Days 23 - 28: Laos

I enjoyed my time in Laos more than anywhere else that I visited. Maybe I was just more relaxed at the end of my trip. But there was definitely something about the place. Some of the highlights included

-sipping fruit juice and wandering the streets with no destination in mind, just taking in the architecture, the river, the people, the vibe

-trekking in the mountains, through teak forests, streams, bamboo, muddy rice paddies, fields of banana trees, soy beans, corn, sugarcane, and spending the night in a hilltribe village with 2 australians and a brit

-reading story books with a group of lao kids at the children's library

-visiting temples and museums

-sitting in the herbal sauna at the laos red cross

-shopping for unique hand-crafted gifts at the night market

-climbing to the top of a waterfall and crossing flood-level water to the other side

-trying stuffed frog

I took a lot of photos. This is just a mix of some that I thought would give you a hint of the flavor of my experience. Enjoy!

Reaching Laos

On the 24th, after a free hostel breakfast of coffee and a French baguette with homemade banana jam, I shared a taxi to the airport with three friends from the boat trip (all flying off in different directions). We got there early, but I soon realized that in a not-so-bright moment, I had left my passport at the hostel reception desk. :-\ I borrowed a cellphone from an older German gentleman, called the hostel, and asked them to send it to me in a taxi as quickly as possible. I waited on the curb for quite a while, and was becoming far more concerned about the possibility of never seeing my passport again than the possibility of missng my flight. Finally the driver showed up - 15 minutes after my gate was supposed to close for boarding. I paid him handsomely, checked in, dashed through security, and then discovered that my flight had been delayed due to bad weather (heavy rain) in Laos. I've never been so happy to have a flight delayed! I bumped into two Welsh guys who were also on the Ha Long Bay boat, so we passed the time together in an airport cafe for a few hours before our flight boarded. It turned out to be a good thing that we'd met up, because they didn't have U.S. dollars on them for Laos visas at Immigration, and the airport ATMs were out of order. So I lent them the cash and we all shared a taxi (along with a guy from San Fransisco we met on the curb outside) into town to find working ATMs and guesthouses.
Hmm, this is getting to be a long entry and I'm barely even out of the airport! Laos is more than I'd hoped for. Within 15 minutes of arriving and hitting the streets, I pulled out my itinerary, ducked into a cafe, and cancelled my plans to go to Vang Vieng, while sipping an icey fresh mint shake. I'm sure I'd have fun no matter where I ended up, but from what I've been hearing, Vang Vieng is just another backpackers' party scene, and Vientiene might be nice but I don't relish the thought of another busy city.
Luang Prabang is so chilled out. There's not a lot of plastic or neon cluttering the view; most of the signs are rustic carved wood. The people speak softly and smile often. No one harasses me to buy things or ride tuk-tuks, though they kindly offer from time to time. The Mekong and the Nam Khoun rivers caress the historic heart of town, young saffron-clad monks stroll down the sidewalks with their golden-yellow umbrellas and alms bags, and mountains with their tops shrouded in misty white loom over the whole scene. Occasionally, and without warning, the skies open up and soft rain falls and cools everything.
I've decided to book a bus to Vientiene on the day before my flight back. I want to stay here as long as possible, which will be about four and a half days.
Promise to write lots more about Laos soon. I'm dying to share my pictures with you, too!

Ha Long Bay

I don't know if Ha Long Bay is listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, but it should be. I spent three days and two nights in the bay, surrounded by thousands of karst islands rising up out of the sea. I booked throuigh a popular Hanoi hostel, so it was with an energetic group of 20-somethings backpackers from all over the world traveling on extended holiday. There had been a typhoon two days before, so the water was choppy and the skies were purple and gray on our first day out. The bay was eerie and beautiful. We jumped from the top of the cruise ship (the "Jolly Roger", seriously) and swam in warm water while it rained. Hung out on the upper deck, and slept in cozy cabins down below. The second day we made our way further into the bay, transferred to a smaller boat, and were carried to a small, secluded island. There we played sand volleyball, kayaked, swam, went on crazy fun (and hazardous!) banana boat rides (spent more time in the water than on the banana boat!), had a giant BBQ (chicken, pork, prawns, squid...), stayed up far too late again, swam in phosphorescent waters in the dark, and slept in bamboo bungalows under mosquito nets on the beach. The next day we cruised back through the bay under sunny skies and then took a bus back to Hanoi.

Catching Up!

You'll all be happy to know that I haven't been kidnapped and taken away. I've just been off adventuring away from computers. There's too much to write about, but let me fill you in on a bit!

Hue -
Yuri almost backed out of the motorbike tour, but then got brave and went for it after all - and it turned out to be her favorite part of the whole trip! I think she felt liberated by it or something. :) It was fantastically HOT that day, but we at least had a constant breeze in our faces on the bikes. Our guides were sweet and friendly. They told us interesting stories, took photos for us, helped us understand the history of Hue better, and waited for us for as long as we wanted to explore the sights that they drove us to. My favorite part of the trip was probably meeting the 77-year old woman from the small village where the Japanese Covered Bridge was built. She gave us a high-spirited, interactive demonstration of how rice was harvested and what village life was like in her day. she even sang for us! We also visited some pagodas, temples, and the old Citadel in the center of town.
From Hue, we took the night bus (12 hours) to Hanoi.

Hanoi -

Yuri's dad met us when we got off the bus at 7am, and the three of us had breakfast at a rooftop cafe overlooking St. Joseph's Cathedral. We made plans to meet again for dinner, then Yuri went back to her dad's office to sleep, while I checked into a hostel, had a much-needed shower, and then took the winding and chaotic streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter with a map and my camera. The Old Quarter is remarkable...you can buy everything from counterfeit money (to give as alms!) to stuffed frogs to woven mats and much, much, much more...
Yuri's dad took us to a Korean restaurant for shabu-shabu (but it wasn't as good as in Korea). Then we said our goodbyes. Yuri wants to come visit Gongju sometime later this year, or early next year. I hope that works out!
In the evening I booked a 3-day boat trip in Ha Long Bay, and took a walk around the lake, which was all lit up with hanging lanterns and full of families sitting on benches and eating ice cream.

(Note the Weasel Coffee)

"Monument to Martyrs"

Che Stall

Basket of frogs

Fine Arts Museum

Interior of an old courtyard-style house

I'm going to stop for now, because I feel like the day is getting away from me. I will write separate posts later about the Ha Long Bay trip and what I've been doing since I arrived in Laos (where I'm posting from now!). Stay tuned... :)