhaps the local Council will get its act together.

In the afternoon I went out visiting the Lao Ethnic shops of which there are quite a lot. They have some beautiful things and the one across the road from the hotel had me salivating but the prices were really high so I just settled for a glasses case to replace mine that was broken and sadly put back all the lovely scarves and wall hangings.

I then went to check out Makphet which is restaurant that was opened to help educate street kids, similar to Jimmy's in Hanoi. It was again more expensive than the norm but had a wonderful sounding menu and the iced coffee was a cut above the rest.

Makphet Restaurant






Evening drinks were in Colin and Wendy's room and after a group of us went back to Makphet to discover that it was fully booked and not possible to get in without a reservation. So one was duly made for the following night. Obviously the 1# rating on Trip Advisor was justified. Some of the group went into the Horse and Hound pub but I went back to a little Lao place and had fresh spring rolls which cost the princely sum of £1 and were delicious.

The following morning I headed out on my own to explore again. Walking along the front, I came to the Presidential Palace which was more or less hidden behind high walls and then on to the Don Chan Palace which sounded exotic but was a hotel!

Presidential Palace glimpsed over high walls

Cutting through the back streets I came to the Nang Chan Wetlands again but a larger lake this time. There was meant to be a Joma Cafe and a waterpark with slides but it seemed to be a work in progress as nothing was happening except some men shifting bags of concrete.

Another visit to the Morning Market, a cooling coffee shake and a long walk took me to Patu Yap which was modelled on L'Arc de Triomphe but rather less graceful.

Patu Xap

Funny sign - what can it mean?

Then another long walk past various embassies and I was at That Luang, an enormous temple complex with a newly built reclining Giant Buddha. The Buddha was ok but what made it for me was some kids scrambling all over it giving me lovely photo opportunities.

That Luang

That Luang

Statue with clothing - must find out why.

That Luang

Unusual statue

Children climbing on the new concrete Buddha

I may sound like I am rather disallusioned with Laos which is not true but I do not feel we have seen the best of the country and have spent too long in Vientiane which when I got back to the hotel I discovered was going to be even longer due to floods blocking the road to the National Park where we were meant to spend two nights. I would love to come back to this country but would head for the country and the smaller places and would give Vientiane a big miss.

The evening was a definite highlight though as Mandy, Steve and I went to Makphet Restaurant and had for me at least the best meal of the trip. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I have a great interest in food - both cooking and eating so I was very interested to see if the food would live up to the glowing reports on Trip Advisor and do justice to the menu which was innovative and quite different from anything else I have seen here. We started with an aubergine dip (what a surprise) and a pork with herb dip. The aubergine was smoky with a good hint of chilli. The pork was even spicier and very good. We then followed with a beef marinated in Lao whisky with hibiscus flowers, a chicken with lemon grass and a Lao sausage with tomato dip. All were wonderful and very different. Although by now deserts were not needed, we could not resist the temptation and had a mango cake with coconut icecream, a hibiscus sorbet and a crisp ball of something with hibiscus sauce and all this was accompanied by an excellent bottle of South African red. It was a magnificent meal and one I will long remember.

Outside Makphet Restaurant

Waitresses at Makphet Restaurant

It was Aiofe's birthday so we headed off to a bar to celebrate but I was so full of food and red wine that it was a short night for me.

So our bonus days in Vientiane began. After another drool in the shop opposite where I picked everything up and hoped it had reduced in price since yesterday, I ended up buying a card - last of the big spenders! Another walk round town, another smoothie and the purchase of a pair of underpants and it was back to the hotel to play around on the computer, writing diary, labelling photos and wondering what to do until tomorrow afternoon when we take the bus to the border. Wendy and Colin were going out to the giant Buddha park but I have seen enough Buddhas for now and we still have Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia to go through so I don't think we are done with them.

That Dam

Silk for weaving

Weaving

Wat Chan

The following day went for another wander, moved out of room and had an excellent massage. Hung around some more at the hotel and at 5.30 tuk tuks arrived to take us to bus station. I was on the front tuk tuk and by the time 14 of us plus all our luggage were on board it was pretty squashed but nothing like the 2nd one that stopped at another hotel so had in total 24 on board. They were stopped twice by the police and it was not a good start to our overnight journey.

