As with Huay Xai, I had intended to spend a couple of days in Luang Prabang and ended up staying for nearly 10 days. What a beautiful spot on the banks of the Mekong. Many French colonial building have survived and have been turned into boutique hotels, restaurants abound, French tourists are everywhere! In some places it seems like a French village with Buddhist temples and monastaries. I found a small hotel on a side street, the Pak Am, met the hotel workers and even visited their Hmong villages. The morning market was just around the corner, so village people, mostly women, begain arriving very early to set up their stalls. Many of them came across the Mekong on the small wooden boats and then balanced their baskets of produce on the long bamboo stick resting on their shoulder as they climbed the steep river bank. The variety of offerings was amazing, and not always identifyable. Various parts of animals, actually, all parts! poultry,fish, tubs full of frogs, pupae from cacoons provide protein while tubs of different kinds of rice, baskets of colorful fruit and green veggies and even weeds from the bottom of the river, are the accompanyments. The wide assortment of people and clothes complete the scene. Most of the locals eat a noodle soup breakfast at the market and in the evening there is a food market with buffet style offerings- a plate full of food for $1.00, many kinds of grilled meat and fish, spring rolls and some deserts. Fresh fruit is abondant; mango, pineapple, dragon fruit, papaya. Tents sprout in the main street like mushrooms at the evening market where tribal women offer Hmong quilts, embroidered items, tee shirts, silk scarves, many of which they have woven themselves. Luang Prabang has many "wat" or Buddhist temples and monastaries so groups of young novice monks walk the streets going to and from class and stroll about in small groups in the evening. Most of them want to practice their English if given the opportunity and are willing to sit in the shade and chat. Their saffron colored robes add color to photos. In the morning, they get up at
4:00 am for prayers, go through the streets at 6:30 am to collect alms consisting of sticky rice and other treats. They have a morning meal and lunch, but do not eat after 12:00 noon! Most of them come from rural villages where there is no opportunity to continue their education; thus, the temples provide free schooling until they are 20 years old,
Since I was able to arrange my Viet Nam visa from Luang Prabang, I did not go to Vientiane, the capital city. I flew to Hanoi to avoid a long bus ride. My friend, Rich Litchfield, who volunteers as an orthodentist every year in Hanoi, reserved a hotel room for me and I was able to meet his orthodentist friends. I had a wonderful multi-course lunch with one group, spent a couple of hours in English conversation with them, and had a Vietnamese restaurant dinner with the family he has known for 12 years. One of the first courses was deep fried swallow!!! Although initially hesitant, I decided to crunch on the little corpse, mashing the bones and head and finally washing it down with a swig of beer. Not sure of the nutitional value of such a little critter and am certain that I would not order it on my own.
Hanoi is hectic- motor bike traffic dominating the streets, changing lanes often, not stopping at intersections, and particularly, not stopping for pedestrians. You take your chances each time you cross the street and just keep walking. Drivers are experts at calculating the speed at which they are traveling and the pace at which you are walking. My favorite means of transportation, on the back of a motorbike taxi. Most sidewalks are occupied with sales stands and parked motorbikes: thus, you walk on the edge of the street. I finally got used to the old section of the city, but still got confused and lost the day I left. I visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex, Temple of Literature, Hanoi Art Museum, and museums dedicated to the wars fought in Viet Nam. It is hard to walk far without seeing a poster or sculpture of "Uncle Ho."
I spent 2 nights and 3 days on an excursion to Halong Bay, that amazing place where steep rounded mountains rise out of the bay. Capturing the entire scene is impossible, but I certainly tried, and did a few 360 degree videos. The low clouds added an air of mystry to the bay, making you think you were on some small pirate ship about to surprise an enemy crew around the next corner. One night spent on the boat, moored with 30 or so, other wooden junks, a visit to an oyster farm where we saw pearls being taken from the shells, treks to two sets of caves, a visit to monkey island where there is a small beach and a few monkeys and the return cruise, rounded out the experience. A group of only 6 passengers, several delicious dinners and a friendly crew, made us feel special.
I also went to a village near Hanoi known for its silk production; however, more interessting than the small production of silk, was a small factory on a back street producing stacks of plastic bags! The initial substance looks like a gigantic glob of play dough. It is heated, shredded, blown into a giant transparent bubble, and is cut into strips to form the bags. So this is where some of those bags that are everywhere, come from!
I decided at the last minute to include a trip to Sapa, a small town in the mountains, known for its Hmong villages and terraced hillsides. It is at a higher elevation, was in the clouds and was very cold. The only heat ;in the hotel was the electric blanket on the bed that I quickly took advantage of. Went on a short trek to some villages the first day, walked the small city to see the market and shops and then went for a 12 km trek through the terraced rice paddies the second day. Even though it is too early for the rice fields to be planted, it is an amazing sight. Most challenging was the muddy hike for several km, down the mountainside on the slickest quagmire of yellow clay I have ever seen. At first refusing to buy a bamboo walking stick from one of the children, I finally relented and paid 50 cents to the girl who persisted by following me, knowing that I would eventually realize the necessity of such a pole. I also grabbed the hand of the tiny Hmong lady who kept following me on the other side. She also knew that eventually I would accept her help. Camera around my neck, bamboo pole in my right hand, Hmong lady's hand holding my other, I slipped and slid my way down the steep slope. Thanks goodness for the rubber boots that we all rented at the hotel. Rice paddies, rustic houses, cascading stream at the bottom of the valley, wispy clouds floating by, the scene was post card perfect.
