Dear all,
If I remember right the last email ended in Luang Prabang. Since then seen and done so much! Apologies to those who've emailed me, as soon as I get a chance, an individual reply will be winging it's way to you.
The next day after our city tour in Luang Prabang, with me restored to fighting fitness, went outside the city to a nearby famous waterfall, called Kuangsi Falls. On the way, stopped off at a couple of ethnic villages. People quite friendly and welcoming. Girls ooh and aahing over antics of half naked children. Quite primitive places in many ways, with electricity, clean water arriving in the last five years, outdoor communal showers and incongruous satellite dishes outside some of the poorest thatched huts! The people seem generally close as a community, with tight knit groups which support each other and a genuinely gentle people from our impressions.
The waterfall was beautiful. Located in the jungle, and first come to a series of rapids creating lovely clear blue pools, and leading to a 100m multilevel waterfall surrounded by jungled cliffs. Stunning setting. I and 2 of the girls went swimming before lunch (others opted for wading). Cold refreshing water and invigorating. In an excess of childish spirit, even jumped from a 15ft mini waterfall. Following the swim had a lovely picnic lunch in a jungle clearing next to the waterfall. On the way back to our bus, stopped off at a tiger enclosure where a tiger saved from poachers was kept. Fortunate enough to catch it indoors and we were given the option of feeding it with a strip of meat. One of our number (no names of course), kept flinching away, so the poor tiger saw it's snack appearing and disappearing. Started pacing the cage in frustration, until the snack was finally delivered. Even got to pet it a bit, as the woman in charge obviously had a good working relationship with it. Never been that close to a tiger before.
The evening in Luang Prabang was spent relaxing, emailing and watching a film in the local cinema (essentially a series of rooms with TV and DVD player). Praz, running late, was hurrying along and seeing an open doorway nearby, rushed straight in, only to half scare to death a Lao family spending the evening peacefully! They started screaming, she started backing out sheepishly and we were incapacitated with laughter when she found us and described the encounter.
The next day was a long one. Arranged to have a homestay with a low Lao family in a village. Apparently a rare thing to do, for only 1-2 groups a year did this and the family we were staying with had never hosted foreigners before. Nice to go off the beaten trail a bit. Bus journey to Vang Vieng uneventful, though passed through some amazingly beautiful moutain scenery on narrow winding roads. Vang Vieng itself a fairly small town, though favoured by backpackers for its beautiful location and laid back attitude. Most tourist filled place in Laos. Once there, a tractor cart took out luggage to the village 6km away, while Mr Nung our guide led us toward a nearby cave. Mr Nung proved a memorable character, quiet and dignified but with a slightly wicked sense of humour, and huge amounts of patience. Grew to be a favourite with our group.
The walk to the cave led through tall grass and then rice fields. Harvest time and peasants in their typical conical hats at work all around us sorting the rice and threshing it. Girls slightly nervous about insects but bore the walk with good grace. Unfortunately, the cave trail gate closed by villagers to prevent tourists trampling their crops at this time. Mr Nung suggested an alternatve route and on our acquiescence (reluctantly in some cases!) promptly disappeared into heavy bush, hacking a completely inadequate path with a stick. I enjoyed it immensely but most of the girls not so impressed. Taz held her hands staright up to avoid touching anything (an unwise policy witnessed by her slide to the bottom of a muddy ditch), Praz used her hands to seal off her face (presumably to ward off overly curious insects) and Usha brought up the rear with a low voiced moan about the indignity/discomfort of it all. After all that, the 2nd cave trail blocked as well, and even Mr Nung had to give up and head out. A 2km walk through thorns, streams, muddy ditches and rice fields later, met our tractor cart ina dirt track and clambered in to go to the village. Great fun.
