We woke up bright and early and got in a taxi around 5:50 AM and boarded the train at 6:30 AM.  This trip should take only 2.5 hours but the scenery is supposed to be awesome...and it wound up that it did not disappoint:

After arriving in Danang we took a taxi to our hotel as was actually able to check-in even though it was still before noon...this is something that would NEVER be happen in the US.  There is no way a hotel would let you check-in before 4:00 PM, no less noon.  Anyway, the guidebook mentions a brewery in town which will be our first stop.  The brewery is about 3.5 miles from the hotel so we decided to take a taxi there and then walk our way back for the rest of the day.

Tulip Brewery did not disappoint.  They had BIG beers so we ordered a couple and really enjoyed the German lager.

After the brewery we walked over a really cool suspension bridge and to the left was the Dragon Bridge that was incredibly cool as well:

After the long walk across the bridge, the big beer was wearing off, so we stopped for another beer and was there just in time to witness the beer delivery motorbike showing up.  He had 9 cases of beer and a case of bottled water on board...WOW!

We continued headed east towards the South China Sea and wound up at My Khe Beach, AKA China Beach.  This is the where American troops took R&R during the Vietnam War.  I don't know if it is correct, but I read somewhere that Danang was the most protected city during the Vietnam War which makes sense to me since it was an R&R destination.

After a very early morning and the long walk today we decided to make it an early night, so had a bite to eat and were back in the hotel room by 7:00 PM.

The next day we rented a couple of motorbikes to see the sites outside of Danag.  We rode north along the coast and then started climbing Nui Son Tra (Monkey Mountain).  First stop was a 220 foot tall statue of what the locals call Linh Ung or Lady Buddha:

We then continued the ride up Monkey Mountain and stopped once in a while to take in the view:

The ultimate goal we were riding to was an observation point a the top of Monkey Mountain.  We arrived at an intersection with the point to the left, but there was a sign pointing to the right that said "Tree 6 KM".  What the heck...20 minutes later we arrived at an amazing Banyan tree.  The sign by the tree stated that it was 72 feet high, with a circumference of trunk and aerial prop roots is 280 feet, and is approximately 800 years old.  All I know is that it was quite impressive:

Onward to the summit.  Parts of this road were some of the steepest I have every been on.  Both of our scooters were struggling, but we made it:

From the observation point we noticed that the road continued so we decided to try to go back an alternate route.  We rode a couple of miles and came across a guy in a shack on the side of the road.  I was second guessing so stopped and asked the guy and he pointed down the road.  I know what you are thinking...these guys are going to take this road and wind up getting lost or having to double back...well...you are all wrong.  We actually didn't make it past this guy in his shack because Tim got a flat tire.

After all the days and miles we have spent on motorbikes I was quite surprised that this hasn't happened before, but this is not a great place to have a flat.  We are on the top of a mountain with no town anywhere close.  Luckily we had a guy to watch the bike, so we used hand signals telling him that we would be going down the mountain and we would return to get the bike.  Tim jumped on my back and we rode 4 miles down the mountain.  We were able to find a mechanic who loaded up his motorbike with a flat tire kit.  I decided to stay back when Tim and the mechanic took up off the mountain.  I hung out with the mechanics daughter who loved practicing talking English with me

As we were hanging out I just realized that we screwed up.  Once the flat tire is fixed how is Tim going to ride my bike and his bike down the mountain...what were we thinking?!?  I jumped up from the table and watched the road for someone that might be able to take me up the mountain.  Finally I saw two Europeans and waved them down...it was a German couple on two bikes.  Of course they would ride me up...so I jumped on the back of the guy's bike.  

Remember how our bikes struggled to get up the hill...well..with two of us on the bike there was no way it was going to make every incline.  There was at least 5 times that I had to jump off the back of the bike and run up the hill before jumping back on.  After an exhausting run/ride we made it to Tim and the mechanic who was struggling with the tire.

The issue was that he could not get the wheel off so he decided to try to patch the tube instead of replacing it.  The next issue is that the rear wheel has been stuck on the bike for so long that the tube had at least 5 patches on it already.  As a matter of fact, it was determined that there wasn't a new hole....it was a patch that leaked.  This mechanic worked on the bike for at least an hour before finally determining that it was ready to ride down the hill.  He stuck with us making me feel like he was questioning if his new patches would hold.  I really do think he was surprised when we made it back to his shop where there were a bunch of new customers waiting so he got straight to work: 

I wish I can now say that we left the shop and rode back to the hotel and everything was OK...unfortunately this was not the case.  We rode about 4 more miles and Tim got another flat, but this time it was right near the giant Lady Buddha so there were plenty of people to help us...make that too many people.  Luckily a gentleman, who worked for tour companies in the past and spoke great English, stopped to help.  He called our hotel who told him to tell us to stay there and they would be here in 20 minutes.  They showed up, Tim took one of their bikes, and we returned to the hotel.  They apologized and apologized.  All was OK except we didn't get to see everything we wanted to, but oh well.  The good news is that we found a great place just down the street from the hotel that had great Indian food at a great price, so I was happy:

Tomorrow we go to Hoi An, one of the favorite towns for tourists to visit...and it is only a 45 minute drive south.

