Vientiane, Laos : 18 Dec 10

My last day in Laos and the last day of my 7 week wander around SE Asia... had mixed feelings but looking forward to getting back to Nepal.  The first thing I did was find a nice Guest House to move to ... was nice but too many rules for the guests!

Because I had withdrawn too much money last night from the ATM I decided to spoil myself with a nice relaxing massage.  Went to a place recommended by the Lonely Planet.  What a mistake.  I had a body scrub which was great cos I had 7 weeks of SE Asia dirt in my pores but the massage was the most painful thing I have ever been through in the my life.. well nearly!

At the end my neck and left shoulder were killing me and I couldn't turn my head to the left without excruciating pain shooting up the left side of my neck.  The boss lady asked me at the end while I was sipping my herbal tea "how did you enjoy your massage" ... I tried to smile but was more a grimace and said "oh it was pretty good thank you" :-|  I will never have a Laos massage again!!  ... 2 1/2 hours of pain and 300,000 kip later!!!  Oh well at least I spent some of that 1,000,000 kip! 

My last dinner in Laos I had at my favourite restaurant in Vientiane ... Sabai Eli ... great food, red wine and live music ... bliss :))

Vientiane, Laos : 17 Dec 10

Today I got a bus to Vientiane ... advertised as 8 hours ... took 14 hours cos the &%# bus broke down after 3 hours!!!  Oh joy!

When the clutch started making really horrible noises I thought oh no !!!  And sure enough 1/2 an hour later the bus broke down in a little village on the main road to Vientiane ... nobody was told anything and nobody knew what was going on.  I slept nearly the whole time and then over 3 hours later another bus turned up.  Finally we arrived into Vientiane at 10pm to the northern bus park.  The Tuk Tuk Mafia was waiting for us.  It was late and I didn't have any accommodation booked but this group of backpackers were arguing with the Tuk Tuk drivers over 10,000 kip ... just over $1 ... grrrrrr ... I just wanted to get into town which was 10 kms away and get a bed and go to sleep! 

Finally we arrived into town and I wandered the streets for awhile... very daunting when all the guest houses have "FULL" on the doors at 10.30pm at night and there are miscellaneous men and hookers on the streets.  I found a dodgy guest house and I mean dodgy ... but he wanted payment there and then and of course I had no kip so he made me go out on the street again at 11pm and get some money ..... WTF .... so I had to walk past the miscellaneous men and hookers on the street corner in search of 80,000 kip.  I offered to leave him $20 AUD as a deposit and I would get the money in the morning but oh no he wanted his 80,000 kip right there and then!!!!  I got to the supermarket ... they wouldn't change AUD ... found an ATM .. pulled out 1,000,000 kip ... in my rush realised it was way too much money for one more day in Laos.  Oh well at least I had a bed for the night!

Luang Prabang, Laos : 16 Dec 10

Today I was feeling a bit worse for wear ... it wasn't the beer last night honest!

I walked all the way ( a very long way ) to the nicest WAT in Luang Prabang and when i got there and after I had paid my entrance fee I realised I had left my camera back at the Guest House ... not happy JAN!!!  And I had my thongs on too so I had to walk all the way back to my Guest House, get my camera and change into my more sensible shoes.

Then I walked all the way back ... it was worth it too ... what a lovely WAT and there were monks hanging around and it just had a lovely feel to it.  I sat in the WAT for awhile and just soaked up the atmosphere.  Lots of gold buddhas again. 

Then I walked all the way back nearly to my guest house and visited the Luang Prabang Museum which used to be the Royal Palace.  More buddhas but was interesting to see how the royal family used to live.

And then it was MORE drinking and debauchery with Mick and Dan :))  We went to the Blue Ice Bar again and had a fantastic night.  It was crowded with lots of very interesting people and we sat at the bar all night and made friends with the bar staff.  Was a very late night but hey it was my last night in Luang Prabang and maybe I won't see Mick and Dan for another 23 years !! that was my excuse anyway ... Luang Prabang has an 11.30pm curfew ... but we were there til after midnight ???

Luang Prabang, Laos : 15 Dec 10

Today I had planned to have a lazy day but ended up doing touristy stuff.  I walked up to the WAT on the top of the hill for gorgeous views over Luang Prabang... apparently it is the sunset spot but don't think I will be walking up all those steps again to see a sunset.

