Vang Vieng, LaosI believe we left off here in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is most famously known for its tubing (you will see t-shirts all throughout Asia with the famous "In the Tubing Vang Vieng" slogan). The town is basically all young backpackers, ready to party hard at/in/on the Nam Song River. One of the interesting things is that Laos actually enforces a pretty strict midnight curfew throughout the country. This doesn't have an effect on Vang Vieng though, as a typical "night at the bar" begins at 11am. Of course we had to experience all that Vang Vieng has to offer, so we got right in, rented an inner tube, were branded with identification numbers in permanent marker all over our arms (171 and 172), jumped in an over crowded tuk tuk, and were on our way to the Nam Song. Tubing in Vang Vieng goes a little something like this:
Everyone is dropped off at the first bar: Bar Number 1, situated right on the river, overhanging onto the river in fact. You throw your inner tube into the mountain of tubes, climb down the steps, grab a bucket of some sort, and join the mob of people. The day before, Bar Number 1 had actually been an empty, unpopular Bar Number 2. Today, you would have never known there was a bar there the day before. The bars have slowly been moving down the river, popping up, or clearing out overnight. The tubing business is actually a co-operation of over 1,000 families in Laos. All of the money is split between all of the families, and the operation is "regulated" by the government. You would never see something like this in North America!!
And now you look down the river, and see the other bars. To the right there is a quiet bar, basking in the sun, with a rope wing. To the left, there is a bar that looks like a scene right out of an American spring break movie, with a trapeze type swing - feel like doubling up with a friend? Why not! Further down to the right of the river is a mud pit - jump in, and join in on a game of volleyball! A little further to the right is a bar with the "Death Slide". But how do you get there? It's quite simple. Grab a tube, jump in the water, paddle for a few minutes, then catch the bottle of water attached to rope thrown at you by the bartenders! They'll reel you in, effortlessly.
The sun starts to set quickly, around 5:30pm, and if you want your deposit back, you better act fast to get back by 6pm. The original plan was to tube down the remainder of the river, back to our hotel, which would take about 1.5 hours. We were to leave The Last Bar by 4:30pm if this was going to happen. Mud Volleyball and Death Slides deterred us however, and we didn't end up leaving (by tuk tuk) with our new mob of friends until it was dark. Half an hour late only saw a 30% cut in our deposit!
We stayed in a lovely guesthouse on "Saysong Island", right on the Nam Song River, having to cross a sketchy footbridge from the main town to get there. Tubing is definitely the main attraction of Vang Vieng, with caving, trekking and river kayaking a distant second. The town is made up of dirt roads, and besides restaurants and bars, there isn't very much else to do. Those not taking part in the tubing can hang out at one of the tv bars - if you like Friends or Family Guy, you are in heaven at these restaurants! As we walked around town, we saw people zoned in at these bars for hours.
Laos has been very different from any other country that we have visited, in that the local people are so much more laid back. Lonely Planet intro'd the country by comparing several SE Asian countries to their tuk tuk drivers (and it couldn't be any more true!): The Thai driver would take you to your destination via a silk shop, the Vietnamese would almost run you over for your custom, while you'd probably have to go find the Laos driver, wake him up and then persuade him to do some work! Laos has no smoggy metropolis, no aggressive entrepreneurialism, and is easily one of SE Asia's most relaxing countries to travel in.
Vientiane, LaosFrom Vang Vieng, we took a 3.5 hour bus ride to Laos' capital city, Vientiane. In all honesty, Vientiane is a city that could be visited, with all there is to see, in one full day. We were stuck there for 3-4 days, as we had to wait for our Vietnam visas to be processed - which took 1-2 working days (most tourist shops are even closed on Sundays! We haven't experienced this anywhere else in Asia.) Arriving on a Saturday, this meant that we wouldn't be able to have our visas until Tuesday.
Luckily, while we were there, Vientiane was hosting the 25th SEA Games, taking place for the first time ever on Laos soil. From December 9-18th, the schedule of events was quite comprehensive, with everything from snooker and billiards, to table tennis, judo, track and field, and of course football. Programming on television was bilingual in English and Laos, so we we were able to have a better understanding of the Games. We were able to walk into a female football match, Myanmar versus Malaysia. Passing through a quick security check, we entered the stadium. Although the stands were quite empty for this match, the National Stadium was huge.