The crowded tuk tuk

Bus station was a horrible, filthy muddy place and made me realise again just how good the Turkish bus system is. The bus was a sleeper bus which meant that you fitted yourself into this rather small capsule and tried to sleep. I was lucky that I had one all to myself, whereas Zoe, Susan and Ben were in “the cave” which was not only cramped but next to the toilet so smelly as well. I think of all the journeys I have done in my time that this was one of the worst. We spent four hours in the middle of the night stopped with no air conditioning. I was lucky as I slept through most of it but some people barely got a wink.

Only one way the survive the bus from hell - wine in a water bottle

Clare looking happy on bus from hell

Jim looking comfortable on bus from hell

Ben looking manic on bus from hell

Susan and Zoe looking happy  in the cave on the bus from hell

The next day things did not improve as the border crossing was also one of the worst we’d experienced. Getting out of Laos was chaotic but was eventually achieved and we then had to walk to the Vietnamese border.

Walking from Laos to Vietnam

There all our bags had to be offloaded and put through X-ray which was a complete waste of time as you could have walked round the X-ray machine and no-one would have been the wiser. It was then back on to the bus from for another couple of hours to Vihn.

If anyone is planning a holiday to Vietnam you should go. It is a wonderful vibrant country but just make sure that Vihn is not on the itinerary. Having arrived at our comfortable hotel, we headed out to find food. After walking for two hours, Lucy had nearly been run over by a motorbike, Mandy had had an obscene gesture made to her, Melissa had been stroked by some passing man and we never found any food. So back to the hotel for the worst meal of the trip. Actually my food was ok because I had a feeling that nothing on the menu would be that good so plumped for soup and friend rice which was fine but the other had chosen chicken which was bony, fatty and chewy. The chips were cold and all in all nothing was going right!

The private bus that was taking us to Hanoi was ok apart from the fact that the driver had a bit of a death wish and all the men had to sit sideways as there was not enough leg room. And he did not appear to know where he was going or did not have the right paperwork to get us into Hanoi as we doubled back on ourselves and the journey probably took two hours longer than it should so we were more than relieved to arrive at our hostel in Hanoi.


That is until we saw our 12 bed dorm. The hostel was actually extremely comfortable and well run but 12 in a room is a bit much especially as some like partying till the wee hours and some like an early start to the day.
I was one of the early starters the following day as I walked down to the wholesale market to see the action. And there certainly was action – Hanoi at 6.00 a.m. is all go and I was able to capture a little bit of it on camera.

Early morning chaos at the market

And so early in the morning

Rambutan or orangutans as Melissa calls them

On the street

I then walked to Hoan Kiem Lake which was lovely in the early morning light. People were exercising and there was a film crew setting up on the island so I was lucky to be there before all that happened.

Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake

Early morning dancing in the park

Girls preparing for the day

Man doing early morning exercises

View over lake

Temple on island

Later I started the walking tour of Hanoi as recommended In Lonely Planet but half way through I was so hot that I took a cyclo out to the Temple of Literature and went to KOTO for lunch.

Scary view from a cyclo

 



Offering at the Temple of Literature

Dolls at Temple of Literature

I had been there seven years previously for breakfast and was interested to see if it was as good as it had been. It was set up as a training centre for street kids by a Australian Vietnamese called Jimmy and has been a great success. It was just as good and I had a lovely meal in civilised surroundings and at a very reasonable price. My Banana Flower salad with pork, prawns and local fresh herbs served on a crispy tofu skin was not only pretty to look at but delicious to eat. The lady next to me had this wonderful looking desert so I decided to indulge too and the crème brulee with tropical fruit tasted as good as it looked.

Delicious salad

Creme brulee with tropical fruit

The walk back to the hotel took ages mostly because I ended up going the wrong way and probably walked twice as far as I needed to so the free beer on the 5th floor was extremely welcome.

Statue of Lenin

Riding and washing elephants

A long bumpy drive took us to Nong Khiaw and the Sunrise Bungalows. The scenery continued to be wonderful - everything was so lush and green and when I saw the rains, it was hardly surprising. I wanted to sleep but the pot holes prevented me until later in the day when I adopted Aiofe's position and had a good hour.
We stopped for our picnic lunch in a little hamlet with a pig snuffling round. A dog kept chasing the little pig off any titbit we threw to it.

