Laos!

I arrived in Vientiane, Laos by plane and took a taxi into town to find a place to stay. I settled on a little hostel in the center of town. The amenities were not great, and air con was only available at night, but it was around $5 a night, so I made it work!

Vientiane is the capital city, but to be honest, I didn't find anything too exciting there. I had originally planned on taking a bike tour, but unfortunately that did not work out, so I was left to explore on my own. On my second night, I took an overnight bus to Luang Prabang, a city in central Laos. I had a much better experience there.

The bus was really interesting. There were three rows, and each row had a top and bottom. Each person had a tiny reclining seat. I was about the maximum height to still be able to sleep comfortably. I felt really bad for the guy in front of me, who was easily over 6 feet tall. In the back of the bus, there were three seats all together, with no barriers. A French guy was assigned one of those in between two Lao men and was incredibly uncomfortable. It was funny, but I am glad it wasn't me!

Upon arrival in Luang Prabang, I again found accommodation. This time I got a very reasonable prices single room, but sadly it did not have AC. My fan was working overtime! During my time in Luang Prabang I also had a paper due for one of my classes, so a lot of time was spend in coffee shops finishing that up. Luckily, I got it done on time, and I was fairly pleased with the quality.

My favorite day in Laos was spent on a motorbike. About 30 kilometres out of town, there are waterfalls. The drive was beautiful, and brought me through mountains, small country towns and beautiful landscapes. It was also fun being on a motorbike, and made me eager to get back on my little Suzuki soon! It was pretty easy to get a hang of the motorbike. It was only 110cc, and while it was a manual, there was no clutch to worry about.

Another highlight was the night market. At the edge of the river, there is a market that is only open at night. It is about a kilometre long, and is just filled with stalls and shops. It was so fun to wander through and look at the different wares. I picked out a few souvenirs (including a beautiful Lao skirt called a Sinh), but the real highlight was the street food. There was so much, and it was all delicious.

If it hasn't been made clear yet, I am a street food nut. It is usually incredibly delicious, but also really inexpensive and authentic. Actually, I am just a food nut in general. I think the best way to learn about a culture is through food and dining experiences. I love how collective and involved dining in Asia is, and the huge varieties of food that are available. While I loved travelling on my own, if I had someone else with me I could have sampled twice as much food!

From Luang Prabang I flew into Bangkok to start my Thai adventure, the last leg of my short journey through SE Asia.

I ended up with so many currencies during this trip! This is US dollars, Chinese Yuan, Vietnamese Dong and  Lao Kip. In Thailand I added some Baht to the pile. My wallet was stuffed. Sadly, the total value was relatively low.

Roasting whole fish over charcoal was popular in many countries, but it was most delicious in Laos. This fish cost the equivalent of $1.

A local house on my way to the falls.

Beautiful landscapes.

My trusty steed.

The night bus. It was an interesting ride.

The largest of the waterfalls.

Riding through amazing scenery.

There was a bonus bear sanctuary at the waterfall! I love bears.

At the foot of the falls, there were these beautiful pools to swim in. It was fun, but little fish kept biting my feet, which I didn't like.

Night Market.

Here comes the street food! First off, a fruit shake.

There were many buffets that would sell one plate with as much food as you could fit for around $1.

Beer Lao and spring rolls!

Lots of roasted fish and meat varieties.

Sticky rice. The green chili sauce was incredibly hot. The girl who sold it warned me, and she wasn't lying! Most of my beer was consumed trying to put out the fire.

Lao potsticker

The Luang Prabang airport is the smallest I have ever been to.

Check in counter. There were only four total.

We walked right out to the plane. There were only two planes at the airport: Ours, and one that had just flown in. I think only two airlines use the airport!

Vietnam: Hoi An, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay

Hoi An was probably my favourite place in Vietnam. It is a peaceful little beach town about thirty kilometres south of Da Nang, a city right in the middle of Vietnam. Everyone there was so incredibly friendly, and every day was absolutely wonderful. I actually enjoyed it so much that I stayed an extra day!