Some of the sights we visited included Wat Si Saket, and Patuxai. Si Saket, located near the Royal Palace, was built in 1818 by King Anouvong, and is the oldest temple in Vientiane. The inside walls are decaled with more than 2000 silver and ceramic Buddha images. In 1827 - 1828, the Siamese raized Vientiane, and all of the temples were burned, except for Si Saket, which functioned as a monastery during the 19th Century, even though most of the people were exiled at this time across the Mekong River. Patouxai, on the other hand, is Vientiane's version of the Arc de Triomphe (although slightly less glamorous!) While it is an impressive structure from the outside, surrounded by well manicured gardens, the sign outside the building's entrance summed it up beautifully: "... Built in 1962, but never complete due to the country's turbulent history. But from a closer distance, it appears even less impressive, like
a monster of concrete. Nowadays, this place is used as leisure grounds for the people of Vientiane and the seventh floor on top of the building servers as excellent viewpoint of the city."
After searching around for ways to get to Vietnam: a less expensive 28 hours by bus, with horror stories of being left stranded at the Vietnamese border suddenly with no bus, versus 50 minutes by flight, we decided to treat ourselves to a Christmas present, and purchased the flight! There was a slight language barrier, but I think we were actually on standby for our purchased flight, and it turned out to be an interesting experience (there were no empty seats available until December 22nd, or so he said!) Our visas were due to be ready by 4:30pm, and our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:10pm on that same day. We arrived a little early to the travel agency, and our visas happened to be ready by 4:oopm. Our agent's brother led us out to a tuk tuk, jumped on his motorcycle, and after some evident confusion from our driver, met us at the Vientiane International Airport (think Victoria Airport, very small!) The brother took our passports, gave them to the airport agent, and told us to sit down. We watched Laos versus Thailand in Lawn Bowling on the huge flatscreen TV while we waited. Well 5pm rolled around, then 5:30pm, 5:40 rolled around, and finally at 5:55pm (15 minutes before the flight was to leave - I was sure we weren't making this flight!) they called us up to the counter, and issued us our tickets. They basically told us to run - we had to get through security and customs still! Anticlimactic I know, but we made our flight! 50 minutes later, we arrived into the chaos that is Hanoi...
Hanoi, VietnamHanoi brought the SEA Games to a whole new level. The hour we arrived (in fact, while we were waiting for our luggage at the airport carousel - side note, Nanny and Bruno, we met a man from Victoria who know the Toynbees on SSI!), Vietnam made it to the semi finals in men's football. We could tell because the airport staff started screaming! This made the traffic even more intense. Motorcyclists with Vietnam flags hung around their necks honked their horns, weaving in and out of traffic, while their passengers, including children, waved huge flags into the night sky. The energy is unreal! The hour drive to Hanoi's city centre was an adventure in itself. Our taxi driver couldn't understand why we couldn't hold in our laughter as he honked his horn at everyone, drove down the wrong side of the road, and crossed an intersection
through a congestion of motorcycles. We saw a car accident on our route; a motorcycle wedged under a large truck. There appeared to be no casualties, but it can only be imagined how many accidents take place on the roads each day.
One of the first lessons we learned in Hanoi, was how to cross the street, because the streets are filled with hundreds of motorcycles at any given time. The girl at our guesthouse gave us a lesson: Walk out into the middle of traffic. Do not stop. Do not run. And there you have it, easy as pie! Our hearts beat just a little bit faster in Hanoi. It was a real rush walking across the road the first time. motorcycles whiz past you, with the acknowledged respect that
they look out for
you. And it works!
Hanoi was a really fun city to visit. On the main street (Dong Xuan) in the Old Quarter, the shopping seems to be purely for locals, it seemed as if they wanted nothing to do with us! When you look at the front of a store, they are very long and narrow. This is because when the infrastructure was built, the larger the storefront space (for selling), the more expensive the real estate. And the stores are packed full of their merchandise, which was tons of jackets, shoes, and other types of clothing. We happened to visit the Dong Xuan Market one day, at closing time. These stalls are so packed with clothing, that you don't even notice when someone is taking a nap amongst all the stuff. As some of these stalls have all of their goods spilled out onto the floor during open ours, they are all shoved back into the stall at the end of the day. There is not one inch of space once everything is back inside.