We reached the Sunrise Bungalows at about 3.30 and had usual shuffling of rooms. Melissa and I managed to get our double changed for a twin but Ben and Steve had to share a bed. Rooms were basic, very basic with squat toilets that did not flush and Wendy and Colin's room did not even have a wash basin but they had a comfy mattress. Ours were like stone. Can't win 'em all! The rattan walls and wooden floors were full of gaps but there were mosquito nets.

Family at picnic stop

Rain from balcony of our bedroom

Stormy sky from balcony of restaurant

There was a heavy tropical storm as we arrived and everywhere was very muddy.  Our little huts had balconies overlooking the Nam Ou River which was a rusty brown colour. The people in the bungalows were very friendly but I hope this is not the standard of accommodation from now on. It is a long way off the 5-star that CJ was promising.

The following morning a group of us walked up to the caves which meant crossing a fast flowing river. Knowing how good my balance is and the fact that I was carrying my camera, I decided to stay behind and photograph the butterflies and children swimming in the river. The group who went across came back underwhelmed by the caves so I was not sorry that I hadn't gone. I visited the little temple on my way back but as there was a monk resting inside in his saffron robes so I just peeped through the doorway.

Health and safety issues - note the flipflops, beret and rain!

View on walk down valley

Butterfly on the river bank

Little boys playing in the river

Some of our group crossing the river

A very pleasant afternoon was spent in our favourite cafe drinking mango smoothies and finishing my six week blog marathon. I was just about to publish the final week and there was a power cut - rats! More tropical rain poured down and eventually power was restored and blog published. Delicious dinner of red pork curry followed by bed in the hut with rain beating on the tin roof. At one stage Melissa got up to close the door which had blown open and I asked her if we were floating down the river.

Our hut

Went across road for local breakfast of noodles with pork served with a piece of lime and chilli, two cups of strong lao coffee laced with condensed milk (absolutely delicious), a plate of fruit and fresh lemon juice. Our transport to Luang Prabang was thin boats along the river. The oldies got the boat with comfortable seats and the youngsters had the hard seats but did have lifejackets. The boats set off down the Nam Ou River and it was very restful looking at the beautiful scenery.  The river bank was thickly forested with the most enormous tree ferns. Children were playing in the river and boats were travelling up and down carrying passenger and presumably goods. At one stage a boat tried to overtake us which our driver did not like and he let out the throttle and we fair zoomed along. I don’t think his wife was happy though as she went up and spoke to him and he then slowed down.

The boatman's wife and child sleeping

Cliffs along the river

The meeting of the Mekong and the Nam Ou Rivers

We stopped at near the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Ou River where we paid 20,000 kip to climb some steep stairs to see some rather ordinary dusty buddhas in a deep cave. I would have rather spent the 20,000 kip on three banana smoothies! Not long after we arrived in Luang Prabang which had a real holiday atmosphere and was a complete change of pace to our two previous places in Laos.

Buddhas inside the caves

A view of the Mekong

As we started walking to our hotel, a torrential downpour started. Wendy and I got left behind putting on our raincoats and putting up our umbrellas. It seems liked the hotel was really out in the “burbs” but later having got out of our wet clothes and having had a shower we walked into the centre which was very close and in fact we were near the most incredible night market.

As Melissa and I were walking down the main street we were hailed by Denis and Steve who surprise surprise were sitting on the balcony of a bar. Stopped and joined them for a beer and ended up going with a few of them for an Indian meal which was ok but no more Indian for me till I reach Australia now.

Today was the day for exploring the town. The previous evening I was not too impressed with Luang Prabang as there were so many tourists. As a group we have been used to being the only foreigners in town and I did not like the mass of western faces and voices, but during the day they were either all sleeping or out on day trips and it was much quieter. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has a large number of magnificent wats. Everywhere there are saffron garmented monks carrying umbrellas and there was a really laid back, chilled atmosphere about the place.

Garden at Phousi Hill

Garden at Phousi Hill

With a friend outside a temple

Lovely Buddha

We started by walking up the steps to Phousi Hill but did not pay the entrance fee so never got to the top. There are so many free temples to visit that I’ve decided to no longer pay for such things. Continuing along the main road, we went into the Elephant Village booking office and organised to spend the day with elephants tomorrow.

There were lots of little side streets off the main road which housed more temples, art galleries, paper making workshops and a monk’s training school where the monks were learning various arts and craft. We stopped for a croque monsieur which was more of a cheese on toast but delicious with a little salad and a fresh lime juice and continued along until we reached the Mekong. Walking back along the river we met various members of the group also out wandering.

