Last days in Luang Prabang, first days in Hanoi

Phillip and I are now in Hanoi, Vietnam, having flown here on Sunday afternoon from Luang Prabang, Laos. Before we left Laos, Phillip and I wandered again around Luang Prabang as the town's shaded, well-maintained sidewalks call for strolling. We didn't visit the town's 33 wats, in fact, we didn't go inside any wat as I always wore shorts so we couldn't meet their dress requirement. We walked past several wats, and I took pictures from the sidewalk of the prettiest ones. This one was on the grounds of the Royal Palace museum.

This is part of Wat Sibounheuang, a large Buddhist complex near the Mekong River.

We went to an afternoon bamboo weaving class at the Living Arts Center, affiliated with one of the shops we visited in town. The class fee included the tuk-tuk ride to the Center at the edge of town and back. Since it was solely a weaving class, we had time to make bamboo placemats.

The Center was next to the Mekong River, so another picture of it.

During a lull in the rain that settled in during the last two days that we were in Luang Prabang, we walked to the construction area near our hotel. The workers were almost done with the dragons they were constructing on either side of the steps down to the Nam Khan river. The scales of the dragon are tiles, cemented on, but this worker was carving the spine in the damp cement.

Our flight, late afternoon on Sunday, was again on a propeller plane; I'm getting used to them now! I had arranged for our Hanoi hotel to provide transportation from the airport, as people always complain about being overcharged by airport taxis. Our driver was waiting for us and tried to drive us to our hotel. He got within 350 meters (about 3 blocks), but the van could not navigate thru the closed streets. Every weekend, Friday-Sunday evenings, some streets around Hoan Kiem Lake are closed so that vendors can set up. The driver called our hotel. They sent a bellman to walk us and our luggage to the hotel. Once checked in, Phillip and I went out into the crowd of vendors and people. This is one of the streets that the van driver could not get thru.

Yesterday, our first full day in Hanoi, we did two of our favorite things from our last visit in 2018, walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and visit Note Coffee.

east side of Hoan Kiem Lake

"Have a beautiful time in Hanoi"

After our coffee frappes as Note Coffee, we headed out to visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. This day showed to be the coolest day of our week here ("least hot" is a better description, as we still sweated during the hike) so we walked to the farthest location on my list. Enroute, we passed a display celebrating the Vietnamese winners at those recent SEA Games in Phnom Penh!

At our destination, I thought we had just missed the changing of the guard at the mausoleum, but apparently they were running late and we got to see them from across the grass. 

We did not go into the mausoleum to view Ho Chi Minh's body, again a location where long pants are required. We planned to go into the park's museum, but it was closed for lunch, so I just took a picture of a really interesting tree on the museum's patio.

After wandering thru this park area, we walked about a block east to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The Citadel was built in the 11th century by the ruling dynasty, Ly Viet. It was constructed on the remains of a 7th century Chinese fortress. The Citadel was the center for regional political power for almost 13 centuries. The structures had been torn down and rebuilt by successive powers, but archeological digs, still ongoing, have unearthed many remnants of the early buildings and their contents.

In addition to the stone buildings, several exhibit halls contained artifacts and pictures of the excavations. 

Because of its cultural significance and the beauty of the grounds, several graduation class pictures were being taken while we were there, kids who appeared to be graduating from kindergarten! They were cute as a bug, with the girls in the traditional ao dai. The funniest part was watching them run out so they could change back into their regular clothes. In the picture, one class is under the tree, having already changed clothes right there. Another class is dashing for their bags of play clothes. 

Just as the naga (multi-headed cobra) was common in Cambodia, the dragon is common here. It graced several staircases of the Citadel.

Phillip bought some sugar cane juice from a vendor on our first night here. I can't stand the stuff as it tastes like sugar water to me. He's had it before, but this drink must have been from a bad batch because he started feeling ill on our walk back from the Citadel. He's fine now, his digestive upset only lasted about twenty-four hours. Today, we had a cooking class scheduled. He went with me, but he did not participate. 

For the first time on this trip, our class/tour had additional participants. Every other class and tour until today ended up being a private one for us because tourism is down so much in the region. Two Englishmen, a couple from Finland and a guy from Scotland were with me as we prepared five traditional dishes. 

Our dishes included egg coffee, fried spring rolls, beef pho, papaya salad, and bun cha (pork balls with rice noodles). Feeling fine this evening, Phillip ate a banh mi (sandwich) for dinner, and we walked around the lake again at dusk. 

Bamboo, qeej, waterfalls, and more bamboo

Phillip and I had a great time yesterday here in Luang Prabang, Laos. Phillip found, and I booked, the "Bamboo Experience and Kuang Si Falls" all-day tour. Our guide, Sai, is the owner of Wander Laos, a tour company focusing on Lao culture. He had been a Buddhist monk for a while and worked in the tourism industry for many years before starting on his own with the Bamboo Experience. Sai picked us up from our hotel and took us to his house where he had built an entire two-story building and outdoor kitchen for his endeavor. He shared the importance of bamboo to the local people and demonstrated some of the many bamboo tools that are used. We were especially amazed by the various fish basket designs.