Over the next two days, Vietnam won gold in women's football. More flags, more honking! An hour before we left for the train station, heading to Lao Cai (enroute to Sa Pa), Vietnam lost to Malaysia in the men's final for football. A man we spoke to said he was glad. The chaos on the streets would have been impossible - there is no way we could have even got to the train station by taxi!
Sa Pa, VietnamWe had heard such wonderful things about Sa Pa: "Sa Pa is a spectacularly situated mountain town where traditional hill tribe people emerge through the mist to sell their wares each day. Each hill tribe community is unique and differs significantly from its neighbours. Walk through terraced rice fields and visit with local people in their villages." Trekking was famous in Sa Pa, and we were looking forward to what we were going to see.
Our overnight train ride probably was an omen of how Sa Pa was going to be. A Vietnamese man in our cabin sang for the first hour, then snored for the next 10. This wasn't just any snore though; it was the most obnoxious snore you have ever heard in your whole life. You can probably imagine how loud the train is as it jumps and bounces along the track - let's just say that first it woke me up, and then I could hear it through my ipod! Matt didn't sleep for a second all night - not a happy camper!!
We had read that the winters in Sa Pa were cold and foggy, but we weren't prepared for what greeted us. We hadn't really packed proper clothes (long underwear would have been a lifesaver!), and I arrived in sandals as I had lost my runners. It fluctuated between 1-5 degrees Celcius everyday, and I think that we wore the same layered clothes for 4 days straight. The fog was so thick that we had visibility of about 3 feet in front of us (ok maybe that was an exaggeration - let's say 10 feet?) at any given point in time! Needless to say, the first thing we did was head to the market and barter for some tuques and proper shoes.
We were told that our room had an amazing view of the rice fields - but we saw thick, dense fog. It was so heavy it was lightly misting at all times. And we could see our breath, inside or outside of buildings! Still, we could see why this place was so special. It felt like we were in a mountain resort; burning fires, mittens and toques, and Christmas trees everywhere. We asked one man that worked at our hotel if he celebrated Christmas (about 6% of the Vietnamese population are Christian), he said, "Of course! Look, we have a Christmas tree and a wreath on the door!" Christmas is even more commercial than at home - Santa helium balloons, Santa suits, much like it was Hallowe'en - for adults and children (Matt saw two guys drive by in a motorcycle dressed in Santa suits), decorations, lights, and trees can be seen everywhere!
Actually, one of the highlights of Sa Pa was actually getting to know some of the locals quite well. We were taken to the market for tea, shown the best food to eat, were challenged to games of pool, and offered samples or Vietnamese Apple Wine (think horrible, horrible watered down vodka). Everywhere we went we seemed to be waving and stopping to talk to people that knew our names.
Sa Pa also brought on a whole new level to the hawkers. As you walked down the street, all you could hear was "Buy from me!" The hill tribe people in Sa Pa that were everywhere were the Black Hmong tribe - agressive would be an understatement! When we first arrived and were looking for accommodation, one little girl in rubber boots had asked me if I wanted to buy something, to which I responded maybe later. Well, a few hours later when we were walking around, there she was - "Buy something? You said maybe later!"
After 3 days (we had pre booked our train ticket back), we were more than ready to leave! All morning the fog had been drifting in and out. One moment you could see 3 feet in front of you, the next, you could actually see down the hill! As we descended down the mountain, the cloud was lifting, and we could actually see what we were meant to see - rice fields, lush mountains. Normally the fog stays for 3 days we were told - it was on day 6, the day we left, it finally left. Bad timing, oh well!
Da Nang and Hoi An, VeitnamNext came hours and hours of train rides... We caught the overnight train (10 hours) back to Hanoi. We were in a soft sleeper cabin - 4 to a room, and not bad at all! The train stopped every hour or so, but the gentle rumbling was really comforting (not to mention there was no snoring!)
We arrived in Hanoi at 4:30am, and went straight to the ticket counter to figure out how soon we could get to central (read warmer) Vietnam! We had a choice: 17 hours on a soft seat, leaving at 5:55am, or 16 hours on a soft sleeper, leaving at 12:30pm. We bit the bullet, and about an hour later, we were on our way to Da Nang! It wasn't so bad, besides the cockroaches, occasional horking of Vietnamese men, and the most horrible bathrooms I have seen in my life (when I asked Matt how they were, he just laughed and said he was glad he was a guy). At least the scenery was nice. We weaved in and out of tunnels, across huge bridges, through rice fields, beside rivers, through residental towns.