There were lots of gold buddas and a footprint of Buddhas foot ... hmmmm all I can say is that Buddha must of been a very big man cos his foot print is bigger than me! 

Visited the WAT across the road from my guesthouse ... Thalinh GH ... very nice and very cheap rooms ... you have to share a bathroom but i didn't see another guest the whole I was there so really had the whole bathroom to myself!  I have to mention the night markets too in Luang Prabang... gorgeous handcrafts and a shoppers heaven.

And that's pretty much all I did today ... but met up with Mick and Dan for another night of drinking and debauchery.  We went to Blue Ice bar.... loads of fun and very interesting patrons.  We were sitting out front and Travis (who I trekked with) wandered by so he stopped for a drink too.

Luang Prabang, Laos : 12,13&14 Dec 10

Completed the muddiest 3-day trek ever ... but still loved every minute of it .... and I do this for fun??? :))  I'm sure some of my family would think I have lost the plot ... hehe

Geez so where do i start  ...

Day One (12th Dec) ... found out last night that I have two trekking buddies joining Mr Bee (my guide) and me on this trek.  I was very excited and met Travis from NYC, USA and Chris from France in the car on the way to the trail head.  (Unfortunately Chris was not feeling very well and she ended up turning back a couple of hours into the trek.)  We started the trail at a little village about 1 1/2 hr drive from Luang Prabang where there were kids to see us off.  And then it was up hill from there and very hot! 

     
We stopped at another very tidy little village where all the houses were made from bamboo on stilts.  I couldn't believe these villages so close to the busy Luang Prabang but yet so remote.  And there were more kids.  We had lunch in one of the homes and all the villagers came to watch us eat ... we sat on one side and they all sat on the other side of the room.  We felt bad about eating infront of them cos they all looked so poor but Mr Bee said it was ok.  One little baby was very social and she was just learning to walk and was determined to sit on our table.  Her very young mother kept dragging her away but the baby won eventually ... that is after she pee'd on the floor but it was quickly mopped up with the babies sock :))  I gave her a round and round ride on the table which made her laugh.  She then got fascinated by Travis's flash big camera and was determined to get her hands on that.  Was a very entertaining lunch.  We set off again with all the kids waving us goodbye.

We walked into our first home stay at a Kamou Village about an hour later and then it started to rain.  We settled into our home for the night ... we were staying in the home of the village chief and his wife, mother and father and mother-in-law, and two sons all lived there too... then we took a walk around the village and Mr Bee showed us inside a few houses and explained the Kamou culture and way of life to us.  And there were lots of kids.  I played soccer with one little boy and then showed him how to play cricket with the ball and a bit of wood from the firewood stack.  They all thought this was very funny.  We watched a group of adults digging in a field and we found out that they are soccer mad and are making a soccer field.  It was a very lumpy soccer field.  We met a man who is 52... he has 11 children ... oldest 23 and youngest 10 months (he was looking after 9 of his kids when we met him) ... his first wife had died and now he is re-married and his first two children have passed away. 

Then it was time to wash.  Everyone goes to the local creek to bathe and it's set up with pipes so there are a few washing areas.  I didn't wash :( but Travis and Mr Bee braved the cold water and they attracted an audience of kids .. well it was probably more Travis washing attracted the audience!

So for dinner we ate in the kitchen of the family.  We sat on the floor and had pork fillets roasted over an open fire in bread rolls with lashings of mustard from a bottle.  There were field rats roasting above the fire ... thank god we didn't get served that for dinner .. not sure if I could eat rat but apparently they taste like chicken :))  Next time maybe!

After dinner we went outside and sat round the fire with all the kids and puppies.  There seem to be lots of kids and lots of puppies ... love it :))

Day Two (13th Dec) ... over night I had an allergic reaction.  We slept on the floor with the family on thin mattresses under mossie nets but this didn't protect me from what was in the mattress.  I found out that it was stuffed with flowers and my body didn't like it ... sore throat, muscle pain and an onset of sinus ... but still loved every minute!

