The Lovely Land of Laos and a shaky beginning in Vietnam

Usually I sit down to write this blog full of excitement to share great memories and experiences that I have had. Like I said, we loved Luang Prabang after 3 hours...actually probably 3 minutes, even as we walked waaaay past our hotel with our packs on, too proud to take a tuktuk or ask for directions. But that is simply not the case in Hanoi. We hate it after 3 hours. But before I rant about Vietnam, I will recount the gloriousness of Laos and then maybe I will cool down, literally and figuratively.

Luang Prabang was simply magical. The French left their architecture, their baguettes and their crepes, the Buddhists are responsible for the temples and monks and Mother Nature provided the Mekong River and the surrounding mountains. After the French peaced, there were plenty of buildings just screaming to be turned into guesthouses and cafes and so the tourism began, but somehow, maybe because Laos is still sort of off the beaten path, it's very tasteful tourism at this point.

While in Luang Prabang, we walked the whole city on foot (it's becoming a pattern of ours to see more than we intend to due to wrong turns, poorly-scaled maps, wandering interests, etc.) tested the eateries, explored tons of wats, visited the National Museum, and climbed up hundreds of stairs to Phu Si temple to watch the sun set and get a view of the whole town. One day, we rented mountain bikes and went 15km to Tad Sae waterfall. Although I cursed the bicycles the whole way there, and while we pushed them up a giant hill on the way home because even 24 gears were not enough, and again the next day when my bottom was black and blue, the overall experience was wonderful.

Parting with the city even temporarily was difficult, but we ventured outside of LP to two different villages. After picking up many bicycles from the songtaew driver's house, hitting a chicken, and getting a flat tire, we arrived no worse for the wear in Nong Khiaw. The mountain scenery was even prettier than what we had seen before and our trip really hit a high note. Jess and I could not shut up about how great Laos is. We explored a cave which sheltered over 100 villagers while the USA dropped bombs on Loas during the Vietnam War. We could see what looked like small lakes dotting the rice paddies, but they were holes left by the bombs. That night, as Jess and I sat on the porch of our bungalow overlooking the Nam Ou, we contemplated why everyone who is able would not want to travel like we were...live out of a backpack, forget the finer things in life...until we went to bed on the equivalent of floor boards with sheets over top. I really mean it this time, THE WORLD'S MOST UNCOMFORTABLE BEDS. The next day, with stiff necks and spasming backs, we packed ourselves into a wooden boat like sardines and went an hour and a half up river to Muang Ngoi Neua. We also hiked to caves there and drank some BeerLao with some other falangs and Penny, the hilarious and talkative guesthouse owner who told long stories about former guests peepeeing the beds.When choosing Penny's place from the Lonely Planet, Jess said, "rat-free or river-view, my girl?" I went for rat-free...but we still had a view of them being grilled-up outside.

Luckily, when we returned to LP yesterday our big backpacks were still under a bench at our guesthouse where we had hidden them two days before. We checked off some last-minute things to do while in LP, did a little shopping at the handicraft market (definately the most laidback of its kind in Asia), and made sure to leave the LP cuisine scene on a high note.
Now that I wrote all that good stuff, your eyes are probably getting tired, so you can stop reading now and spare yourself the negativity.

Since entering Vietnam 4 hours ago, we have been scammed, harrassed, and almost run over many times. Additionally, we attempted to check-in to a hotel that told us they would have a room in 30 minutes. Two hours later, it still was not ready which was fine by us because by that time we had noticed that the Prince Hotel was probably just a nice-looking brothel. Furthermore, the air quality here is waaaaaay worse than in Beijing. Our new German friend told us that spending one day in Beijing is the lung-damage-equivalent of three packs of cigarettes. I think that is an exaggeration, but I want to get my lungs out of here after the must-sees which, by Murphy's Law, are all closed on Mondays, the day we planned for sighseeing in Hanoi. And lastly, gone are the days of endless choices for deliciousness so that making a decision is the hardest part of eating. Instead, we are looking for meatless options in a city that eats dogs. The squirrels in Laos made me a little sad, but I will just die if I see Fido-on-a-stick.

In other news, the conversion rate is 17,634 dong to a dollar, Notre Dame squeaks by again and Jessie Walker turns the big 2-3.

Post Script: since writing this, we have come around on Hanoi a little bit thanks to daylight hours, an upgrade in hotels, and a few good meals. ; )