Our hosts in the village were the proud owners of a big concrete house, with a large central hall where we were to sleep and a small squat toilet/bathing room out back. Only indoor toilet in the village, Mr Nung informed us, beaming proudly. The matron of the house also ran a small shop from her front porch. They welcomed us with smiles, and we were there long enough to dump our stuff before heading out to another cave nearby. Further groans from the couch potatoes among us, but everyone gamely got back on the tractor cart. The next cave was definitely one of the highlights of our experience in Laos. I enjoyed it immensely, while most of the other had reactions ranging from panic attacks to nervous disaproval. The main reason for this was that as we started to climb to the cave, darkness fell. The trail was about 100m straight up, along pretty jagged and treacherous rocks, and no hint of railings, lights etc in evidence. The cave itself was almost completely untouched by man, going about 400ft deep and stygian blackness. Rocks damp and slippery. A beautiful reclining Buddha shrine inside (ironic that this signified passing away!) a huge natural cavern about a 100ft inside the cave. The climb down in pitch blackness with out handheld torches managing to stave off any serious missteps. Again, great fun.
Back to our village, where we all had cold bucket baths (fortunately no one heard my screams, engrossed as they were in some hybrid Lao/Indian tv programme) and a dinner more suitable to a bunch of sumo wrestlers than 7 girls and me. Certainly can't fault their hospitality. The days entertainment rounded off by watching the girls scream with every passing moth, grasshopper and random bug in the room and eventually had to help them out for fear of full blown hysterics. The Lao family watching all this in some bemusement.
Next day early start after thanking our hosts, and after another cave (this one with proper steps and lighting to the vast relief of some of our number), we were on our way to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. On the way stopped at a salt factory (no idea why this was on the tourist radar but there it is) where Amandaunwisely decided to hand out some fruit to the local bunch of children and almost got mobbed! Vientiane itself a real city feel, with none of the charm of Luang Prabang, though plenty of French influence in its restaurants and houses still noticeable. The next day (18th November) had a quick city tour of the That Luang and Arc d'Triomphe. The That Luang a hue golden stupa, supposed to hold a headbone from the Lord Buddha and the most important Buddhist site in Laos.A truly impressive edifice and with pleasing symmetry. The Arc d'Triomphe a bit more of a concrete monument commemorating Lao soldiers and offering panramic city views from the top. That afternoon, tranferred to the airport for our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the next leg of our trip. Said farewell to Mr Nung reluctantly, though not before he tried to pick me up (long story) and had an uneventful flight to Hanoi.
Met by our local guide there, with the amusing and improbable name of Mango. A chatty, ebullient and altogether more sophisticated person than Mr Nung, yet somehow lacking the quiet charm we'd enjoyed in Mr Nung. Still, a pleasant guide and generally very organised and helpful. Quite late evening by arrival time and so went to dinner and hotel. Really good food here.
The APEC conference being held here this week and a very positive step for Vietnam on the world stage. Lots of streets and monuments blocked off though, and played around a bit with our itinerary. Apparently we'd been lucky to get visas at all for this week. So te next day went out of the city to visit a couple of handicraft villages. Saw a family run traditional woodblock printing place. Run by the same family for the last 500 yrs (in their 21st generation of artists now) and yet the old man a very quiet humble man, and welcoming of us. Lots of very beautiful woodcarved blocks and prints (some made from carvings over 200 yrs old). In the afternoon had a visit to the ethnology museum to learn about the 54 different ethnic groups here (as opposed to the 54 different ethics Taz thought we'd learn about!). Information overload, though cool that they've made an effort to represent all the different groups equally. Interesting place. Had a cyclo (rickhaw) tour of the old quarter of Hanoi, merging with what often seemed suicidal intent into the stream of cars and motorbikes here. Narrow streets dediacted to shoes, clothes, silk, toys, etc. Quite cool to see.
Following the cyclo ride, had dinner sitting in the garden of a post restaurant, watching a far away lightning storm, and enjoyed excellent seafood and chicken dishes. The evening rounded off by a visit to the ancient traditional art of water puppetry, unique to Vietnam. The puppets manipulated from underwater, and all the scenes take place on the surface of a pool as the stage. Some lovely traditional folk music followed by a fast paced and always eye catching depiction of historical and folkloric scenes, mixed with scenes from everyday village life. The hour went by really fast. A pleasant walk back to hotel by the shores of the lake (Hanoi has 10 natural lakes inside the city and plenty of greenery) completed the evening. Slept soundly that day!
