Hanoi to Luang Prabang, Laos

After our Halong Bay cruise, there was a bit of confusion about where we were staying next. Hanoi Elite had originally said they were booked so they booked us into another Elite hotel. Unbeknown to us, a room became available so they let our tour guide know but he didn’t communicate it to us. When our driver tried to drop us off at Hanoi Elite, we insisted we were at Hanoi Elegance and not having the ability to communicate to us in English, he drove us there. We were actually looking forward to staying at the Elegance because they had a tub and we needed a hot bath after being so cold!

We entered the lobby and were greeted by the reception and the news of what had happened. It was all good, since we liked the Elite anyways – the ladies were so apologetic, serving us some ginger tea while we waited for the taxi. The bellboy went with us and paid for the cab and then we listened to the Elite staff apologize. They are all so nice.

First thing we did was have a very hot shower and then I think we had some dinner. Food here in Hanoi has been quite good – we ate a small restaurant for Bun Ca, which was yummy We sat in tiny chairs at the edge of a largish table shared by others. We were served caramelized pork, a bowl of broth, a plate of vermicelli noodles and a large plate of greens (lettuce and herbs). On the table there were additional condiments that you could add to your food (garlic, chiles, soy, etc.). We watched others eat to see how it was done, but everyone had their own style.

Here’s me enjoying my Bun Ca –

Later that week, we had a huge bowl of chicken vegetable soup for 2 dollars and of course, Pho Ga at Pho 24 for a couple bucks. The Vietnamese food was always better than the Western, hands down. We never did get a meal from one of the many women on the street with their kitchen on a bamboo stick.

You have to be careful of these ladies. They’ll offer you something, you politely decline, and then before you know they’re putting their stick on your shoulder for a photo. This costs you money. One of our fellow Halong Bay passengers had 200, 000 dong ($10 US) taken out of her wallet by one of these ladies, so you had to be firm when saying NO.

Our last few days in Hanoi were fairly lazy. We visited the Temple of Literature which I had assumed was going to be buildings full of books (I forgot my mantra of never assume anything). The temple was a Confucian sanctuary with 5 inner courtyards and 82 stone Stelae mounted on tortoises with the results of state examinations held from 1442 to 1779 (Roughguide) recorded for all to read:

It isn’t a huge place and there isn’t a lot to see but for an hour, it’s a pleasant visit and not very expensive.

 The Museum of Vietnamese Revolution was next. Room after room of photographs cataloguing the people’s revolutionary struggle against the Chinese, French, and Americans are spread over two floors. It took a few hours to get through.

Other than that, our days were spent walking around the city, researching the next leg of our journey and reading. I tore through several books including a great find called The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Winner of the Pulitizer Prize) and Ian read Jonathan Watts nonfiction When a Billion Chinese Jump, also a super read.

I booked our flight for Laos online as well as accommodation at Villa Pumalin in Luang Prabang. I had to pay through a third party billing service for the flights and hotel (same service) but I never received a hotel confirmation. I emailed the hotel and got a lovely email telling me they didn’t have any standard rooms left and I’d have to pay at the hotel. I emailed back to tell them that I already booked and paid for a standard through their website. They emailed me back saying exactly the same thing. I replied with a simple English version of the same thing. They emailed me back, same message. I was aghast. Did this mean I lost 275 US dollars??

I did the only thing left and emailed the billing company and asked them to reimburse me the amount. Surprise surprise! They said they would reimburse me and I’d see it in 2 weeks – let’s hope so.

We left Hanoi, with its temperatures of 18 degrees and headed to Luang Prabang with their temperatures of 37 degrees! We landed in the evening, the only plane sitting beside the tiniest of airports. The door opened and we stepped outside and I was shocked how cool it was. This is typical of the area, cool in the morning, hot in the afternoon and cool again in the night. Perfect.

We lined up for our visa on entry and I wished I had done it in advance, it was slow. All the prices for the visas were listed and can you believe Canada was THE most expensive one!!! Almost all countries paid 30 dollars (including the US) and Canadians had to pay 42 dollars! Wonder what we did to Laos to deserve that?!

I had arranged a taxi with Pumalin and the driver was there waiting for us. It was a short drive to our lodgings so we couldn’t see much of the town. Our guesthouse however was gorgeous with the lights and wooden shutters.

In the morning, we took in the enormous wooden columns and Ian was so impressed with the craftsmanship of the place.

Our room was on the first floor and quite spacious – we had to go with a deluxe because that was all that was left. There were two beds (hard as rocks), a huge shower with two heads, a separate bathtub, and toilet in another room. We had all the modern conveniences for 70 dollars.

The next morning we took breakfast in the open courtyard and walked down our brick lane to take in the river.

Luanag Prabang is located in the centre of the northern part of Laos in a slim valley. It has been a World Heritage site since 1995 with French – Indochinese architecture and temples everywhere. Our guesthouse was located in the old city, a tongue of land with the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers at its tip.

Our first order of business was getting the lay of the land and this time, I joined Ian in doing so. It was easy to walk with nice sidewalks, no dodging the traffic and the best thing of all, no honking horns – this is frowned upon. We went up to the main street and turned left. The streets were so lovely with their temples, colonial buildings, and open air restaurants.

 On our walk we saw temple after temple –

 And monk after monk -

There were plenty of restaurants and the food was usually good. Ian tried a Laos meal of Chicken Laap: ground chicken with several spices including galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, mint, etc. It was very strong and flavourful.

Along the river were several areas to eat – most serving a mix of Laos and Western food. One night we visited a small café on the river to take in the setting sun over the Mekong River – it was stunning.

Ian and I were quite taken with the place and after learning about all there was to see; we added a couple of nights and ended up staying a week. We were really looking forward to exploring the area further.