The next morning we decided to sleep in a relax a bit before heading out.  We finally left the hotel around noon to go to the The Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure.  During the 45-minute walk we crossed a bridge that was blown up during the Vietnam War, passed people burning money, and walked through a park with an awesome bonsai tree display.   About the money burning...around Tet, people burn money to send to their dead ancestors...its pretty interesting that they burn US looking $100 bills. 

We finally made it to the Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure.  Back in 1802 during the Nguyen dynasty the emperor moved the capital from Hanoi to Hue.  Over a moat and within the 6.5 foot thick walls is a where the royals of the Nguyen dynasty lived.  We walked around for over 2 hours and just loved the landscape and the Asian architecture.  By the way, this area was heavily bombed and napalmed when the North Vietnamese seized Hue in 1968 during the Vietnam War.

After over 2 hours of walking around in the heat, we were ready to grab a beer and relax.  However, as we were walking back towards the hotel we caught a glimpse of the Hue Military Museum.  I wasn't too excited by it, but we (Tim) couldn't pass it up, so in we went.  First was the outside display of equipment left behind by the US.  As you can see, I was pretty much done:

We then headed to the inside displays that included Vietnam's struggles against the French and the US.  Talk about communist propaganda...I loved this sign that states "Life was difficult for the Thua Thien Hue people because of colonialism and feudalism in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.  A bit more disturbing was a display of ID cards taken from US servicemen during the Vietnam War:

Finally, Tim allowed us to be done and we continued walking back to hotel.  We came across Timmy's shop, and of course we had to stop and try out some new beer brands:

After the beers we grabbed some dinner and returned to the hotel for the night.

The next morning we rented a couple of motorbikes from the hotel and headed out to visit four extravagant mausoleums of the Nguyen dynasty emperors.

The first is the Tomb of Khai Dinh, about 6 miles south of Hue:

Next, is the Tomb of Minh Mang, about a 20 minute ride west of Khai Dihn tomb:

Finally, we rode to the Tomb of Tu Due, about 30 minutes away:

After visiting the tombs it was still early enough to go and visit Thien Mu Pagoda, the symbol of Hue.  The pagoda is impressive and the grounds are beautiful.  Behind the pagoda is a functioning temple and is also the home to the Austin automobile that a monk, in 1963, exited in Saigon and set himself on fire to protest again the Ngo Dinh Diem regime.  This act was caught by a photographer who won the Pulizer Prize for the picture he took (the photograph is hanging up behind the car).

After the pagoda we rode back to the hotel, returned the bikes, and had some dinner.  Tomorrow we take a train to Danang at 6:30 AM, so it is was an early night.

21 February 2015

As I was saying...we boarded the train yesterday hoping that Tim would be OK and he was.  He wound up sleeping through the night on the train.  The problem now is that we arrived in Hanoi at 5:30 AM and planned on walking around the city all day before we fly out at 5:40 PM to Hue.  That gives us around 10 hours and Tim, although he slept, still doesn't feel 100% and shouldn't walk around all day.  We returned to the hotel we left a few days ago and after giving them my sad face they agreed to give us a room for the day at a discounted price...what great customer service here!

Tim might be sick, but I'm not...so off I go on my own to explore parts of Hanoi we missed on the past 2 visits.  First stop, a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  But first I must find some breakfast.  The tour book mentions a dish called "Mien Xao Luon" that I just have to try.  After a 30 minute walk and looking the area I knew it was supposed to be, I finally spotted exactly what the tour book said "a humble stall trimmed with mini-mountains of fried eel", so I ordered myself...actually pointed at...a bowl of rice noodle soup topped with fried eel.  It was so good!

After breakfast I head toward the mausoleum and passed by the military museum that we visited a few days ago, but this time I took pictures of the communist-style posters around the outside of it:

Right across the street I noticed a great looking Harley and went over to talk to the owner.  I love this picture of a USA themed Harley-Davidson with the Vietnamese owner in front of a flower display with a Soviet flag with a statue of Lenin in the background:

As the other past communist leaders, Uncle Ho (as the locals calls him) is embalmed and on display for people to pay their respects.  You are not allowed to photograph inside the mausoleum, but here are pictures of the outside.

The mausoleum is built on the same grounds as the Presidential Palace used by Ho Chi Minh.  Of course there was also a gift shop with Uncle Ho on everything.