We woke to heavy rain so we hung around til as late as we could.  Oh the mud!!!  It was a beautiful walk again... a bit of up and a bit of down and not too strenuous.  We walked through a property in this valley that was all on its own and had a million pigs, chooks, cows etc .. the cows and pigs followed us from one end of the property to the other and we thought they were going to follow us up the hill but stopped and looked at us til they realised we weren't coming back.  The cows even came up for a pat and tried to eat my hand ... not like aussie cows that run away the second you look at them. 

We arrived into our next village, Long Lao, which was a Hmong Village and a lot busier and less remote than the night before ... and there were heaps of kids!  They were all out playing games in the mud .. some of the games were pretty inventive and they were having so much fun ... I guess this is what kids do when they have no tv or computer.  It was good to see and fun to watch them. 

Our home for the night was with a really nice family but we had our own cabin made of bamboo and again on stilts and we slept on mattresses under mossie nets.  I didn't see one mossie the whole time but it was sort of romantic to sleep under a mossie net!

The lady of the house was busy making the bamboo thingies for the roof as apparently they have to reroof the houses every year and this is the womans work.  Big job but she had a huge smile on her face and had a very serene presence.  They had a very cheeky puppy whose mission was to chew everything (our fingers, shoes, legs etc) and it just loved chewing the roof thingies that the lady was making but she didn't seem to mind at all. 

Mr Bee took us for a walk around the village.  We stopped and bought green leafy veges from a lady which was our dinner ... soup and then fried with our main course.  We got lots of photos of the kids just out and about having fun in their free time.  The kids were so cute and so shy. 

So that night after dinner I talked the boys into having a end of trek celebration ... ten beers later and Mr Bee and Travis wrestling and lots of silly photos.  Was a hoot!  The man of the house came out and joined us and showed us photos of himself and his first wife I think it was.  He was just gorgeous ... no English but we communicated anyway.

Day Three (14th Dec) ... woke up to more rain and a bit of a headache :)) We walked to the spring ... crystal clear pond with a creek .. took some photos and flicked off the leeches ... and then kept going to the Huay Xai waterfall... the best waterfall in Laos and it's just beautiful.  Had a swim and washed off all the mud ... our boots had 2 inches of mud on them for the last two days and we had mud up to our knees so it was a fantastic way to finish the trek.   There are black bears there too in a sanctuary ... couldn't believe it! 

Then it was back to Luang Prabang.  This was one of the best treks I have ever done ... it was so good to do a real authentic homestay and really see how the minority races of people live in the villages.  And Mr Bee our guide was fantastic ... so enthusiastic and loved his job and knew so much about the villages and culture of the people we visited.....would definitely recommend this trek to anyone travelling to Laos.

After I called my Dad for his 70th birthday ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOD :)) xx ... I caught up with Mick and Dan.  Mick is a friend from Year 12 Nambour High School and we haven't seen each other for 23 years.  Was so good to meet up again after so long.  Dan is from Laos and left when he was 7 so they have come back to visit Dan's village and family members.  Very exciting

Luang Prabang, Laos : 10&11 Dec 10

I am back from the two days as a trainee Mahout. Was an amazing 2 days and got heaps of time with the elephants. Don't think I make a very good Mahout though!

As soon as we got to the elephant camp we had a trek on an elephant sitting in the basket. The mahout got me to sit on the head of the elephant straight away and he walked behind... talk about being thrown in the deep end !!! Carlos from Portugal was in the basket with me and he preferred to stay in the basket so I had nearly an hour as the newby mahout. I was terrified at first ... felt like I was going to slide off especially when we went down the steep bits but slowly got my confidence. My elephant had the lazies and took alot of encouragement to go forward and lots of yelling of "Bai" which is elephant Lao talk for "Go" but she didn't want to go! I was really worried that my elephant was in pain with my fat butt and beer belly on her head but my guide, Tongcheng, said that the elephants are all very happy and well fed and cared for really well by the mahouts ... this is so true too ... over the 2 days you could tell the Mahouts have a very special bond with their elephants ... was very sweet!

At the elephant camp there is an 8 year old male elephant ... he's the youngest and very small ... there are 2 other males and 8 females... all the females are 40 years old or older so felt in good company :))

After the trek I checked into my cabin at the Elephant Lodge. Had this gorgeous timber cabin with a big deck overlooking the river all to myself and on the bed was a very sexy blue denim Mahout outfit to wear!! At lunch we learnt the Mahout commands ... go, left, right, stop etc.

