Bienvenue au Laos

    The atmosphere in Luang Prabang was relaxed, laid back, and very 'chill,' which was a nice feeling to have after our 3 day adventure down the Mekong River. Laos was the first new country I had been to since I originally arrived in Indonesia, which was almost 3 months ago! That meant adjusting to a new countries people, customs, cultures, etc. all over again. Having come from Thailand, Northern Thailand to be exact, where I had really grown to love the graciousness and kindness of the people there, arriving in Laos took some getting used to. Firstly, they drive on the right side of the road! I haven't been around that since leaving Canada at the beginning of March. It took biking on the wrong side of the road and looking both ways in the opposite order, a few times, before getting the hang of it. Maybe that experience will help my adjustment when I arrive back in North America so I'm not such a hazard on the road. Apart from the driving thing, Jenny and I both found the people in Laos not as friendly or welcoming as what we had experienced in Thailand. In general, they were not as open to helping us when we were lost or had questions, and the heckling was very persistent. That being said, as has been the way in all places I've visited, there were some wonderful people as well. Including, an old friend from high school who now lives in Laos with her Laos boyfriend! It was great seeing the two of them and spending a few days catching up. They were full of tips and ideas of where Jenny and I should visit, what places we should see and where we should eat.

Kuang Si Falls

Pak Ou Caves

    We spent a nice long five days in Luang Prabang renting bikes, touring ourselves around the beautiful French-inspired city, stopping in at French bakeries for lunch, visiting temples, strolling through the night market, taking
walks along the Mekong River, treating ourselves to a massage, jumping through natural pools and waterfalls at Kuang Si Falls and being awestruck at the sight of the Pak Ou Caves and the hundreds of Buddha statues that live inside. The architecture in LP was fascinating to see. Old colonial buildings lined the streets and had either been turned into spas, restaurants, galleries, guesthouses or unfortunately left to be haunted.

    Jenny and I woke up extra early on our last day in Luang Prabang for the daily ritual of tak bat - alms giving ceremony. Every morning, before sunrise, monks walk single file through the town and collect alms from locals and Buddhists, who position themselves along the roads, ready to hand out rice, crackers, cookies, or anything they choose to give. We had read and heard about this ritual and talked to Jenny L (friend from high school) and her boyfriend about it, in order to receive more information on what the ceremony actually means, and how to properly take part in it. Feeling slightly tentative about going, as I had read a number of reviews about how tourists have tainted the morning ritual, Jen and I set off, ready with our rice and found a spot on the sidewalk. Jenny L had described her reasoning behind taking part in the ritual, without actually practicing the religion, in a way that I liked. You are there to give and present the monks with good karma, and they in return bestow good karma back onto you. With this in mind, I found taking part in the ceremony very peaceful and soothing, though the reviews about tourists were correct. It was as though the monks were on display for some sort of show. Vans and taxis rolled onto the streets emptying out loads of people, all ready with their cameras, and most of which were not dressed appropriately to be there. Some were standing back and being more respectful, where as others were getting right up in the faces of the monks, getting in the way of the procession and frankly being quite oblivious to what was actually going on. Seeing this left me with mixed feelings after the ceremony. Feeling as though even by taking part, and going to the ceremony with a purpose, and understanding the ritual, was it really the right thing to do.

St. Joseph Cathedral

Hanoi Prison

    A very late flight on our last day in Luang Prabang had Jenny and I arriving in the capital of Vietnam - Hanoi. Wow! Was it ever a crazy city and a shock to the system. Even more so than Bangkok, in my opinion. We were welcomed into the city with the sound of honking that I would almost put on the same level as Sri Lanka and a lack of road rules that I haven't seen since Sri Lanka either. Where we were staying was a friendly and new hotel in the heart of the Old City and thankfully built with sound-proof windows and walls. We had one full day to explore Hanoi before heading off to Halong Bay, so we set off bright and early, with a purpose. Covering a lot of ground, we managed to visit a Chinese Temple on the water, the St. Joseph Cathedral, the Opera House, the Hanoi Prison Museum, a number of shops, and the water puppet show at night. Hanoi felt very Parisian - with roundabouts, streets and buildings all reflecting what one might see in France. I was captivated by the architecture once again, although trying to look up at the buildings rising 6 stories into the sky, was a mistake as you'd likely get hit by a car or a motor bike in return for being curious. Every now and then I would stop (in a safe place) to look up at the narrow yet tall buildings, all stuck together with beautiful, smooth, cream-colored exteriors with rounded bay windows, and Juliette balconies or colorful, textured exteriors with plants and clothes overflowing balconies.