There are over 50 varieties of bamboo, some used for weaving and some, the bigger, harder bamboo, like the one Sai is holding, is used in construction.

Since we were also cooking lunch with Sai and his wife, we jumped over to the topic of sticky rice and Sai let us pound the husks off the rice kernels.

Phillip did a great job tossing the rice to get the lighter husks and broken rice out of the pounded rice. 

Sticky rice is soaked and rinsed before steaming. Sai's wife showed me how she uses her hands, not a colander, to transfer the rice to the bamboo (of course!) steamer basket. 

While the sticky rice was steaming, we went back to bamboo. An older gentleman, Ti (not sure of the spelling), demonstrated how to process raw bamboo for weaving. We did some of the peeling with him, but not the knife-work. 

Our next project was weaving bamboo. Ti showed us how and then helped us. He would tell us "two over, one under, two over" or whatever the pattern was. As he is not used to handcrafts, Phillip had some difficulty and Ti laughed with Phillip as he struggled to get the pattern correct. 

We did both complete our coasters in a herringbone pattern. Ti then provided us with a shot of banana whiskey and bamboo rings to celebrate our successful project. He also gave me a bamboo bird and horse that he had made. We then moved over to lunch preparation with Sai and his wife. We chopped, pounded, and stuffed for our lunch. A mortar and pestle combine the spices for almost all our dishes. We prepared fish with herbs in banana leaves, pork-stuffed bamboo shoots, and several condiments to go with the sticky rice. Sai's wife also prepared a vegetable soup and a noodle dish that included bamboo shoots. 

After lunch, Sai arranged for a Hmong musician to give a performance of the qeej. The qeej is a traditional instrument, made from bamboo, that produces a sound like a bagpipe, but much cleaner and more pleasant. It doesn't rely on a bellows, but on the in-and-out breaths of the musician. The musician also dances as he plays. So interesting and enjoyable.

Our next activity was the trip to Kuang Si Falls. Sai drove us, about 45 minutes away, to the Falls. During the drive, he described the countryside, noting for instance, when we passed the water buffalo dairy. We had seen very few cows but many water buffalo, so I guess it only makes sense that milk can come from the buffalos. We didn't stop at the dairy as it is a commercial operation, not a tourist spot. The Falls, however, are a popular tourist spot. Phillip and I didn't swim there, although swimming is allowed and others were in the water. 

We walked the trail to two of the three levels. It was a beautiful series of cascading falls into turquoise pools.

The trail wound thru the forest, so it was almost comfortable going uphill in the heat.

The second level had the tallest of the waterfalls, 50 meters, and a bridge across the pool of water so that people could see both sides of this waterfall.

We didn't go to the third level as it was a steep scamper without handrails up rocks and I don't do scamper. We walked back down, briefly stopping at a bear rescue spot, but the bears were sleeping in the heat of the day. Sai took us back to town and dropped us off at our hotel. It was a delightful day for us, one of our best tours ever. We hope that Sai's Wander Laos tour company does well as tourism returns to Laos. 

Today, Phillip and I walked to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center, a small museum of clothing and musical instruments of the four ethnic groups who live in Laos. One of the four groups is the Hmong, so we saw the qeej in the museum and read of its history and uses. The center also had hands-on projects, so Phillip tried again to weave bamboo.

After the center, we walked thru the morning market, buying roasted cashews and fried bamboo shoots for our evening snacks.

From the market, we walked again down the tree-shaded road next to the Mekong River. No bridges here so crossings are made by ferry. 

We returned to our room for me to make this post, but we will venture back out for dinner. It rained quite a bit yesterday evening and it is clouding up again now, so I'll have our umbrellas with us this evening. And, after dinner, I'll have my bamboo shoot snacks. 

River view, green parks, and a Tuesday Buddha in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is the opposite of Vientiane, fortunately. We arrived at Luang Prabang's little airport yesterday after an uneventful flight (the best kind, right?) on a propellor plane. It's been quite a while since our flight was not on a jet! I read to expect to pay 100,000 kip for a ride to town from the airport. It was only 80,000 kip ($4.60). Our hotel is delightful, run by a young couple who speak some English. And, they charged us $18 less than the amount I had reserved the 5 nights for. Balcony room, without the air conditioner compressor on our balcony:

Overlooking the river, the Nam Khan, a tributary of the Mekong. 

After checking in, we walked on a well-maintained sidewalk along the river to where Nam Khan joined with the Mekong River.

Continuing on the road next to the Mekong River, we were so happy to see cool parks, with trees, plantings, and benches.

As we've been doing in other cities, we walk back in our hotel room by 2 pm to avoid the afternoon heat. It may be prettier here, but it is still hot. From our balcony, Phillip watches construction at buildings between us and the river. Keeps him occupied while I read or plan which restaurant we will walk to for dinner. A worker was tiling the roof this morning. No nails or screws, just overlapping tiles with a concrete roof ridge to secure the top run of tile.