The next day had an early start to go to Halong Bay, about 150km from Hanoi, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We would spend the night there on board a junk. On the way, stopped off at a tailors where a couple of the girls arranged to have some outfits made up to be collected the next day. Very touristy as a place but lots of tailors beavering away. Poor Mango seriously underestimated the time needed when letting a whole bunch of girls loose in a shop with silks and a ready supply of tailors! Managed to get going not too behind schedule, and followed a very well maintained road past some beautiful scenery. Plenty of flat rice paddies stretching out on both sides, worked by peasants with buffalo pulling plows, small kids going to school or playing in the fields. Backdrop of high green clad hills. Fit in with my pre-conceived image of the Vietnamese countryside.
Got to Halong Bay by 12pm, welcomed aboard our junk, the Huong Hai, by our affable captain, and set sail almost immediately. The boat had 7 twin cabins and we had it all to ourselves. Well furnished with dark woods, bamboo furniture and spotless ensuite bathrooms. Felt very cosy and comfortable.
Halong Bay itself was quite beautiful, and certainly the most impressive bay I've ever seen. Huge bay, filled with a maze of cliffs, caves, lagoons and beaches. Arounds every cliff jutting up from the water appeared a new enchanting vista. Everyone very impressed with it, and wishing we had booked more nights on the junk! That afternoon did a bit of kayaking. Found a lovely lagoon with a water grotto leading to a completely enclosed smaller lagoon, encircled by forested cliffs. Felt like something out of a book. Paddled around until sunset, and then back to the boat for an early dinner of prawns, crabs, fish, etc. Spent the evening relaxing out on the foredeck, chatting with the others and enjoying the thunderstorm that had caught up with us from Hanoi. Some truly spectacular displays of sheet lightning, thunder that rattled the boat. The next day we heard it had been so fierce that it had destroyed houses on the peirs and 8 people had died! We were lucky to be moored in such a sheltered spot.
After a sound nights sleep shltered from the fury of the storm, emerged to a sunny day, though with storm clouds approaching ominously fast. By 7.30am, we were in the middle of another full fledged thunderstorm, though this one blew out within an hour. Spent the time playing a few hands of blackjack, passing on the tricks I'd learnt in Vegas. That morning, visited one of the most specular caves I've ever seen (the Sung Sot cave), and the most renowned in Halong Bay. Huge overarching caverns of organic looking rock, with stalacttes and stalagmites in every stage of formation, all the way to mighty pillars towering above us. Lit in an array of soft colours and instead of appearing garish, looked very beautiful. Had a great time wandering around in there, being shown which rocks looked like which animals (we're talking serious eyes of faith here) and the history behind certain parts of the cave. After rthe cave, had a further brief bit of kayaking, where I honed my skills a bit more, and a refreshing dip in the bay for a swim (no, I didn't capsize). Lovely cool water, not cold.
Reluctantly disembarked at noon and back to Hanoi, with a brief stop at the tailors shop. The outfits had turned out perfectly and everyone involved looking very pleased. The tailors gathered in a crown around me to watch me write in my journal, and one of them explained later they'd never seen anyone write that fast (inspiration had hit that point in time). Back in Hanoi, continued the bit of our tour interrupted by the APEC conference (now over), with a vist to the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum. The Temple of literature built originally in 1070AD and dedicated to Confucius. Remained Vietnams highest centre for learning for the next 800 years. Amazing amount of history there. Also scattered with lovely old examples of bonsai trees. Learnt a bit about Ho Chi Minh from Mango while standing outside the mausoleum, watching the changing of the guard. An impressive man. One of the most respected scholars in Vietnam in his youth, travelled the world for 30 years doing menial jobs, in order to learn more about world culture before coming back to Vietnam. Lived in a simple hut on stilts all his life, and had virtually no possessions or private money. Seems to be genuinely loved by the people of Vietnam.
That evening had a bit of time to ourselves (spent in the old quarter by most of us) before boarding an overnight train to Dong Hoi, there to continue the next leg of our trip in Vietnam.