Next I decided to walk back to the hotel, but I took the long way back where I passed some pretty cool sites:

I then noticed a stall with a mini-mountain of fried eel so I just had to try it one more time...but this time I ordered it dry without the broth and it was just as good as the bowl I had this morning for breakfast:

I finally made it back to the hotel and Tim was feeling better.  I went out to his new favorite fast food restaurant, Lotteria, and grabbed him a couple of chicken sandwiches.  We then left the hotel for the airport where we flew to the city of Hue for our next Vietnam adventure.

We arrived in Hue (pronounced Who-way) about 1 hour after taking off from Hanoi.  Our hotel had a car waiting at the airport and we arrived as our room just before 8:00 PM.  We thought about going out, but instead we just stayed in the room and enjoyed the evening.  Tomorrow we will explore Hue.

Wow...I slept really well.  The rocking of the train is quite soothing making for a nice sleeping environment.  The train pulled into Sapa right on time...6:20 AM:

Oh...I guess I didn't tell you...we signed up for a 4-night, 3-day trip to Sapa (2 of the 4 nights are the night train there and back).  I know...what is with all these organized trips?  Yeah...we usually like doing 1 or 2 organized trips per country and then travel around on our own, but Tet is tonight and we wanted to celebrate it somewhere, so we organized this trip to be in a smaller town for the celebration and then doing a homestay with a family on what is considered New Year's Day.

Our tour guide met us at the train station and drove us the 1 hour to our hotel in Sapa.  Today we do a short trek in the morning, explore Sapa in the afternoon, and sleep in a hotel in Sapa.  First the short trek to the textile town of Cat Cat.  On the way down we were approached by a vendor.  She was very persistent so we bought a chain purse and she agreed to pose for a picture.  She is dressed in the traditional garb of the Hmong people.  In this area the minority population is 49%.

This area is just amazing...check out this scenery:

We walked around Cat Cat village known for its textile work.  Here are some pictures of their work.  I wish I had the room to buy some of these blankets and take them home with me.

And an adorable girl wearing clothes made in the village:

Like every good trek, this one ended at a waterfall:

The rest of the day we walked around Sapa, had a new beer brewed in this area (Lo Cai), and took in a New Year's Eve celebration:

We thought about staying up till midnight to celebrate New Years, but since we didn't even stay up for our own New Year's Eve, why would we stay up for Vietnam's.  We returned to the hotel around 9 PM and the workers stopped us in the lobby and had us join them for some tea, candy, and sunflower seeds while we watched some variety show special for Tet.  After about 45 minutes we were able to excuse ourselves and went to our room.  At midnight we were awaken by what sounded like church bells that went off for 5 minutes...Chúc Mừng Năm Mới...Happy New Year!

The next morning we had the provided breakfast and checked out of the room.  Today we go on a 8 mile hike through the rice paddy fields to our homestay.  The walk started on a road lined with bamboo, and just down the road was an awesome view:

Finally, we left the road and entered the rice paddy landscape:

Finally, after about 8 miles we made it to the house we are staying at, around 4:00 PM.  They were waiting for us and were anxious to sit down with us to a New Year's feast...rooster heads and all:

Let me tell you...this family was out to celebrate Tet big time.  The rice wine was flowing very freely and neighbors came and went throughout the night.  The evening pretty much went like this...fill shot glasses with rice wine, raise said shot glasses, yell "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới", drink entire shot glass of rice wine, shake everyone's hands, repeat, repeat, repeat.  We made it to 10:00 PM till we called it quits, but heard "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới" going on till after midnight.

Here are some pictures of the house:

The next morning they served us some really yummy crepes with banana and honey and we were on our way for the return 5 mile trek.  Even though we spent all of yesterday walking through this landscape of terraced rice patties, we were still not bored of the scenery:

After about 3 hours we arrived at a village on a main road.  This is where a van will pick us up and drive up back to Sapa.  While waiting we watched the teenagers of the village strut back and forth along the road showing off all their new clothes that they received as Tet gifts.  Our tour guide told us that just after Tet is the time that the teens try to find girlfriends and boyfriends since they have new clothes and they have one week off from school and the rice paddies are still dormant.  In one month the entire village, children included, will be busy preparing the paddies for planting.

We arrived back in town to see a different city than we left.  When we left for our 2-day, 1-night trek the town was quiet because everyone was at home with their family celebrating Tet.  Now today, 2 days later, everyone seems to have taken to the street to celebrate in the city center park and children were running around playing:

We had some lunch and then our tour guide picked us up to drive us the one hour back to the train station for our overnight train ride back to Hanoi.  We arrived to the station 1.5 hours before our train arrived so we figured we better eat something before boarding.  All of a sudden Tim didn't feel well....not good timing since we have a 10 hour train ride in front of us.  He went back to the restroom in the noodle shop we were in and came back saying that it was a squatter and he needs a "sitter".  He ran out the street looking for a better bathroom.  He returned and we took his temperature and he had a fever...great.  We filled him with all the medicine he took last time and hoped for the best.  He ran back to the bathroom one more time before we boarded the train. We apologized in advance to the couple sharing our berth that Tim would probably be getting up to use the bathroom regularly.  Let's just hope he doesn't get any sicker!