Then after lunch we got our very own elephant to ride as the trainee mahouts. We went on another trek through the jungle for about an hour and half ... the Mahout walked behind and the elephant kept looking back to make sure he was there .. it was really cute. Don't think she was listening much to my commands. At the end of the trek we all ended up in the River for a bath. This was the highlight except the elephant wouldn't Boun-Boun... squirt me with water :(

At dinner met two Aussie girls, Rachel and Anastasia ... in their sexy denim Mahout outfits they looked like two little Oompaloompas :))

Day 2 we all got up early to take the elephants for another bath. They ran out of elephants so Anastasia and I shared an elephant with a mahout. Poor Anastasia was thrown in the deep end like me yesterday and I felt like the old hand. The Mahout made the elephant just about run down the hill to the river. We were screaming !! It was pretty funny. When we got to the water I got my own elephant ... she wouldn't Boun-Boun AGAIN!!! but she would go completely under the water and then would stand up really quickly over and over ... this was more fun I think than Boun-Boun.

So I said goodbye to the elephants :(( was a fantastic experience and it was so good to see the elephants so well cared for and happy.

After brekky my guide and I got taken to a spot further up the river and we kayaked five minutes to the Tad Sae Waterfall. Beautiful tiered waterfall with lots of swimming holes... the water is blue-green from the limestone I think. We had lunch and then kayaked 2 hours back to the elephant lodge. It's a beautiful river and a busy river ... people harvesting seaweed, fishing, swimming, etc. It was really interesting. The seaweed that they harvest (and there's lots of it) they press flat onto bamboo drying racks and press chilli, garlic, onion and sesame seeds into and dry it in the sun and then deep fry it in oil and it's like a beer snack. We tried some at dinner the night before ... very yum but very oily!

Back at Luang Prabang ... heading off for a 3 day trek tomorrow.

Vang Vieng/Luang Prabang, Lao : 8&9 Dec 10

Have just arrived in Luang Prabang. After 6 hours in a mini bus on a very very windy road I have decided to see my trip out in Luang Prabang (and not go to Luang Nam Tha) as there are some excellent tours to do from here ... I have just booked 2 tours for the next 5 days. From tomorrow I am doing a 2 day Mahout Course where I learn to be an Elephant Driver ... it's a crash course ... but we ride the elephants and learn the commands and bathe and feed them and hang out with the baby elephants too.... sounds pretty amazing .. and then the 12/13/14 I am doing a 3 day trek with Mr B to the minority villages and a waterfall and climb a mountain for a good view of the Mekong. He is going to put the word out to get other trekkers but if not it'll just be me and Mr B.

And then on the night of the 14th I'll catch up with Mike and his partner in Luang Prabang (thanks to facebook). I did Year 12 with Mike at Nambour and haven't seen him I reckon since year 12 so can't wait!

Now getting back to Vang Vieng ... Vang Vieng is like a big drunken Summer Camp for Backpackers!

I did the tour yesterday ... surprise surprise the itinerary I booked was not the itinerary on the day !!

Anyway had a great day and met some really nice people again. We drove to the elephant cave and walked 3 metres into it (this was the caving!) .. it's called the elephant cave cos a stalagmite in the cave looks like an elephant but it's a very sacred cave. Then we drove to another spot and walked to the creek (this was the trekking!) where we sat for nearly 2 hours waiting our turn to tube into a cave.... we were all best friends by the end of the 2 hours ... the tubing into the cave was great.... we pulled ourselves along through this tunnel cave in huge tyre tubes and we had head torches ... we had to get out and walk at one spot and then we got to a dead end and had to go all the way back ... it was fun but the water was very cold ... felt a bit hypothermic by the time I got back.

