Luang Prabang

Vietnam Airlines is the only airline allowed to fly domestically within Vietnam (those communists certainly know a thing about monopolies). We didn't have any trouble flying them until our last leg of the trip when we were trying to leave Hanoi for Laos. The flight got cancelled unfortunately and we were forced to stay an extra day in Hanoi. There is only one flight to Luang Prabang from Hanoi each day on a Vietnam Airlines/Lao Airlines codeshare flight so we had no other options. In exchange for signing away all of our rights, we were given $25, a night in a sketchy hotel that wanted to hold our passports (we refused and were given some really terrible rooms) and bad food. We even ended up adopting a Korean woman who spoke no Vietnamese or English, trying to make sure she got to Laos where her husband is working to build a new University. We took her to a local bar that night where some of us (and some other Westerners) tried the local draft beer. Definitely not part of the original itinerary.

The next day, our flight to Luang Prabang was delayed by several hours. We were afraid we would never make it here. Luang Prabang is a small idyllic town that is extremely charming. It is the royal city of Laos (where the monarchs used to live). Having only recently opened up to tourism, it feels much more genuine and unspoiled than both Cambodia and Vietnam. There are wats all over the town and monks wearing colorful orange and yellow garments walking around. Women ride motobikes carrying parasols. The people are extremely friendly and no one is aggressive when trying to sell you something. It is a welcomed change. Our first meal in Laos was a Laotian-style BBQ where we got to cook our own food in a broth. It was fun and delicious. We survived a sudden storm that knocked out power in the village twice. We made good use of the dorky head lights that a couple of people brought with them on the trip.

The next day, we woke up to the sound of roosters crowing at the crack of dawn. We decided to ride mountain bikes up a country road through the hills to visit some Laotian villages and take in the scenery. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in 7 years. It was a bumpy and muddy ride and I am very sore today, but I survived the experience. Ran into someone else's bike once but no falls, just a couple of scratches. We ate lunch at Tad Se waterfall and swam for a bit there before climbing into kayaks to paddle back to town. There were some rapids but the water levels are very low since rainy season here starts in August. It took over 3 hours of pretty rigorous paddling. I got a massage both yesterday and today (it costs only $3-4 per hour which is awesome) afterwards.

We walked around Luang Prabang today and climbed up Mount Phou Si to visit a wat at the top of the hill. The view from the hilltop was breathtaking. You can see the entire village - even the tiny airport that has only one gate (a man sitting at a desk with a sign that says show your passport please). We walked around the market and picked up souvenirs and ate lunch at a cute restaurant right along the river. It has been extremely relaxing - the pace of life is just much slower here. Things close early (we got kicked out of the bar at 11:30 last night) and people get up very early. We tried to crash a Laotian wedding (apparently it's something they welcome!), but it ended by the time we got there. We meant to get up to watch the procession of monks - a daily ceremony that takes place at 6am, but none of us managed to pull ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn. It's something that the entire village takes a part in and villagers offer food as alms to the monks.

The original plan was to fly to Chiang Mai this afternoon, but we were unable to get plane tickets. So we are taking an unexpected detour to Vang Vieng where we plan to go tubing down the river, and then head down to Vientiane, the capital, where we will catch a flight to Bangkok.