Tonight we leave on a night train north to Sapa, Vietnam, but first we have a full day to spend in Hanoi.  A few days ago we did a walking tour of the old city...today we wonder outside to visit a few sites we want to see, starting with Hoa Lo Prison, AKA "Hanoi Hilton."

On the way to the prison I caught a whiff of some yumminess.  I followed my nose that brought us to this corner storefront that sold these delicious warm pastry, cooked in a pizza oven, filled with sweet cream or chocolate.  We got one of each and I would definitely go back again.

Finally, after a 30-40 minute walk we arrived at Hoa Lo Prison:

Oh...by the way...that red sign says "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới" meaning "Happy New Year".  It is Tet (Lunar New Year) in a couple of days, so we see these signs everywhere.

When we started walking around the museum most of the displays focused on the the French using the prison for political prisoner during their occupation from the late 1800's till 1954. 

That was all interesting, but what we really came for is the Vietnamese use of Hoa Lo Prison for prisoner's of war (POWs) during the Vietnam War.  After passing thorough a hallway with pictures of anti-American protests that occurred throughout the world during the Vietnam War, we finally came to 2 rooms focusing on the American POW's.  I took this picture that explains that Vietnam took care of the American POWs, the other picture shows the charges against them:

Here is Senator John McCain's flight uniform he was wearing when he was captured and the best part of the display showing photos of how well the POWs were treated with plenty of time for sports:

All in all, the displays were pretty much what we expected.  A bunch of propaganda showing how awful the American's were and how nicely the Vietnamese treated them when they were prisoners. 

We left the prison behind and walked to the Temple of Literature.  As we walked there we noticed calligraphers filling a park.  I guess it is a New Year's tradition to get calligraphy done as gifts and to decorate your home.

Next stop the Temple of Literature originally built in 1070 and served as a temple of Confucius, but most interesting is that it was Vietnam's first university in 1076.  Here are some cool pictures:

On the way back to the hotel we stopped and had a new beer brewed in Hanoi:

Throughout the day there were signs of the Tet (Lunar New Year) celebration:

At 9:30 PM we boarded a train north to Sapa.  We are scheduled to arrive at 6:15 AM.  Luckily they have sleeping cars that have 4 beds in each cabin.  We shared our cabin with 2 young business men who live and work in Hanoi and are going home to Sapa for Tet.

As soon as we checked into our hotel in Hanoi the concierge asked us what our future plans were.  We told him we were unsure, and he immediately told us we had to book a cruise on Halong Bay.  I had read something about Halong Bay, so I knew that it was a tourist destination so we told him that we were interested and to book us on a 2 night cruise.

On the morning of the 14rh...Happy Valentine's Day by the way...we boarded a van for the 3.5 hour ride east to Halong Bay.  The best part of our trip was the tour guide that told us some interesting facts about Hanoi including the fact that there were 7 million people living in Hanoi (including infants) and there were 7 million scooters registered meaning that there was one scooter per person, including infants.  If you spend 5 minutes in Hanoi you would definitely believe this!

Anyway...after 3.5 hours hours we arrive at Halong Bay in the rain.  This is pretty much the first rain we have seen since we left the US and of course it would be falling the day we are going on a cruise.  First we have to board the dingy that gets us to our boat:

As soon as we got to our boat, V'Spirit, we were given our room key and were very happy with what we found...and the dining area was just as nice:

After putting our bags in the room we headed back upstairs and to see the view…and what a view!

Taking the word "cruise" to heart, we were served a huge lunch around 1:00 PM as the boat wandered further and further into Halong Bay.  First stop is a Hang Sung Sot, a cave reachable only by boat.  Even though it was very touristy, and every single boat that was on the bay stopped here, it was well worth it:

And in case the cave wasn't spectacular enough, the view from the opening was pretty incredible:

After the cave we then visited a beach with a 20 minute climb up stairs to a really nice view:

We finally got back to the boat, was served tea and biscuits, and then served a huge seafood dinner around 6:00 PM…only 5 hours after eating a huge lunch.  The food was so good that we ate till we felt like we just ate Thanksgiving dinner.  After dinner we hung out with our new friends (from the UK via Scotland and Argentina) drinking beer and wine till after 11 PM…I know…this is the latest we have been up for a while!

The next morning breakfast served at 7:30 AM…now we remember why we usually don't stay up drinking till 11 PM…and then the lucky 4 of us who was staying on the boat for 2 nights were whisked off to a day boat while the other 14 stayed onboard for a quick kayak and then taken back to the shore for the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  For those unlucky to book the 1 night cruise, they didn't even spend 24 hours onboard…I sure am glad we went for the 2 night.