And then we drove to the Nam Song River (after another short trek back to the car !) and we kayaked down the Nam Song. There were 1-2 grade rapids so this made it more fun. We stopped at the tubing bars.... far out I have never seen anything like it ... all these ramshackle bars on the banks of the Nam Song River with 100s of drunk backpackers drinking and dancing and there are home made water slides and home made swings and the music is blaring ...there were signs up to entice the tubers in like Mud Pit, Mud TugoWar, Super High Brownies, Whiskey Bar, Free Cocktails for the Ladies etc ...it was pretty messy ... I'm amazed only ONE person gets killed a year!! We stopped at one of the quieter bars that had a fairly sturdy looking water slide ... a few in our group had a go but I just sat and watched. Don't think my travel insurance would cover me injuring myself on a homemade water slide! It was funny for the first 5 minutes and then I just got bored... if only I was 10-15 years younger! The funniest was when this girl went on the waterslide and cos she had not body weight she stopped half way down and then had to walk to the end of it and jump into the water.... was pretty funny :))

So we kayaked from the bars back to Vang Vieng .. it's another 2kms down river and all the drunk tired tubers where struggling... a few asked for a tow on our kayak .. felt sorry for them.... and the water was so cold... this was about 5pm ... then all these motor boats passed us heading up the river to try to get some business to tow them back I guess.

Last night I was sitting have dinner in this place that plays continuous episodes of Friends (where I was staying continually played Simpsons ... doh!) and all the drunk tubers started walking and yahooing back into the main street... this was the backpackers behaving badly the night before ... !

Well better go and have a Beer Lao :))

Vang Vieng, Lao : 7 Dec 10

Here I am in Vang Vieng .. the most laid back place in the world ... if it was any more laid back the locals would be asleep ... well most of them seem to be! And it's so laid back you have to pester them for service! Go from one extreme in Vietnam to the other in Lao!

And I got the cheapest room in history ... 40,000 kip which is about $5 and my doona cover is bright pink with cartoon pictures of little girls on it ... I feel like I am 8 years old again :))

The bus from Vientiane was late leaving as there was one bloke on the bus who reckons he had lost his ticket and the bus driver told him he had to pay again which makes sense to me but he wouldn't so we were delayed 15 minutes while the bus driver and this bloke had a stand off. The bus driver won (yay) ! cos the bloke was pretty arrogant.

Vang Vieng is an amazing place ... ramshackle buildings on the Nam So river I think it's called and all surrounded by craggy mountains. They have built make shift bamboo bridges over the river which must get washed away in the monsoon as they are pretty temporary looking. I really like this place ... very cruisy. The restaurants don't have tables and chairs but raised platforms with tables and you sit on cushions. Everyone seems to just go in total slack mode and lie around watching tv and drinking beer. I read in the LP too that there is a huge drug business here too ... think this goodie two shoes will give that a miss!

I have booked a trip tomorrow to go caving, kayaking, trekking and swimming for a whole day. Can't wait for this.

I am suffering today from the bed bug itch .. that hotel last night in Vientiane had the worst bed bugs and the itch is driving me completely insane. One puffed up on my hand today in this huge blister. Another bloke who stayed there too who was on the bus today was suffering too. Not much fun!

Have booked to go to Luang Prabang on the 9th and then will head up to Luang Nam Tha on the 10th ... am in the process of booking a 2 day trek in the Nam Ha Valley ... 6 hours of trekking a day and visiting minority race villages... sounds great!

I found silver shops :)) ... spent a fortune !! ... $18 ... 2 pairs of earrings, a ring and a beaded bracelet.

Well better go ... I can hear the Beer Lao calling me ... :)

Vientiane, Lao : 7 Dec 10

Off to Vang Vieng this morning on the bus. I just love those bus trips ... so much fun!!

I've been awake since 2am worrying about not being able to find accommodation (or it might have been the itch from the bed bugs feasting on me!) have been winging it to date but might have to start being a bit more organised otherwise I might find myself on the streets.

Had a good day yesterday wandering around the sights of Vientiane. It's a lovely city and hardly busy at all. I walked off some that blobbiness so feel a bit slimmer today.

Vientiane has it's own Arc de Triomphe (Putaxai) just out side of the city centre. It has become a place for the Lao people to hang out and relax now. You can walk right into it and up to the top and get great views of the city. On the way up the mandatory souvenir stalls but nobody hassles you to buy anything ... it actually feels weird not being hassled. And then about 1km up the road is the most important national monument in Lao, Pha That Luang and it's just beautiful in all it's gold glory.

And then walked back into the city centre i visited the Wat Si Saket the oldest temple in Vientiane ... gorgeous old temple with 1,000's of buddhas ... this temple would have to be my favourite temple. There were two young monks wandering around when I was there. Across the road is a royal temple, Haw Pha Kaew, which has even more buddhas and is a beautiful old building too. I found a very cuddly purry cat so got my cat fix.