We arrived in Da Nang at 11pm, and met the hassling taxi drivers. They couldn't take us here beacuse they were "closed" they couldn't take us there because they were "full". Vietnam is known for its scams, and they really are everywhere. Finally someone said they would take us to a hotel by the river, one that we had in our list from Lonely Planet. I wasn't expecting to be dropped off where we asked, but we were. While I was checking if they had rooms, Matt said the taxi driver was paid a commission - so that's why he agreed to take us to that hotel!
Da Nang has its fair share of rats!
The next day (today), after being asked by about 50 men on their motorcycles if we wanted to rent their bikes, we made our way to China Beach (My Khe). China Beach is where the US Marines first landed in the 70's for the Vietnam War. Apparantly the thousands of American G.I.s later spent their leave surfing the 30-kilometer golden beach. The beach was undisterbed with white sand, large waves, and a mountainous backdrop. A huge tanker was parked further out, and in the distance, we could see an enormous white statue. As we walked to and from China Beach, there were children in school uniforms all along the streets. You would think we were famous movie starts with the giggles, pointing, "hello!"'s and stares we received!
However, besides these children, it seems the people in Vietnam are not as friendly as the other countries we have visit. The Thais have probably been the most friendly, with a constant smile on their faces. In Vietnam, people will actually glare at you, chosing not to smile (of course, a smile can still go a long way, and you can still make people break into a grin as you walk by). But, in some scenarios they can actually be quite arrogant. There sales tactics are also extremely agressive, and I have had my arm pulled into a shop a few times. It very well could be that there is still a lot of hostility toward Westerners, with the Vietnam War really not being that far away in history.
A few hours later, we flagged down the local bus and headed to Hoi An. 30km, 45 minutes, and 1000 honks later, we arrived in Hoi An. There were 3 men working on the bus. The driver, who wouldn't dare take money let alone take his eyes off the road was one brave soul (the longest gap I counted in between honks was 9 seconds. 3-4 seconds was probably the average). We are planning on spending Chistmas here, and after arriving here, we know it is the right decision! Hoi An is another World Heritage Site - it is so lovely. Bright coloured lanterns hang from every shop. Many of the buildings are yellow, and are naturally given character by black mould - it really is surprisingly beautiful. A river runs through the Old Town, and all different types of boats, from small to big, decorate the muddy water.
Hoi An alone has over 200 tailor shops. Already, it is hard to control ourselves! Jackets for $20, shirts for $10 - and you can pick every detail! We have only been here for about 6 hours, and I am embarrased to say that Matt and I both have appointments at 11am to try on our jackets for the first rounds of alterations!! It's Christmas, right?!
Oh, and as we hoped, the weather is BEATIFUL! 25-28 degrees by day, and 17-20 degrees by night, and sunshine!! From the Japanese Covered Bridge, Temples, Pagodas, Assembly Halls, My Son Ruins, Cua Dai beach, there is a lot to see. We are thinking of parking here for a few extra days.
We are missing everyone, it is very different being away from for Christmas! Being in cold, wintery Sa Pa, it felt a lot harder than if we were on a beach somewhere. We have been looking for a turkey dinner everywhere (including the internet!), but things aren't looking good. We have removed our hopes, and our now planning on having an Indian feast for Chistmas! Chicken Tikka Massala, Butter Chicken, Chicken Vin Aloo, Pekora, Samosas, Garlic Naan, Raita, we won't be leaving anything out! Oh, and a great big bottle of WINE!! Indian food has actually become our comfort food here. We have not had one bad Indian meal - it is so consistantly reliable.
Speaking of food, the best Vietnamese dish bar far so far is Pho. This is a traditional noodle soup, usually eaten at breakfast, but it can be eaten at any point in the day. Usually, the meat is placed into the boiling water basically raw, moments before it is served. It is so delicious and flavourful, and actually tastes pretty close to what we have at Vietnamese restaurants in Calgary! The fresh spring rolls have also been good - but one word for the wise, do not try Guang Dong Spring Rolls - we are not entirely convinced they weren't some sort of "special meat"!!
Merry Chistmas, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
Lots of love,
Pippa and Matt
Tuk Tuks on a corner street in Vientiane, Laos. Can't see the drivers? They are most likely asleep on the back seat bench.