Here is a video I took on that morning on the day boat as we were on our way to our kayaking destination:

On the way to kayaking there was more incredible scenery, and Tim even got into the moviemaking fun shooting a video of a local fishing village family:

For kayaking we took a 2 person kayak through a 75 foot cave that opened up to a lagoon completely surrounded by mountains.  What an amazing place…unfortunately I didn't want to take a chance and bring the camera with us, so you just have to believe me.

Next stop is a 3 hour anchor for lunch, swimming, and just relaxing:

Before heading back to the boat we made one last stop at a oyster farm, that was interesting, but yet another tourist destination where the real purpose is to visit the gift shop, but the oyster beds did make a nice picture:

We then had a great trip back to the boat when the blue skies began to appear for the first time since we boarded the boat yesterday.

I know...that's a lot of pictures of the boat with the sails up, but I just can't help taking pictures of this incredible bay.  Anyway...after returning to the boat...tea, dinner, and of course drinking with new friends that joined us from Norway, and then off to sleep for our last night aboard V'Spirit.

The next morning I looked out the window of our stateroom to this awesome view:

We had breakfast and then kayaked through another cave and arrived in a different lagoon than yesterday and it was just as amazing.  We then got back to the boat for a lesson on how to make spring rolls followed by lunch, and a little rest on the deck as we made our way back to the port.

It is now time to say goodbye to the spectacular Halong Bay and take our 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  By the way, we took over 400 pictures of Halong Bay…yes it was that amazing!

After 3.5 hours we returned back to Hanoi and back to our awesome hotel that we stayed in before leaving for Halong Bay.  We chilled out in the room for a bit, went out for some dinner, and returned to the hotel for the night.

I know...its a corny title for the blog, but I couldn't help it.  We woke up in Vietnam after an awesome nights sleep on a nice soft bed.  We went downstairs for the included breakfast which included a buffet plus a made-to-order menu.  So far Vietnam is treating us perfect.

While doing research on Hanoi I came across a picture of a lake with parts of a B-52 that was shot down during the Vietnam War...or as they call it here, the American War.  My thoughts for the first day is to take a taxi to this site and then walk  our way back to the hotel and see some of the other sites.  The hotel called a taxi and told us that based on where we wanted to go it should cost around 60,000 Dong.  Speaking about Dong....check out how cool these bills are...they feel like plastic and I love the clear windows:

For your information, the current exchange rate is around 21,000 Dong for $1 USD.  To make things easier for daily calculation we say that $1 USD equals 20,000 Dong.  So...back to the taxi ride...the cost should be around $4 USD.  Anyway...we get into the taxi and I show the driver a map and point to where I want to go...well...to be completely honest...I pointed off the map to the area where I wanted to go.  The driver nodded his head and we were off.  As the meter hit 50,000 Dong he pulled over and made a call and then asked me to take the phone.  The person asked where I wanted to go and I told them about the lake and the B-52 and explained where I thought it was.  The driver took the phone back and then continued driving.  When the meter rolled past 60,000 and approach 90,000 ($4.50 USD) I told him that we wanted to get out.  He pulled over and pointed on the map where we were.  I figured we can just ask people where this "B-52 lake" was.

So...we get out of the taxi and start walking down the road.  WOW...the traffic here in Hanoi is crazy, especially since we haven't been in a large city like this since we left Bangkok almost 2 months ago.  Anyway...we wandered the streets trying to ask people where this B-52 was but no one seemed to speak English.  Then I noticed this sign:

No English, but I do recognize the word "bia" being "beer" and the picture of the kegs, so in we went and ordered 2 mugs followed by 2 more mugs:

While drinking our beers I noticed a white guy at another table and asked him if you knew of this B-52 he said he did and found on his phone the exact location...we were only 15 minutes away.

After paying our bill of 30,000 Dong ($1.40 UDS) for 4 mugs of beer...that's $0.35 for a mug of beer!!!!...we walked to where the guy told us to go.  We didn't come across the "B-52 lake", but we did come upon the "B-52 Victory Museum":

For those military folks that might be more interested in this place, here is a YouTube video I made.  Oh, the vietnamese statement on the missile control station translated says, "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom!"

In case one military museum wasn't enough, we came across and had to stop at the Vietnam Military History Museum.  Although the museum covers the entire history of Vietnam military history, it seemed that most of the exhibits focus on fighting for independence from France and fighting the US during the Vietnam War.  Here are a few of the highlights from this museum:

We then walked back to the hotel during rush hour where the streets were full of motorbikes:

Next on the agenda is a food tour of Hanoi.  It was a little pricy but we figured we would splurge for the private tour so we would know what to look for during the next month in Vietnam.  Here is all the food we ate:

A two hour tour with 14 different tastes of Vietnam...WOW!  A great ending to a great first day in Vietnam.