This morning, we tackled Mount Phousi, the south side of which is just across the main road from our hotel. I chose to walk further, to the less steep ascent, but it was still a chore.

First set of stairs

Uneven brick and concrete steps, but with reasonable rise in each tread (not like those Angkor steps!) to flat areas.

Mount Phousi is covered with Buddhas. I wore long pants because it is considered a holy site.  People were putting flowers and lighted incense at some of the accessible Buddha statues. Some statues were identified because the images were created with Buddha in a specific position. This one, Tuesday Buddha, does not show Buddha at rest. The image represents Buddha making himself bigger than the evil Asura Rahu in a reclining position to lower the pride of Rahu. 

The bulk of the Buddha statues were midway up the mountain. We continued on up the stairs to the top. This is a set of more steps after I climbed them to yet another landing.

From the top, we had views of the city, the Nam Khan River, and the Mekong. 

Across the Mekong River from top of Mount Phousi

Phillip had to venture off the top viewing platform to get a better view. I did not follow him. 

For the walk down, I chose the steeper route. No pictures during that walk as I kept one hand on Phillip's shoulder as I was quite anxious, aware of the height more this time. After Mount Phousi, we walked another few kilometers around town and returned to our hotel just as it began raining! Tomorrow: cooking class and the waterfalls. 

Vientiane, Laos

Phillip and I have spent the past four days in Vientianne, the capitol city of Laos. We are here because we want to experience at least two cities in each country we visit. If we visit just one city, I might choose poorly and end up with an inaccurate perception of the country. We are hopeful that our next Laotian city, Luang Prabang, will improve our impression of Laos.

We did have a pleasant cooking class during our first day here. Madame Phasouk, a highly educated, English-speaking lady, operates a cooking class in her home, about 2.4 km from our hotel. We made, and enjoyed, papaya salad, chicken laab, and a Laotian pork vegetable soup that was flavored with lemon grass. Laotian laab, although similar to Thai larb, is seasoned with roasted, ground rice instead of peanuts. I liked that, alot. Madame Phasouk also showed us how to shred the green papaya with just a knife, that's what I'm doing in the picture.

Back to the city itself, for a capitol city, it appears that insufficient money is spent on infrastructure and maintenance in Vientianne. 

One of the major streets, the boulevard that runs from the presidential palace to Patuxai has those same littered, uneven sidewalks and very few trash cans. It was too hot yesterday (heat index: 113 degrees) to walk all the way to Patuxai, but we were close enough for a picture. Patuxai is a war monument, dedicated in 1968, to the Laotian independence from France. It was patterned after the Arc d'Triumphe in Paris. 

I booked our hotel close to the Mekong River. During the rainy season, the river is probably close to the hotel; however, this is near the end of the dry season. In the distance, about 300 yards across the undeveloped dry grassland, is the Mekong. The land on the other side of the river is Thailand. Because the Mekong here is a national border, no pleasure boats operate. 

Unfortunately, Laos can claim the title of the per capita most bombed country in the world. Between 1964 and 1973, over 2 million tons of ordnance was dropped on Laos. The US bombed Laos because the North Vietnamese were traveling thru Laos, the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, to attack US troops from the west who were south of the DMZ. It is estimated that 30% of those bombs did not detonate, leaving 80 million cluster bombs, referred to as UXO, still in the Laotian countryside. This unexploded ordnance is a serious problem, even 50 years later, as it can still explode when farmers till their soil or children find the "bombies" (tennis ball-sized individual bombs that make up a cluster bomb). We visited the COPE visitor's center. COPE is a non-profit organization supported by the US, Norway, Australia, and many more countries which provides prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation for Laotians injured by UXOs. 

I mentioned the unbearable heat index, that is a constant. Until today, when a front came thru and it's only expected to be 96 degrees, the temperature has been 106-107. As dry as the vegetation is, it seems amazing that the humidity is so oppressive here, reflected in that 113-115 degree heat index. At least this hotel, which was formerly a Best Western, has a swimming pool. Not as nice or a well landscaped as the one in Siem Reap, but the water is just as wet and welcome after walking in the heat.

Tomorrow, we fly to Luang Prabang, a 45-minute flight. We are flying because no other reasonable option is available to get there. That pesky infrastructure issue! I expect that, because Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it will be more welcoming to tourists. Perhaps the food vendors won't ignore us and the shopkeepers won't charge us double price for a bottle of water, our experience here in Vientiane. Phillip and I have had good food here, not all vendors won't interact with foreigners. We enjoyed these meat skewers and the mango with sticky rice, even if the lady tried to overcharge us. Unlike most vendors, she had her prices posted so I gave her what this totaled to, not what she said. She accepted the correct amount. 

On to Luang Prabang: a mountain to climb, a cooking class to attend, a waterfall to visit, and maybe a closer river to see await us!