By now you must be drooping a bit with email overload from this long update. So I'll leave it there for now. Hope everyone well and look forward to hearing more news from you.
Siri.
If I remember right the last email ended in Luang Prabang. Since then seen and done so much! Apologies to those who've emailed me, as soon as I get a chance, an individual reply will be winging it's way to you.
The next day after our city tour in Luang Prabang, with me restored to fighting fitness, went outside the city to a nearby famous waterfall, called Kuangsi Falls. On the way, stopped off at a couple of ethnic villages. People quite friendly and welcoming. Girls ooh and aahing over antics of half naked children. Quite primitive places in many ways, with electricity, clean water arriving in the last five years, outdoor communal showers and incongruous satellite dishes outside some of the poorest thatched huts! The people seem generally close as a community, with tight knit groups which support each other and a genuinely gentle people from our impressions.
The waterfall was beautiful. Located in the jungle, and first come to a series of rapids creating lovely clear blue pools, and leading to a 100m multilevel waterfall surrounded by jungled cliffs. Stunning setting. I and 2 of the girls went swimming before lunch (others opted for wading). Cold refreshing water and invigorating. In an excess of childish spirit, even jumped from a 15ft mini waterfall. Following the swim had a lovely picnic lunch in a jungle clearing next to the waterfall. On the way back to our bus, stopped off at a tiger enclosure where a tiger saved from poachers was kept. Fortunate enough to catch it indoors and we were given the option of feeding it with a strip of meat. One of our number (no names of course), kept flinching away, so the poor tiger saw it's snack appearing and disappearing. Started pacing the cage in frustration, until the snack was finally delivered. Even got to pet it a bit, as the woman in charge obviously had a good working relationship with it. Never been that close to a tiger before.
The evening in Luang Prabang was spent relaxing, emailing and watching a film in the local cinema (essentially a series of rooms with TV and DVD player). Praz, running late, was hurrying along and seeing an open doorway nearby, rushed straight in, only to half scare to death a Lao family spending the evening peacefully! They started screaming, she started backing out sheepishly and we were incapacitated with laughter when she found us and described the encounter.
The next day was a long one. Arranged to have a homestay with a low Lao family in a village. Apparently a rare thing to do, for only 1-2 groups a year did this and the family we were staying with had never hosted foreigners before. Nice to go off the beaten trail a bit. Bus journey to Vang Vieng uneventful, though passed through some amazingly beautiful moutain scenery on narrow winding roads. Vang Vieng itself a fairly small town, though favoured by backpackers for its beautiful location and laid back attitude. Most tourist filled place in Laos. Once there, a tractor cart took out luggage to the village 6km away, while Mr Nung our guide led us toward a nearby cave. Mr Nung proved a memorable character, quiet and dignified but with a slightly wicked sense of humour, and huge amounts of patience. Grew to be a favourite with our group.
The walk to the cave led through tall grass and then rice fields. Harvest time and peasants in their typical conical hats at work all around us sorting the rice and threshing it. Girls slightly nervous about insects but bore the walk with good grace. Unfortunately, the cave trail gate closed by villagers to prevent tourists trampling their crops at this time. Mr Nung suggested an alternatve route and on our acquiescence (reluctantly in some cases!) promptly disappeared into heavy bush, hacking a completely inadequate path with a stick. I enjoyed it immensely but most of the girls not so impressed. Taz held her hands staright up to avoid touching anything (an unwise policy witnessed by her slide to the bottom of a muddy ditch), Praz used her hands to seal off her face (presumably to ward off overly curious insects) and Usha brought up the rear with a low voiced moan about the indignity/discomfort of it all. After all that, the 2nd cave trail blocked as well, and even Mr Nung had to give up and head out. A 2km walk through thorns, streams, muddy ditches and rice fields later, met our tractor cart ina dirt track and clambered in to go to the village. Great fun.