After a late night out (we didn't get back to the room until around 10:00 PM...I know...we are lame) we slept in, had breakfast, and went back to the room for a little downtime.  We finally left the room just after noon and headed out for a walking tour that is advertised to be just over 2 miles and take around 2 hours.  For us it took 5 hours and we probably walked at least 4 miles...these streets are very confusing and it is very, very easy to get very, very lost.

Here are some highlights of our walking tour:

Here are two videos taken on the streets of Hanoi for your viewing pleasure:

After the 2 hour tour that took 5 hours we attended the famous water puppet show.  I couldn't take any pictures during the show, so I borrowed the first one from Wikipedia.  The second I did manage to take when the puppeteers came out for a bow:

After the puppet show we ate dinner on our way back to the hotel by snacking on street food and then called it a night.  Tomorrow we have to wake up early to get on a bus that is taking us to Halong Bay for a 2-night cruise.  We can't wait!

The only thing that got us our of our soft bed was that the included breakfast only went till 10 AM.  After breakfast we returned to the room to enjoy some more R&R...after the kayaking trip we needed a bit of a break, plus, Tim felt like he was coming down with a head cold so we decided to just take it easy.  Around 3:30 we finally wandered out of the room mostly because I needed lunch.

Luang Prabang is a really cute city with a main street lined with French inspired architecture:

After lunch we returned to the hotel since Tim was feeling a bit worse.  Luckily he didn't have a fever, so it seems to be just a cold will hopefully run its course by tomorrow morning.  Around 7:30 PM I ventured out alone looking to buy some street food from the venders.  I bought some spring rolls, a small grilled fish, grilled tofu, and some steamed rice.  Of all that food,all that was edible was the tofu and the rice...we are not looking forward to leaving Laos, but we are definitely looking forward to the better food of Vietnam.

The next morning I woke and went down for breakfast san Tim although I did bring him up some toast and orange juice...yes I am the best wife ever.  Anyway...I gave Tim till noon till I forced him in the shower so we can start our walking tour of Luang Prabang...maybe I'm not the best wife ever?  After the shower he felt good enough to give it a go, so we headed out to follow the walking tour our guide book suggested.  The plan is a 3 mile walk that covers the highlights of Luang Prabang.  First stop That Chomsi, a gold gilded stupa built on the top of a hill situated in the middle of the city.  Here are some pictures taken on the way up:

Here are some pictures from the top:

And pictures taken on the way down:

Next was a walk around the streets which was quite impressive with amazing looking alleyways:

We continued on the tour and saw some more amazing scenery including temples and gardens.  Here are the highlights:

After walking around 3 miles we were ready for a beer.  We stopped at one place and tried a new beer called Lane Xang...not the best, but it was palatable and it had a cool elephant on the label:

After one beer we headed to a place suggested by our guidebook called Utopia which is kind on an ironic name considering it was decorated with cluster bomb dispensers:

And the ultimate irony is that they had a yoga class going on when we arrived...I love this picture!

You may not believe it, but we finished off the night back at the pizza place we went to the first night.  Tim wanted to go there again and I wasn't going to complain since he was a good sport walking around all day when we wasn't feeling very well.

The next day we checked out of our hotel after breakfast, left our luggage for storage, and walked around the city.  We had till 5:00 PM till we had to be back to the hotel for our ride our of town.  This time our plan was to just walk and find see sites we missed the day before.  I don't know the name of any of these places, but there look pretty cool:

We were pretty much done walking around but we still had a few hours till we had to leave, so I decided to finally have that massage I have been putting off all these months.  For the incredible low price of of $8 USD I got a 1 hour massage with lemongrass scented oil.  I don't know why I haven't been getting these massages the entire time we have been traveling!

It was finally time to go, so we went back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and loaded on to a tuk-tuk for the airport.  What is that?!?  The airport?!?  That is correct.  At this point we had the choice of taking a 26 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang for $50 USD or taking a plane for $125 UDS that gets us there in 1 hour.  After doing some research and learning that the bus ride is regularly called "The Bus Ride From Hell" we opted for the 1 hour plane ride on Vietnam Airways.

We took off at 7:25PM from Luang Prabang, Laos and arrive in Hanoi, Vietnam at 8:35 PM.  Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up...I can get used to this pampering...and we arrived at in our hotel room just before 10 PM.  Awaiting us in our room were rose pedals and a fruit basket...all for the low, low price of $36 USD per night!