My days were pretty routine. I would wake up, have a fabulous breakfast at the hotel (fresh eggs to order, beautiful fruits, vietnamese foods, toast, fresh watermelon juice, coffee), rent a bike for $1 then ride to the beach. I would stay at the beach all afternoon, having lunch at a number of little restaurants on the beach. They let you have a free beach chair for eating at their restaurant, so it worked out really well. After the beach, I would go back to my hotel, relax (haha!) and get ready for the evening.

There were a number of great bars and restaurants in the walking district of Hoi An. There are a lot of shops that do custom tailoring as well, but I managed to steer clear of those! Overall, this was a quiet, nice city that I really enjoyed.

From Hoi An, I took the train the Hanoi, Vietnam's capital city. Hanoi is very much a city, and had similar vibes to HCMC. I have discovered through my travels that while I like cities, I really prefer smaller cities (under 1 million people). Hanoi was a constant bustle, but it was enjoyable. I stayed at the backpacker hostel my first night, and that was a lot of fun. Vietnam is a very backpacker-friendly country, so there were tons of young people. The hostel workers led us on an impromptu pub crawl, and we went from bar to bar, leaving only when the police showed up to shut it down!

One of the major tourist sights I saw in Hanoi was Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. "Uncle Ho" is actually laid to rest here, and his body can be viewed. I went on a Sunday morning, and I had to wait around two hours in line to get into the Mausoleum. Tons of Vietnamese were there to pay respects, along with many tourists. I was glad I read ahead of time about the strict dress code, because they don't begin to enforce it until you are almost on Mausoleum ground, which was after at least an hour in line. I passed many women with short dresses and tank tops on that had to leave the line to find more appropriate clothing. They did have a stand selling shawls and tights, though I am sure the mark up was significant!

From Hanoi, I took a two day cruise of Ha Long Bay. This is bay filled with over a thousand jagged islands. While it was incredibly beautiful, I hate to travel as a part of organised tours. I dislike being told when to do what, and because of that I didn't enjoy the Bay as much as I could have. It was still incredibly beautiful, but I would have liked to do it at my own pace. Unfortunately, there is really no other way to travel there. I did have a great group on my boat, and there was a late night dance party aboard the ship with a bunch of Uruguayans, a Dane, and a few Quebecois girls.

After finishing Vietnam, I travelled to Vientiane, Laos by plane to begin the next leg of my adventure!

Hoi An:

The "Old Quarter" walking street.

My typical day.

Bridge at night in the Old Quarter

A view from my bike ride to the beach.

Just one of my many, many delicious Hoi An meals.

Another beach view!

Hanoi:

The streets of Hanoi

A neat lake in the middle of town.

Uncle Ho's house.

This is just part of the line. It was incredible how many people there were.

A normal street filled with shops and activity.

My meal staple in Vietnam: Bahn mi (sandwich with meat, veg and cheese on a French roll) and bia hoi (beer  served on the street for about 20 cents a glass).

Ha Long Bay:

Ha Long Bay

My stateroom on the junk boat.

Making pearls.

Sleeper trains

In order to get around Vietnam, I travelled by sleeper train all the way up the coast. This was my first time being on a train for so long (around 12 hours), and it was overall a really neat experience. This is what a "soft sleeper" (it wasn't really all that soft), lower berth bed looks like on a Vietnamese train:

Not too much personal space! Each bunk has a power outlet and a light, plus an overhead light and air conditioner for the unit. They also give you a pillow and a blanket. It is very close quarters, but the hard sleepers sleep six per compartment, so I think I will stick to the soft sleepers that only have four! You are definitely at the mercy of your bunkmates, but both trains I took in Vietnam I got very lucky. The only real issue was how early the Vietnamese wake up (around 5 am), but overall all of my bunk mates were super nice. The first train I shared with three female family members, and they were very kind and made sure to notify me any time we passed a beautiful sight. They are the reason I was able to get a glimpse of the ocean from the train, which can only be seen for less than a minute:

On the second train, I decided to brave a Vietnamese train meal (rice, marinated tofu, some pork strips and a piece of fried chicken) who gave me some delicious home-made seasoned salt for my chicken.