Took the night train back to Hanoi, shared the 4 bunk compartiment with a German tourist and two Vietnamese men. Had a restless night bumping along the track laid by the French over a hundred years ago, was too hot at the beginning and too cold later. Not my favorite way to travel, but one more adventure. I then took an afternoon fligjht to Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon, where I am today.
The city streets are wider, but traffic is just as hectic. Museums seem to concentrate on war memories, and I am becoming sturated with the historical events that have not been kind to Viet Nam. I think Hanoi is more traditional and interesting than Saigon. In addition, the weather in Hanoi was cool and comfortable; in Saigon it is hot and humid. I prefer cool!
On to Cambodia.
4:00 am for prayers, go through the streets at 6:30 am to collect alms consisting of sticky rice and other treats. They have a morning meal and lunch, but do not eat after 12:00 noon! Most of them come from rural villages where there is no opportunity to continue their education; thus, the temples provide free schooling until they are 20 years old,
Since I was able to arrange my Viet Nam visa from Luang Prabang, I did not go to Vientiane, the capital city. I flew to Hanoi to avoid a long bus ride. My friend, Rich Litchfield, who volunteers as an orthodentist every year in Hanoi, reserved a hotel room for me and I was able to meet his orthodentist friends. I had a wonderful multi-course lunch with one group, spent a couple of hours in English conversation with them, and had a Vietnamese restaurant dinner with the family he has known for 12 years. One of the first courses was deep fried swallow!!! Although initially hesitant, I decided to crunch on the little corpse, mashing the bones and head and finally washing it down with a swig of beer. Not sure of the nutitional value of such a little critter and am certain that I would not order it on my own.
Hanoi is hectic- motor bike traffic dominating the streets, changing lanes often, not stopping at intersections, and particularly, not stopping for pedestrians. You take your chances each time you cross the street and just keep walking. Drivers are experts at calculating the speed at which they are traveling and the pace at which you are walking. My favorite means of transportation, on the back of a motorbike taxi. Most sidewalks are occupied with sales stands and parked motorbikes: thus, you walk on the edge of the street. I finally got used to the old section of the city, but still got confused and lost the day I left. I visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex, Temple of Literature, Hanoi Art Museum, and museums dedicated to the wars fought in Viet Nam. It is hard to walk far without seeing a poster or sculpture of "Uncle Ho."
I spent 2 nights and 3 days on an excursion to Halong Bay, that amazing place where steep rounded mountains rise out of the bay. Capturing the entire scene is impossible, but I certainly tried, and did a few 360 degree videos. The low clouds added an air of mystry to the bay, making you think you were on some small pirate ship about to surprise an enemy crew around the next corner. One night spent on the boat, moored with 30 or so, other wooden junks, a visit to an oyster farm where we saw pearls being taken from the shells, treks to two sets of caves, a visit to monkey island where there is a small beach and a few monkeys and the return cruise, rounded out the experience. A group of only 6 passengers, several delicious dinners and a friendly crew, made us feel special.
I also went to a village near Hanoi known for its silk production; however, more interessting than the small production of silk, was a small factory on a back street producing stacks of plastic bags! The initial substance looks like a gigantic glob of play dough. It is heated, shredded, blown into a giant transparent bubble, and is cut into strips to form the bags. So this is where some of those bags that are everywhere, come from!
I decided at the last minute to include a trip to Sapa, a small town in the mountains, known for its Hmong villages and terraced hillsides. It is at a higher elevation, was in the clouds and was very cold. The only heat ;in the hotel was the electric blanket on the bed that I quickly took advantage of. Went on a short trek to some villages the first day, walked the small city to see the market and shops and then went for a 12 km trek through the terraced rice paddies the second day. Even though it is too early for the rice fields to be planted, it is an amazing sight. Most challenging was the muddy hike for several km, down the mountainside on the slickest quagmire of yellow clay I have ever seen. At first refusing to buy a bamboo walking stick from one of the children, I finally relented and paid 50 cents to the girl who persisted by following me, knowing that I would eventually realize the necessity of such a pole. I also grabbed the hand of the tiny Hmong lady who kept following me on the other side. She also knew that eventually I would accept her help. Camera around my neck, bamboo pole in my right hand, Hmong lady's hand holding my other, I slipped and slid my way down the steep slope. Thanks goodness for the rubber boots that we all rented at the hotel. Rice paddies, rustic houses, cascading stream at the bottom of the valley, wispy clouds floating by, the scene was post card perfect.
Took the night train back to Hanoi, shared the 4 bunk compartiment with a German tourist and two Vietnamese men. Had a restless night bumping along the track laid by the French over a hundred years ago, was too hot at the beginning and too cold later. Not my favorite way to travel, but one more adventure. I then took an afternoon fligjht to Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon, where I am today.
The city streets are wider, but traffic is just as hectic. Museums seem to concentrate on war memories, and I am becoming sturated with the historical events that have not been kind to Viet Nam. I think Hanoi is more traditional and interesting than Saigon. In addition, the weather in Hanoi was cool and comfortable; in Saigon it is hot and humid. I prefer cool!
On to Cambodia.
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