DAY 1
We woke up the next morning still questioning our decision to kayak for 3 days, but we can't back out now.  We figured we better get a good breakfast for the energy plus we didn't know what to expect food wise for the next 3 days.  I noticed on the menu something called Laos Pancake that looked interesting, so I ordered it.  This is what came out:

I think it is a sticky rice patty coated with egg and then fried making for a dense and yummy meal.  Added an egg on top and pour some chili sauce on top and I am very, vey happy.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and met our tour guide, Kim, for the next 3 days.  We packed what we needed into dry sacks and the tour company sent the rest of our belongings to Luang Probang where we will meet them in 3 days. 
We were finally in the kayaks and going down river by 9:30 AM and by 9:40 AM we were wondering...yet again...what have we got ourselves into.  The river wasn't running too fast requiring us to paddle pretty hard, and looking downriver it didn't look like it got any better.  After 30 minutes Kim was pretty far ahead and stopped to allow us to catch up.  I asked him if he was concerned and he said he wasn't then he said, "Well, maybe a little."  Great...maybe we are doing as bad as we felt we were.  What have we gotten ourselves into?!?

We decided to pick it up a bit and after about 1 hour Kim said that he was feeling a bit better about our ability to paddle.  At 1:30 PM, after 4 hours of paddling, we stopped for lunch.  We expected individual lunch portions, but instead Kim opened a bag of sticky rice and a bag of sautéed vegetables and said to please eat.  This is what is called eating lunch Laos-style:

The food was pretty good, but not as good as the scenery:

Kim said that we only had about 3 more hours left of paddling today before making it to the village we will be spending the night.  Only 3 more hours?!?  He also kept telling us that today is the hardest day of the 3 since the river is wider here and doesn't run as fast.  He also kept telling us that tomorrow is the fun day with 5 sets of rapids...great...something more to add to our worries.  Oh...Kim then tells us that just before the end of today's paddle we have to tackle a dam that according to Kim is a bit tricky.

Tim at this point isn't very happy.  For the next 3 hours he is mumbling behind me that he didn't sign up for this...that they said it was an easy paddle with no whitewater and today we have been paddling our butts off and now we have to go through a tricky whitewater section...that this kayak isn't the best quality and it is hard to turn...and that he doesn't want to go in the water and get soaked.

2 1/2 hours later we approach the dam.  Kim tells us that as long as we follow him and keep the kayak straight we should be alright.  So...follow we did with waves crossing the bow and hitting me in the face, but we managed to make it through without going over...although we felt like we almost did.  30 minutes later we landed at our overnight village.

The interesting part of this village is that it is only 6 months old.  This village was located right by where China built the new dam.  To compensate, China built a whole new village just down river.  The houses are a lot nicer than the old houses, but the villagers do not like the new location since a lot of their rice paddies are now hard to get to, but according to Kim, they are getting used to it.  Here are some pictures of the village:

Here is the house we stayed in and the family that hosted us:

Notice the fish being grilled in the picture of our host family above?  Well...I told them that I didn't eat meat but that I did eat fish, so they went to their neighbor's house and brought back a fish.  After it was cooked they told me to help myself so I started eating it.  After a few bites Kim came to me to tell me that the entire fish wan't mine that it was for the whole family.  This fish was only about 8 inches long and i would have easily been able to eat it and probably still be hungry...luckily there is all the sticky rice I can eat.

After dinner we went to our room.  Being a new construction our room was a lot nicer than we expected although we still slept on a thin mattress on the floor.  

DAY 2
The next morning we woke up, had some scrambled eggs and sticky rice and headed back out on the Nam Ou River.  As we launched, Kim told us that today we would face 5 rapids that he nicknamed cousin, sister, brother, mother, and father...each one gets progressively harder.  Again, Tim isn't a happy person.  We hit the first rapid that we survived, but it wound up being the "little cousin" so didn't count as one of the 5.  Each rapid we hit and thought was legitimate Kim said it was the second little cousin or the little brother, but not 1 of the 5.  Finally we made it to cousin and sister and successfully negotiated them.  Then we hit brother...more like evil brother since it knocked us over pretty early in the rapids.  Because it was impossible to get back on the kayak while in the rapids we were forced to ride it out by hanging onto the kayak and then ultimately, after Kim took the kayak from us, we had to swim our way to the edge, which we succeeded to do.  Neither of us were injured and the water temperature wasn't too bad so all in all it wasn't too bad of an ordeal, except that we still have 2 more rapids that are supposed to be worse.  But first we stopped for lunch at another beautiful location along the river:

After lunch we hit more "little sisters", "little brothers", "uncles", and then finally we hit mother.  Again Kim told us to follow him, which we tried, but it was hard to steer the kayak and we wound up taking a different line that ran us right over a small waterfall...which we survived...and then we went over.  We don't know how or why since we were so close to exiting the rapids, but there we were floating down the river yet again.   At least we knew the drill...hold onto the kayak, pass the kayak to Kim, swim past the rapids and head towards the edge.  We get back on the kayak and Kim said that we only had one more rapid...another dam to get through, but worse than the yesterday's dam, that he calls "father"...great.