Here are some more views of the beautiful countryside:

I had also met some English guys on the first train, and we decided to check out the "dining car" to grab a beer. While it was not what I expected, we had a really nice time. For reference, when I think of the dining car of a train, here is what I think of:

Here is the actual dining car of the train:

The dining car did not meet expectations, but overall I really enjoyed travelling by train. It is far cheaper than flying, and you get to meet some really interesting people and see some great sights that would be missed by simply flying, not to mention there is a huge increase in personal space. The downside is, of course, the train can take much longer. As long as you are prepared with food, activities and an open mind, it is a wonderful way to travel. I did another overnight train in China to go to Huangshan, but that will be another post!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I am now safely back in China, but excited to recap my travels in SE Asia to distract myself from coursework!

Vietnam was my first stop. I flew into Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon. I stayed in a small guest house without a working air conditioner, which was terrible! Vietnam was always at least 30 degrees Celsius (around 86 F) and usually more. I never made the mistake of going without AC again.

During my first full day in Vietnam I took a little tour of various markets and pagodas throughout town. I was in a little bicycle rickshaw guided by a nice Vietnamese man, and it was a great way to get a feel for the city and get a lot of sightseeing out of the way.

After purchasing my train ticket north and booking a tour of the tunnels, I decided to explore the city further, and see some of the main sites like the Cathedral and War Remnants Museum, but got incredibly lost on the way. I am not very good at paper maps, apparently. I walked into a residential area of the city, completely unsure of how to get home. Luckily, an extremely friendly family rescued me! The mom got the whole family involved in the effort. Her younger daughter, Trinh, spoke English, so she did most of the translating. Dad was trying to figure out my crummy map, the older sister was trying to call a cab and the younger brother was trying to flag one down in the street. All the while, they invited me into their home to sit and have some water. Ultimately, Trinh drove me home on her motorbike. She refused to accept any money for gas, but we exchanged contact information. A few days later, she sent me an email, and a picture she drew of us. What an amazing family! This was probably one of the most memorable moments from my trip, and was a just one of many examples of the hospitality and warmness of the Vietnamese people.

My last day in HCMC was consumed with sightseeing. I took a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels with a group of about 20. The tunnels were really interesting. They have expanded them so Western-sized tourists can fit in, but there also some areas intact so you could understand how small and compact they really were. People can try to fit in, but I declined that opportunity just in case my bum decided to embarrass me in front of the group. Besides the tunnels themselves, we got an overview of the fighting tactics and booby traps used during the war. I also shot an AK47, which was my first time shooting a gun ever!

After the tunnels, I was dropped off at the museum to actually see all the stuff I missed when I got lost. It was very interesting. It is very heavily biased, as can be expected, and was extremely graphic. It has a decidedly anti-American/South Vietnam tone, and constantly refers to the "war of American aggression." The most powerful portion, however, was the Agent Orange exhibit. It featured images and stories of people affected by the poisoning, as well as pleas for the US government to acknowledge the poisoning and compensate victims. There was a donation bin that was just filled with money at the end, which I contributed to as well. Even though it is clearly propaganda and one-sided, it made me feel really bad. It made me wonder how young Germans feel going to places like the Holocaust Museum.

After the museum, I visited the Reunification Palace and the cathedral. Then I walked back to the city, enjoying street food on my way. I grabbed my stuff, then went to the train station to board the overnight train to Da Nang, which would lead to my next destination, Hoi An. Overall, I enjoyed my time in HCMC a lot, and it was a great introduction to SE Asia!

Apparently very few people wanted to go to HCMC from Shanghai on May 2.

Enjoying a Bia Saigon on the street. At night, sidewalks would be completely full of people socialising and having drinks together.

A sculpture garden I found. 

Reunification Palace

Cathedral

Spring rolls!

Fried corn with hot sauce and shrimp flakes.

One pagoda of many

Pho! Notice all of the things that are served with it: sauces, basil, lime, sprouts and more!

Riding around in my rickshaw

Another pagoda

War Remnants Museum

Trinh's drawing of us

And the original! This was my photo, so Trinh drew from memory.

Me in the tunnel! I was lucky because I didn't need to actually crawl, but some of the taller men did.

Booby trap

A tunnel entrance. Can you see the person in there?

Another, naturally hidden, entrance

More traps/weapons

Trying out the gun. I failed to hit the target. :-(