Our hosts in the village were the proud owners of a big concrete house, with a large central hall where we were to sleep and a small squat toilet/bathing room out back. Only indoor toilet in the village, Mr Nung informed us, beaming proudly. The matron of the house also ran a small shop from her front porch. They welcomed us with smiles, and we were there long enough to dump our stuff before heading out to another cave nearby. Further groans from the couch potatoes among us, but everyone gamely got back on the tractor cart. The next cave was definitely one of the highlights of our experience in Laos. I enjoyed it immensely, while most of the other had reactions ranging from panic attacks to nervous disaproval. The main reason for this was that as we started to climb to the cave, darkness fell. The trail was about 100m straight up, along pretty jagged and treacherous rocks, and no hint of railings, lights etc in evidence. The cave itself was almost completely untouched by man, going about 400ft deep and stygian blackness. Rocks damp and slippery. A beautiful reclining Buddha shrine inside (ironic that this signified passing away!) a huge natural cavern about a 100ft inside the cave. The climb down in pitch blackness with out handheld torches managing to stave off any serious missteps. Again, great fun.
Back to our village, where we all had cold bucket baths (fortunately no one heard my screams, engrossed as they were in some hybrid Lao/Indian tv programme) and a dinner more suitable to a bunch of sumo wrestlers than 7 girls and me. Certainly can't fault their hospitality. The days entertainment rounded off by watching the girls scream with every passing moth, grasshopper and random bug in the room and eventually had to help them out for fear of full blown hysterics. The Lao family watching all this in some bemusement.
Next day early start after thanking our hosts, and after another cave (this one with proper steps and lighting to the vast relief of some of our number), we were on our way to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. On the way stopped at a salt factory (no idea why this was on the tourist radar but there it is) where Amandaunwisely decided to hand out some fruit to the local bunch of children and almost got mobbed! Vientiane itself a real city feel, with none of the charm of Luang Prabang, though plenty of French influence in its restaurants and houses still noticeable. The next day (18th November) had a quick city tour of the That Luang and Arc d'Triomphe. The That Luang a hue golden stupa, supposed to hold a headbone from the Lord Buddha and the most important Buddhist site in Laos.A truly impressive edifice and with pleasing symmetry. The Arc d'Triomphe a bit more of a concrete monument commemorating Lao soldiers and offering panramic city views from the top. That afternoon, tranferred to the airport for our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the next leg of our trip. Said farewell to Mr Nung reluctantly, though not before he tried to pick me up (long story) and had an uneventful flight to Hanoi.
Met by our local guide there, with the amusing and improbable name of Mango. A chatty, ebullient and altogether more sophisticated person than Mr Nung, yet somehow lacking the quiet charm we'd enjoyed in Mr Nung. Still, a pleasant guide and generally very organised and helpful. Quite late evening by arrival time and so went to dinner and hotel. Really good food here.
The APEC conference being held here this week and a very positive step for Vietnam on the world stage. Lots of streets and monuments blocked off though, and played around a bit with our itinerary. Apparently we'd been lucky to get visas at all for this week. So te next day went out of the city to visit a couple of handicraft villages. Saw a family run traditional woodblock printing place. Run by the same family for the last 500 yrs (in their 21st generation of artists now) and yet the old man a very quiet humble man, and welcoming of us. Lots of very beautiful woodcarved blocks and prints (some made from carvings over 200 yrs old). In the afternoon had a visit to the ethnology museum to learn about the 54 different ethnic groups here (as opposed to the 54 different ethics Taz thought we'd learn about!). Information overload, though cool that they've made an effort to represent all the different groups equally. Interesting place. Had a cyclo (rickhaw) tour of the old quarter of Hanoi, merging with what often seemed suicidal intent into the stream of cars and motorbikes here. Narrow streets dediacted to shoes, clothes, silk, toys, etc. Quite cool to see.
Following the cyclo ride, had dinner sitting in the garden of a post restaurant, watching a far away lightning storm, and enjoyed excellent seafood and chicken dishes. The evening rounded off by a visit to the ancient traditional art of water puppetry, unique to Vietnam. The puppets manipulated from underwater, and all the scenes take place on the surface of a pool as the stage. Some lovely traditional folk music followed by a fast paced and always eye catching depiction of historical and folkloric scenes, mixed with scenes from everyday village life. The hour went by really fast. A pleasant walk back to hotel by the shores of the lake (Hanoi has 10 natural lakes inside the city and plenty of greenery) completed the evening. Slept soundly that day!