Although he said we only had "father" left, we went through more "little brothers", "uncles", "little sisters", and then finally we see the dam.  Kim said, as usual, follow him and keep the kayak straight.  As usual, we had trouble keeping the same line as he did, and wound up going right through the high wave section of the rapids, but somehow we managed to hold on and not go over...success!  Around 3:30 PM, a little further down the river, we pulled into our village for the night.

Here are pictures of the house we stayed in.  Kim said that these people were rich and that the house is very large compared to his and most other houses.

After another dinner consisting of mostly sticky rice we called it a night and went to sleep.

DAY 3:
We can't believe that we have made it through the first 2 days and we now finally felt like we were going to make it.  We hit the river around 8:30 and 2 hours later stopped for a quick break:

Although today was supposed to be the easy day there were still many rapids to negotiate and at this point we ready for a hotel room with a bed and a shower.  Right at the point that we were tired it was time to pull off for lunch at one of the most beautiful areas on the river with sheer granite cliffs:

About 1 hour after lunch we made it to the confluence of the Nam Ou River and the Mekong River.  We turned downriver on the Mekong and made an immediate stop at the Pak Ou Caves AKA, the Buddha Cave, home to thousands of Buddha images:

After the cave we had just 45 minutes on the Mekong before we got to our pull-out point.  During the 1 hour drive to Luang Prabang we made a quick stop in the Whiskey Village where Tim tried out the rice wine with Kim looking on:

Then, around 4 PM we made it to Luang Prabang after 3 days and almost 60 miles of paddling we made it.  To celebrate we walked over the pedestrian bamboo bridge and had pizza for dinner:

Tomorrow we sleep in, relax, and walk around Luang Prabang.

We are now running out of time fast.  Because we are exiting Laos in February, a month with only 28 days, Laos only gave us 28 days...3 less days...on our visa.  I know 3 days doesn't seem like a lot, but it means leaving out the 2 day boat ride down the Mekong that I wanted to do.  Instead the plan is to make it to Luang Prabang and do a 2 day trek staying in a remote village.  A bus from Sam Neua to Luang Prabang is over 15 hours, so we decided to break up the trip by stopping in Nong Khiaw only 8 hours away.  Stopping in Nong Khiaw also allows us the possibility to take a 1 day boat ride down the Nam Ou into the Mekong and to Luang Prabang.

We arrived at the bus station at 6:30 AM, 1hour before the van is supposed to leave.  When we got there the van to Nong Khiaw was already there, but the driver would not let us on.  For the next hour we waited to board, but every time he entered the van for something or another he would get out and lock the doors.  Finally the time came to leave and he finally unlocked the doors...but he made us all remove our shoes and put them in plastic bags...thus the wait till the last minute.  He wanted to ensure that he can control the entry into the van which he could only do once all the luggage has been stowed and we were ready to leave.

Overall the trip was pretty good except for the 2 young guys behind us that kept throwing up due to the twists and turns of the mountain road.  We finally arrived in Nong Khiaw just before 5 PM and just in time to catch the sunset:

Here is where we are staying for the next 2 nights:

Here is the view from our balcony the next morning:

After breakfast we walked through town to look into how to take the 1-day boat down the river to Luang Prabang.  We talked to one tour company that didn't offer the boat to Luang Prabang, but did offer a 2 day trek similar to the one I wanted to do in Luang Prabang, but less expensive and would be a private trek with just Tim and I...hum...something to consider.  We continued down the road and finally found a place that offered the boat trip, but a dam has been erected so instead of simply getting on a boat and going to Luang Prabang you have to get off the boat at a dam, catch a tuk-tuk around the dam, then get onto another boat.  Not that big a deal except now that the dam has been built less and less people have opted for the boat trip so the price has gone up.  It would have cost us $150 USD each...quite ridiculous, so not an option.  We decided to go back to the trekking company but stopped at another company to see what they could offer in terms of treks.  They offered a very similar trek to the first one we found, but they also offered a 3-day kayak trip that ended in Luang Prabang.

When we heard 3-day kayaking, all we thought was we get to be on the river like we wanted and we didn't have to get back on a van for an 8 hour mountain drive AGAIN.  He said it was an easy paddle and that there was little to no whitewater.  Before we knew it we were signed up and told to be there at 9 AM the next day.  After leaving the tour company we were like...WHAT DID WE JUST DO?!?  Oh well...we will worry about that later.  Right now we have to hike the 1.25 mile hike up to the viewpoint.

There was a few warnings he had to heed during the hike:

And here is the reward for the long climb that felt like it went straight up the side of the mountain:

The trip back down the mountain was just before sunset allowing for some beautiful scenery:

After the hike I was rewarded with an awesome Indian dinner.  A meal like this back in the US would probably cost around $25 USD.  Here in Laos it cost around $10 USD!  Tim even managed to find something on the menu that he really liked.

After dinner we called it a night.  Tomorrow we are off on a 3-day kayaking trip down the Nam Ou River towards Luang Prabang.  We still can't believe we have signed up for this.