Walked to the banks of the Mekong which are just one street away. They are doing this massive park development on the banks .. will look great when it's all finished but hopefully they will plant some trees as it's a bit hot. There was a huge statue of a man down there but not sure who he was ??? will have to find out. So walked up the main drag along the Mekong ... lots of cafes. Found an Indian restaurant that actually served Dal Baht and had a very friendly Indian waiter ... after I got homesick for Nepal I settled for the Vegetable Pakora and a cup of the Lao Coffee (resisted a beer cos it was too early) .. the coffee is different .. very strong and extremely sweet.

Arrived back at my hotel and my clean clothes were ready for me ... yipppeeee :))

Last night went back to Sabai Eli restaurant. Had the BEST seafood curry ... yummo it was soooo good .. washed down with a Lao Beer. It's hard to resist a 2nd bottle but they come in 640ml bottles and two of those in my stomach might just push me over the edge. And there was a live singer again .. i didn't see him cos I was sitting outside but he sounded western. He wasn't as good a singer as the two Lao singers the night before.

Sitting at the next table was a Mum and Dad and their 16 month old son. They live in Jakarta but he's american and she's from Indonesia and their son was just so adorable. He had the wildest black fuzzy hair and pulled the funniest faces. I just wanted to kidnap him ... so cute. And last night I saw a hooker standing in the shadows on the corner of the street and she had the skimpiest dress on .... I must be so naive or a prude cos I was totally shocked.

Well best be off and get ready for the bus.

Vientiane, Lao : 6 Dec 10

I am in Lao ... yipppeee yahooo jiggy jiggy jump jump yay oh yeh .... I am very happy about this :))

I nearly didn't get here though. I went to check into my flight yesterday and the lady informed me that there was no record of me in their system ... WTF... I said calmly what does that mean ... she kept typing away and didn't answer me .. then she said would you like a window seat or an aisle seat ... I said I really don't care I just want a seat... she said you have to sit in the emergency seat ... I thought this would be the jump seat between the pilots but it was 1A ... I felt very special .... NOT! Geez if I'd had to spend another night in Hanoi I would've thrown a massive tanty and completely embarrassed myself. But I was on the plane PHEW!!

The plane got into Vientiane at 6pm and I met two young blokes from Holland and we agreed to share a ride into town. I couldn't believe it ... outside the airport was so quiet and there was one tuk tuk but then he got chased away by the taxi drivers ... apparently there is a feud between the taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers and the taxi drivers rule... anyway the tuk tuk driver wanted 80,000 kip and I said no way and then he got chased away so we walked out to the road into the airport and the tuk tuk driver was waiting for us but yelling out hurry hurry as he would get chased away again. We told him 30,000 kip and he said yeh get in quickly. He took us to a hotel ... the blokes checked in and I was just going to wander to find a cheaper hotel but the tuk tuk driver wouldn't leave until he was sure I had found a hotel and I was safe.... amazing! Once he was happy I was all checked in and safe he left. How nice was that?

Last night I found this really nice restaurant, Sabai Eli, with exceptional service and a live band ... was such a relaxing atmosphere and the two singers (girl and boy) had the best voices ... and I had the best vege green curry and the Lao Beer .... mmmmmmmmmmmmm yummo! Could be dangerous cos a big bottle costs only 12,000 kip which is $1.50 ... it's cold and crisp and very very refreshing :)) yum!

Within being in Vientiane for only 2 hours I was smitten ... it is so clean, hardly any traffic, no honking horns, nobody hassling you every second to buy something or go somewhere ... it's so laid back and croooozy and the people are extremely friendly and helpful :) I think I am going to really like ... no ... LOVE this country.

This morning I checked out early from my hotel... the housekeepers started yelling at 7am this morning right outside my door ... so I have found another hotel to stay tonight and it's a bit cheaper and the lady is going to do my laundry for me cos I have NO clean clothes at all .. getting desperate. I heard this young Aussie bloke saying in the bus the other day on the way back from Halong Bay that if you leave your dirty clothes in your back pack for a week and don't wear them then they automatically become clean again .... hmmmmmm !!!! Don't think I will try it.

