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Published: February 11th 2009
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Monkey business
In Luang Prabang, Laos It's been a busy two weeks for us as we have travelled through both beautiful Laos and now (almost) Vietnam by plane, train, bus and automobile.
We flew intp Luang Prabang, Laos, a UNESCO World Heritage site with the tourists to prove it. We had expected a sleepy backwater but were presented with a street lined with patisseries, up-market restaurants and numerous coffee houses. Initially disappointed, we quickly saw the charm of the place after taking part in the alms-giving ceremony for the monks, which takes place every morning at 6.30am. We woke up very early to meet Lee, the lovely girl from our hostel, who had cooked sticky rice for us both to pop into the trainee monks' baskets as they passed by - at speed. It was hard to keep up with demand! Lovely to take part in such a tradition which is very much part of daily life. We then hopped on a slow boat to take us upstream to a village called Nong Khiaw. 8 hours later (spent sitting on a wooden bench) we were there and treated ourselves to the best accomodation in town at Riverview Hotel - well worth the $35 for a 'boutique
hotel' experience in stunning scenery. We met an American girl teaching in Hanoi who warned us of the hectic pace and chaos to come in Vietnam. Very useful! After two days exploring, we caught the bumpiest local bus ever back to Luang Prabang to recharge our batteries for a few days and enjoy the favourite pastime of the Laos people - doing nothing!
We flew to Vietnam via Vientiane, the capital of Laos, stopping just for lunch in the city. We arrived at our hotel in central Hanoi in a blackout, which was very exciting. We walked around the lake in the Old Quarter and had a quick meal before returning to inspect the premises! Hanoi is stuffed full of bikes and motorbikes - it is great fun, particularly the first couple of times you cross the road and the traffic swerves all around you. The city is the ugliest either of us has ever seen, however; who is in charge of the architecture adn city planning?! We booked trips to Halong Bay and Tam Coc. Halong Bay is probably the highlight of Vietnam so far. We were prepared for a noisy, overcrowded exodus of junks from Halong City
harbour, but the trip, and overnight stay on the boat in amoungst the karst cliffs, was fanastic - and tranquil. Tam Coc - a day trip where we biked through the rice fields and rowed through beautiful scenery was worth doing, but busy!
We flew to Hue, the old capital of Vietnam, a city we both liked. We chatted to other travellers, shared experiences, and felt a bit better about caring less for Vietnam that other places we have visited so far. Commercialism is rife here and it is hard to shake off the feeling you are being ripped off all the time - maybe because you are! Although we know that tourists are always overcharged, maybe rightly so as the minimum wage for the Vietnamese is one of the lowest in the world, it does not make it easy to feel comfortable, much less love the place. We deduced the way to enjoy the country is probably under your own steam on a motorbike, or an escorted tour where a guide ensures you are not prodded onto buses or shoved into shops!
Anyway, things picked up after this with a visit to the old Citadel at Hue
Tending the rice
At Tam Coc, Vietnam and then the train to Hoi An, a quaint town with a Luang Prabang-like range of fancy coffee shops. We visited a place called Marble Mountain where huge psychadelic buddha images are carved in vast caves - very trippy!
This morning, we took the decision to fly (sorry for the huge carbon footprint but flights are so cheap here - $30!) to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, missing out Dalat and other stops on our original schedule in order to get to Cambodia more quickly and then also spend more time in Thailand. We will have spent 2 weeks in Vietnam so have a flavour of the place - it is more of an acquired taste than anywhere else we have been so far!
Next update to follow from Cambodia, home of the temples of Angkor - we are looking forward to that.
Hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather at home - thinking of you all and HAPPY WEDDING DAY HARRIET AND DAVID! x
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