In gardens of a temple

Another lovely temple

The monks and their umbrellas

Roof detail of a temple

Yet another temple

Our aim was to have a massage and a very good one I had too complete with foot scrub for the princely sum of £6. Melissa’s massage wasn’t so good as her masseuse who looked about 12 kept falling asleep and my lady kept pinching her on her toes to wake her up!

After the massage, I was rejuvenated so took my bag to the Post Office and sent 6 kg of stuff back to Australia. I now have room in my bag to buy more!

After a delicious cheap vegetarian meal in the night market we walked down to a bar on the river where Susan and Zoe were having engagement drinks. It was a lovely place run by a Canadian and we even drank Australian champagne. After toasting them a long and happy life together, went back to hotel to prepare for big day ahead.

What a great day! The Elephant Village truck picked us up at 9.00 and we drove for about 50 minutes to the Village where we were given a talk about the conservation efforts and the elephants there. We were then taken in a long skinny boat to the elephants where we mounted Mae Boun Nam who is blind in both eyes but can find her way around with her trunk and the instructions of her mahmout, Det. We went for an hour through the jungle. At one point Det got off to take photos of us. Fortunately at this stage we did not know that Mau Boun Nam was blind. Our lovely elephant was 51 years old and had been working as a logging elephant. The Elephant Village tries to rescue logging elephants and give them a better life.  One of the elephants had part of her foot missing from when she trod on an unexploded bomb left over from the Silent War.  During the Vietnamese War, the American dropped 20 million bombs on Laos and of course some have not  been found yet.

Riding through the jungle

Giving Mae Boun Nam a banana

Back at the main area of the camp we learnt the basic instructions of controlling an elephant and then each got a chance to try. Getting up was difficult but with a little help I managed. Mae Uak was the elephant we were practicing on and she had travelled 1000 km to come to the camp. She was very gentle and long suffering and fortunately knew the route she had to follow as I don't think she thought much of my commands.

Riding Mae Uak

Giving Mae Uak a cuddle

After an excellent lunch there was time to relax and swim in the pool. In the afternoon we went back by boat on the Nam Khan River to bath the elphants. I was a bit nervous so did not get on my elephant until it was in the water which was a little tricky but due to the good will of the handler I managed to haul myself aboard and my elephant had a fine time spraying me with water. It was a magical experience sitting on the back of the elephant and scrubbing it with a scrubbing brush.

On way to wash elephants

Giving my elephant a scrub

Later we went by boat to a waterfall for another rather chilly swim and then it was back to the hotel for a quick shower and dinner in the night market.

Slightly man made waterfall!

The following morning was an early start as some of us got up at 5.30 to go and give alms to the monks. Every morning they parade through the streets and people given them food which has to last them the day.

The morning parade of the monks

We reached Vang Vieng at about 2.30 and the group going tubing headed off quickly to have fun. I had had enough excitement yesterday so opted to walk down the street, find a comfortable café and read my book. In the event, I ended up watching re-runs of “Friends” which was on the TV and listening to the rain continually beating down. Our cabin was lovely and cozy with crisp white sheets and comfortable bed so it was no hardship to go back there early, download and name photos of the previous day and have an early night. The tubers returned at 8.00 sounding extremely merry. They had had a good time and only a few injuries – broken toe, cut foot, scraped leg. It sounded fun but I am glad I had my relaxing day.

On road to Vang Vieng

A temple in Vang Vieng

Temple in Vang Vieng

Vientiane, the capital of Laos, was our next destination and we arrived after lunch. It was extremely hot and humid so after a short walk down the street, we got a fruit shake. I dread to think how many calories these shakes have but they are delicious! At first viewing Vientiane did not seem very exciting but a lot of the shops were closed as it was a Sunday. We ended up down near the river where Laotian families were promenading. There is a huge flood barrier so you felt really cut off from the river itself but I am sure is a god-send in times of flood. The internet access was very weak so sat in corridor and Skyped Dad to the amusement of the man in the room opposite! Later went down the street to have a Laotian meal of fried pork with basil and sticky rice. The food is very similar to Thai and very good although I don’t think I am a great fan of sticky rice.

Our two weeks in Laos have absolutely flown by and the whole trip now is going far too fast.  Have just heard that we are spending another day in Vientiane as we are unable to go to the National Park as planned due to flooding.