And I have to make a special mention of the hotel I stayed in my last night in Hanoi .... Hanoi Elite ... I would highly highly recommend it ...and I get an email from the manager today thanking me for staying and wishing me good luck on my travels in Lao. I will be staying there again if ever I go back to Hanoi. I spent 19 hours in my room and only left to have brekky .... just didn't want to leave cos it was just so comfortable.

Well better go and see the sights of Vientiane ... I am going for a big walk today cos I feel like a big fat blob!

Halong Bay/Hanoi, Vietnam : 2-4 Dec 10

I'm back in Hanoi after my three days in gorgeous Halong Bay ... wow what a spectacular place ...

After a bit of a bad start had the best three days. The woman who booked my tour obviously did not understand me as she put my drop off hotel as my pick up hotel so I nearly got left behind. It took the guide an hour, after a lot of phone calls, a taxi ride and help from a few people on the street, to find me and get me on the bus which made the departure time an hour late and 20 other people were waiting for me. I was thinking the worse after all the horror stories from other travellers about Halong Bay Tours and it didn't help that the guide got angry at me cos he thought I had changed hotels and not notified them. As if i would do that! And then once I got on the bus he made a speech to everyone about why I was late ... i was extremely embarrassed and crying behind my sunnies but by the time we got to the boat I was OH-KAY :))

The junk was just beautiful and very luxurious. We all got on at the Halong City harbour and cruised into Halong Bay while we had lunch. Halong Bay with the thousands of islands and rock formations is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. I took a million photos... it is just breathtaking. We went to the Amazing Caves and they WERE amazing!! HUGE caverns ... three huge caverns. And the view from the caves into the Bay was gorgeous. After the caves we went for a kayak for about an hour. You feel insignificant against these huge rock formations. Then we had swims around the junk while the sun was setting. We were jumping off the three story junk ... was so much fun. Everyone was too scared to jump so I jumped first and the blokes thought I was "awesome" hehe

I had a room to myself and an ensuite on the junk on the bottom floor and then the second floor was more rooms and the dining room and then top floor was a huge sundeck. Gorgeous boat and only 3 months old. The crew and the guide, Thuan, were all fantastic. And the other people on the tour were all so nice ... have made some new friends :))

Day 2 a few of us got up early to watch the sunrise. It was so peaceful first thing in the morning. After brekky we got on a smaller boat and cruised to Cat Be island where we cycled for a couple of hours to a village. (Turns out there was no hiking but cycling ... that lady who sold the tour to me got it wrong again!!) oh well really enjoyed the cycling. After cycling we had more swims around the boat .. jumping off the boat and a couple of us did front flips and back flips ... and lots of belly flops. Was so much fun!

Then we cruised to the beach resort on Cat Be island where we stayed the second night. WOW you should see this place... right on the beach and the bungalows are built over the water (I was supposed to have a beach shack which was very basic but my guide upgraded me to a bungalow ... I think he felt sorry for me :)) We kayaked to another beach and relaxed and collected shells and swam and watched the sun go down. Then after a yummy bbq dinner back at the resort we had a bonfire on the beach. Great way to end the day.

Day 3 we cruised back through Halong Bay back to Halong City Harbour and bussed it back to Hanoi. The guide said there are over 3000 of these rock islands ... all different shapes, sizes but all spectacular. It is a very very special place and the perfect way to end my 3 weeks in Vietnam.

I had to laugh (otherwise I would cry) when we got back to Hanoi ... we all got dropped off at our Hotels but I got dropped off at the Hotel I was supposed to get picked up from AAAAGGGGGHHHHH ... So I had to walk 15 minutes in my thongs with my 17 kg backpack on my back through the busy streets of Hanoi to my correct drop off Hotel ... and what made it even more funny for me is that NOT ONE moto driver asked me if I wanted a ride!!! C R A Z Y !!!

So have spent a night at the Hanoi Elite... it's amazing what you get for a little bit more money ... this is the way to travel in Vietnam .... very nice Hotel and wonderful service and all the little extras are perfect for my last night in Hanoi. I fly to Laos at 4.30pm and it's check out at noon so have a few more hours of luxury. I checked in at 5pm and have not left the room since ... it's a little sanctuary!

See you all in Laos :)) very excited!!

