I've determined that every country I've departed left during this trip (save the States... and the layover in Korea) has been just as sad to say goodbye as I've been. As is the norm, I've staved off that sadness by aquiring little tokens to remember the nation by - souvenirs of various genres. Well, it seems that each country has just been convinced that whatever souvenirs I'd acquired just weren't quite enough. Sooooo Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have EACH seen fit to leave with a nice little food-born friend to take in my stomach with me as I depart.
UGH!
I left Laos yesterday afternoon for Hanoi, Vietnam, and Laos was so generous as to ensure I make such dignified moves as the immediately post-takeoff airplane-bathroom dash (similar to Matt's curry-induced, pre-takeoff dash of weeks earlier). I was a bit laid-up for my last half-day in Luang Prabang - which is too bad since it prevented me from visiting the supposedly-wonderful Kuang Xi waterfall - but I'm working through it now and not letting it prevent me from exploring Hanoi!
Luang Prabang was nice, but strange. After a few weeks of being in pretty low-infrastructure places, this UNESCO World Heritage Site's tourist industry was startling. I even saw old white people! Wierd!
Anyway, the heavily French-influenced town was fun to explore, and my overnight jungle-trek with a friendly Aussie couple was exhausting but satisfying.
Considering how taken aback by Luang Prabang's built-up-ness.... imagine me flying into Hanoi yesterday! This city is absurd. I'm staying in the Old Quarter - a delightful mess of winding, intertwining, stopping-and-starting, name-changing alleyways and streets. The architecture is a smattering of different styles - ranging from contemporary to French Colonial to ancient Chinese - and beautiful in its eclectic shabby-chic-ness.
And the traffic. Wow. It puts Bangkok to shame. The streets are a constant river of scooters coming and going in every direction, with the occasional car or van barreling through horn-blaring. I think I'll stick to my feet here!
And food is everywhere! Street vendors in stalls or wandering with baskets slung across shoulder-polls manage to spread their epicurial perfumes widely enough to overwhelm the stench of exhaust. I'm cursing this damn stomach-bug (mild though it is now) for preventing me from eating every little thing that piques my curiosity.
Ok, trying to keep this short[er than normal]. Tomorrow I'll be leaving early for an overnight trip to Halong Bay (sleeping on some junk... heheh), then the evening after I return I take an overnight train to Da Nang in central Vietnam. After a couple days in Da Nang and Hoi An, I fly to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) for a grand total of about 40 hours... and then home!
Wow, it's really been this long?
Ah! On another note, I finally got a new camera while in Laung Prabang! A smattering of photos of the past little while:
The (appropriate) last photograph shot by my old camera before it became a knee-pad.
Outside of Ban Lung, Ratinakiri Province, northeast Cambodia.
The "sunset side" of Don Det island in Southern Laos. My $2.25/night room was one of the bungalows a little down the way.
When I dropped my clothes off with some nice lady to get them laundered on Don Det... I didn't expect to later see them displayed on a clothesline in the middle of a dry rice paddy.
Sun behind clouds behind Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos.
Cocks actually fight in the wild!
The mountains outside of Luang Prabang. Awesome trekking hat ($1.50), pants ($6) and stick (free!): check, check, check. Also managed to make my dumb shoulder-bag into a backpack... sorta.
By far the coolest sports photo I will ever take. These guys are amazing at wicker-foot-volleyball (I'm certain that's the sport's official name). In the village where we spent the night on our trek out of Luang Prabang.
On our way back to town after the trek, we got called off the street to come join this baby's-one-month-old! party. We (the Aussies, our guide and I) were damn near force-fed Lao beer and rice-whisky (shudder...) and dragged to the dance floor. Now I realize I may look like I'm dancing reeeeeeally awkwardly, but look at everyone else! I'm spot on!
A water-puppet show outside of the Literature Temple in Hanoi. I actually just now got out of a full hour-long performance of this traditional Northern Vietnamese entertainment.
Miss you all!
UGH!
I left Laos yesterday afternoon for Hanoi, Vietnam, and Laos was so generous as to ensure I make such dignified moves as the immediately post-takeoff airplane-bathroom dash (similar to Matt's curry-induced, pre-takeoff dash of weeks earlier). I was a bit laid-up for my last half-day in Luang Prabang - which is too bad since it prevented me from visiting the supposedly-wonderful Kuang Xi waterfall - but I'm working through it now and not letting it prevent me from exploring Hanoi!
Luang Prabang was nice, but strange. After a few weeks of being in pretty low-infrastructure places, this UNESCO World Heritage Site's tourist industry was startling. I even saw old white people! Wierd!
Anyway, the heavily French-influenced town was fun to explore, and my overnight jungle-trek with a friendly Aussie couple was exhausting but satisfying.
Considering how taken aback by Luang Prabang's built-up-ness.... imagine me flying into Hanoi yesterday! This city is absurd. I'm staying in the Old Quarter - a delightful mess of winding, intertwining, stopping-and-starting, name-changing alleyways and streets. The architecture is a smattering of different styles - ranging from contemporary to French Colonial to ancient Chinese - and beautiful in its eclectic shabby-chic-ness.
And the traffic. Wow. It puts Bangkok to shame. The streets are a constant river of scooters coming and going in every direction, with the occasional car or van barreling through horn-blaring. I think I'll stick to my feet here!
And food is everywhere! Street vendors in stalls or wandering with baskets slung across shoulder-polls manage to spread their epicurial perfumes widely enough to overwhelm the stench of exhaust. I'm cursing this damn stomach-bug (mild though it is now) for preventing me from eating every little thing that piques my curiosity.
Ok, trying to keep this short[er than normal]. Tomorrow I'll be leaving early for an overnight trip to Halong Bay (sleeping on some junk... heheh), then the evening after I return I take an overnight train to Da Nang in central Vietnam. After a couple days in Da Nang and Hoi An, I fly to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) for a grand total of about 40 hours... and then home!
Wow, it's really been this long?
Ah! On another note, I finally got a new camera while in Laung Prabang! A smattering of photos of the past little while:
The (appropriate) last photograph shot by my old camera before it became a knee-pad.Outside of Ban Lung, Ratinakiri Province, northeast Cambodia.
The "sunset side" of Don Det island in Southern Laos. My $2.25/night room was one of the bungalows a little down the way.
When I dropped my clothes off with some nice lady to get them laundered on Don Det... I didn't expect to later see them displayed on a clothesline in the middle of a dry rice paddy.
Sun behind clouds behind Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos.
Cocks actually fight in the wild!
The mountains outside of Luang Prabang. Awesome trekking hat ($1.50), pants ($6) and stick (free!): check, check, check. Also managed to make my dumb shoulder-bag into a backpack... sorta.
By far the coolest sports photo I will ever take. These guys are amazing at wicker-foot-volleyball (I'm certain that's the sport's official name). In the village where we spent the night on our trek out of Luang Prabang.
On our way back to town after the trek, we got called off the street to come join this baby's-one-month-old! party. We (the Aussies, our guide and I) were damn near force-fed Lao beer and rice-whisky (shudder...) and dragged to the dance floor. Now I realize I may look like I'm dancing reeeeeeally awkwardly, but look at everyone else! I'm spot on!
A water-puppet show outside of the Literature Temple in Hanoi. I actually just now got out of a full hour-long performance of this traditional Northern Vietnamese entertainment.Miss you all!
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the wickerfooter on the right is wearing an imitation italian jersey, hell yeah!
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