    Being in Vietnam only 24 hours, quickly proved it would be the first country where being a vegetarian was going to be hard and complicated. Every item on a menu included meat and when posing the question, 'May I have that with no pork?' they would respond, 'Okay, chicken instead.' Jenny and I have both managed though and are far from starving ourselves! From Hanoi, we were scooped up and taken to Halong Bay where we had prearranged a night out in the bay, sleeping on a boat. After a slight mix up on my part, booking the wrong day for the boat, all was sorted and we were boarding the Golden Lotus and setting sail for the 2000 islands that makeup Halong Bay. Our 24 hours on the boat was packed with visits to beaches, exploring amazing caves, making spring rolls on board, squid fishing at night and kayaking after breakfast, all the while being surrounded by limestone islands growing from the water and beautiful views that went for miles. Our sleep in our little cabin by the engine room was far from restful, but luckily we had our 4 hour bus ride back to Hanoi to catch up on some sleep before jumping on another night flight hop down to Danang, Vietnam.

Danang with a view

    Our visit to Danang was a last minute decision as we hadn't heard much exciting reviews of the city, but were we ever glad we made the 2-day stop. Danang is really only known for it's white-sand beaches but judging by the look of development throughout the city, my guess is it's going to be quite the resort haven in the next 10-20 years. Perfectly paved roads, beautifully landscaped boulevards, palm tree-lined boardwalks - all very Miami - just lacking the buildings and resorts to support it. While lying on the beach, soaking up the rays, and seeing a sign for Parasailing, Jenny decided she wanted to try parasailing for the first time! (I offered to sit in the boat as I had done it before, and well, heights aren't really my thing). Through some very broken English conversations with a woman on the beach, we were all of a sudden being ushered towards a man on a seadoo who had come out of nowhere and was waiting in the water just beyond the break. As it was all happening so fast, we still had all of our stuff with us - clothes, towels, 2 cameras and 2 cell phones. Ideal water accessories if you ask me! Not wanting to leave it behind, and instead deciding to trust the stranger on the seadoo to keep our things dry, Jenny and I piled onto the back of the seadoo and moments later were crashing through the waves.....getting soaked. The seadoo ride turned out to be completely pointless as it was only to take us about 500m up the beach to where the parasail was waiting. We jumped off and back onto land, checked all of our stuff was still fine and dry (yes) and then split up. I was being taken back on the seadoo, out to the boat that was anchored some meters out in the sea, and Jenny was being strapped into her harness to prepare for her 'from land' start. We left our bag on the beach with the company and all I took with me was my (waterproof) camera, and Jenny's phone, wrapped up tightly in a towel. Crashing through the waves once again, I managed to arrive at the boat in one piece, dry, sighing a breath of relief that all the stress was over. The man on the seadoo then grabbed the line from the boat and motored back to shore to hook Jenny up. Oh, did I mention, none of the people we were working with spoke English, so everything was being communicated through with hand gestures.

    Sitting on the boat with the driver, bobbing up and down in the choppy water, letting myself relax again, looking out into the distance at the shore to see Jenny getting ready, I all of a sudden turned to face the front of the boat to see a sizable wave forming in front of us, ready to crash right over the boat. Yelling 'LOOK' at the driver who was focused on what was happening on shore, came out of my speechless mouth too late, as the 6-foot wave crash right on top of us. His reaction? Laughter. Mine? Pure horror as I, plus Jenny's towel-wrapped phone were now soaked...and I lost my sunglasses off my head. One big wave, usually means another, which in this case was true and we were unable to get out of the situation before another wave crashed over top of us, filling the boat with more water, terrifying me further and this time completely breaking the glass of the windshield on the boat. Still, the driver didn't seem to mind and we were suddenly going full speed ahead as I looked back to see Jenny motoring her little legs on the sand before making lift off into the sky and slowly rising tens of feet up into the air. I unwrapped the towel parcel to find the phone was still dry and snapped away as she enjoyed the view from the air.

    We are now in Hoi An which is about 25 minutes south of Danang, and absolutely loving it. The city is filled with history, old buildings, museums, assembly halls, cluttered canals, Tailors, restaurants, hotels, and lanterns galore. After 5 days here, settling in and being able to unpack a bit, we will be off to Ho Chi Minh City!

XOXO Nicky