Hoi An/Hue/Hanoi, Vietnam : 1 Dec 10

Here I am in Hanoi and tomorrow morning I will be gone ... :)) yipppeeee ... well til Saturday night and then fly to Laos on Sunday :)) can't wait.

My last night in Hoi An was very relaxing. Had dinner at my favourite restaurant "Red Sail" and tried the last two Hoi An specialities on the menu ... White Rose and Cau Lao Noodles... both very delicious .... then had to stuff my all time favourite in ...fresh rice paper rolls ... yummo! Then had a wine at "White Marble" wine bar and said goodbye to my new friend, Bong. We swapped emails and will hopefully keep in touch.

Yesterday caught the early bus to Hue. I left my backpack (which is now 16.6kg .. have gained over 2kgs) at the City Tour Hotel in Hue which has really nice cheap rooms and it's on the main tourist drag in Hue.. next time!

Spent the arvy in Hue wandering round the Citadel. Amazing place and massive grounds and lots of restoration works going on. At the front in the inside moat there were masses of huge gold fish ... you could buy a bag of fish food for 2,000dong ... throw it in and there's a crazy feeding frenzy. I got more of a kick out of this then the actual Citadel ... was pretty funny but you had to be there :))

And then last night I caught the late plane to Hanoi ... was late late so didn't get in til nearly midnight and was falling asleep on my feet. I had booked the Bamboo Hotel and it looked really nice on the internet... the taxi took me to this really dodgy hotel somewhere else. I kept questioning the man who was waiting for me in the Hotel reception and he kept telling me that it was the Bamboo Hotel ... no it wasn't!! &%$#

The Lonely Planet says it has an "understated elegance".... can you can call paper on the windows instead of curtains and holes in the walls "understated elegance" ??? anyway it was too late and I was too tired ...and the bed was extremely lumpy ... but over night I got really really cranky.

This morning after a cold shower!!! no hot water and the shower head didn't work properly so I was even MORE cranky when I went downstairs for brekky ... I spat the dummy at the man ... cos I was not where I wanted to be and I had no idea where I was ... I showed him on the internet a picture of the hotel I had booked and told him I was in a really bad mood and ranted and raved and then he tells me that the Bamboo Hotel was closed for renovations.... aaaagggghhhh!!!

I said to him why didn't you just tell me this when I booked and why lie to me. Anyway he said he would give me a discount if I stayed another 2 nights ... HUH??? I didn't even want to be there last night ... I just said I am leaving and I'm going to write a letter to the Lonely Planet (cos he is using LP's recommendation to advertise) and Trip Advisor :)) ... so he rang his friend's hotel and he took me and my huge backpack there on his motorbike ...the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life and never again will I get on a motorbike in Hanoi !!! ... so now I am in a nice room in another dodgy hotel and the bathroom floods but there is cable tv... cable tv always makes things so much better :))

So after all this I have decided to splurge on Saturday night and I have booked a really really flash room at the Hotel Elite ... $33 for the night but it will be heaven :)) www.hanoielitehotel.com AND there is a laptop supplied in the room with unlimited internet, 100 free movies on a big screen TV and a mini bar yipppeee ... I know I what I will be doing from 5pm Saturday night til noon on Sunday :))

And today I booked a 3 day tour to Halong Bay ... I shopped around and I found out that this is a no no cos I had a couple of run ins with tour desk people who knew I was shopping around and they didn't like it... hmmmmm. But found a tour that is one night on a junk, one night on Cat Be island in a beach bungalow, first day has kayaking and second day has a hike to vantage point on Cat Be island so I'm praying like crazy it will be a great tour cos I have heard some horror stories of the tours to Halong Bay. But if it's not I will just drink lots of beer to make the pain go away!!!

So this arvy I have wandered around Hanoi... what a rat race... nobody has any regard for anyone else. I had to help this little old Vietnamese lady across the street before cos even she was too scared to cross the road ... will be good to get outta here tomorrow. The lake is beautiful though and walked round the whole thing and then had a beer at the City View Cafe on the 5th floor that overlooked the lake. Went to the Imperial House (an old house in original condition) and the oldest Pagoda in Hanoi... was very peaceful and could've stayed there all afternoon.

So off to pack now for my big adventure on Halong Bay.

Will update on Saturday night with hopefully wonderful stories of my adventures of Halong Bay.