The next day had an early start to go to Halong Bay, about 150km from Hanoi, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We would spend the night there on board a junk. On the way, stopped off at a tailors where a couple of the girls arranged to have some outfits made up to be collected the next day. Very touristy as a place but lots of tailors beavering away. Poor Mango seriously underestimated the time needed when letting a whole bunch of girls loose in a shop with silks and a ready supply of tailors! Managed to get going not too behind schedule, and followed a very well maintained road past some beautiful scenery. Plenty of flat rice paddies stretching out on both sides, worked by peasants with buffalo pulling plows, small kids going to school or playing in the fields. Backdrop of high green clad hills. Fit in with my pre-conceived image of the Vietnamese countryside.
Got to Halong Bay by 12pm, welcomed aboard our junk, the Huong Hai, by our affable captain, and set sail almost immediately. The boat had 7 twin cabins and we had it all to ourselves. Well furnished with dark woods, bamboo furniture and spotless ensuite bathrooms. Felt very cosy and comfortable.
Halong Bay itself was quite beautiful, and certainly the most impressive bay I've ever seen. Huge bay, filled with a maze of cliffs, caves, lagoons and beaches. Arounds every cliff jutting up from the water appeared a new enchanting vista. Everyone very impressed with it, and wishing we had booked more nights on the junk! That afternoon did a bit of kayaking. Found a lovely lagoon with a water grotto leading to a completely enclosed smaller lagoon, encircled by forested cliffs. Felt like something out of a book. Paddled around until sunset, and then back to the boat for an early dinner of prawns, crabs, fish, etc. Spent the evening relaxing out on the foredeck, chatting with the others and enjoying the thunderstorm that had caught up with us from Hanoi. Some truly spectacular displays of sheet lightning, thunder that rattled the boat. The next day we heard it had been so fierce that it had destroyed houses on the peirs and 8 people had died! We were lucky to be moored in such a sheltered spot.
After a sound nights sleep shltered from the fury of the storm, emerged to a sunny day, though with storm clouds approaching ominously fast. By 7.30am, we were in the middle of another full fledged thunderstorm, though this one blew out within an hour. Spent the time playing a few hands of blackjack, passing on the tricks I'd learnt in Vegas. That morning, visited one of the most specular caves I've ever seen (the Sung Sot cave), and the most renowned in Halong Bay. Huge overarching caverns of organic looking rock, with stalacttes and stalagmites in every stage of formation, all the way to mighty pillars towering above us. Lit in an array of soft colours and instead of appearing garish, looked very beautiful. Had a great time wandering around in there, being shown which rocks looked like which animals (we're talking serious eyes of faith here) and the history behind certain parts of the cave. After rthe cave, had a further brief bit of kayaking, where I honed my skills a bit more, and a refreshing dip in the bay for a swim (no, I didn't capsize). Lovely cool water, not cold.
Reluctantly disembarked at noon and back to Hanoi, with a brief stop at the tailors shop. The outfits had turned out perfectly and everyone involved looking very pleased. The tailors gathered in a crown around me to watch me write in my journal, and one of them explained later they'd never seen anyone write that fast (inspiration had hit that point in time). Back in Hanoi, continued the bit of our tour interrupted by the APEC conference (now over), with a vist to the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum. The Temple of literature built originally in 1070AD and dedicated to Confucius. Remained Vietnams highest centre for learning for the next 800 years. Amazing amount of history there. Also scattered with lovely old examples of bonsai trees. Learnt a bit about Ho Chi Minh from Mango while standing outside the mausoleum, watching the changing of the guard. An impressive man. One of the most respected scholars in Vietnam in his youth, travelled the world for 30 years doing menial jobs, in order to learn more about world culture before coming back to Vietnam. Lived in a simple hut on stilts all his life, and had virtually no possessions or private money. Seems to be genuinely loved by the people of Vietnam.
That evening had a bit of time to ourselves (spent in the old quarter by most of us) before boarding an overnight train to Dong Hoi, there to continue the next leg of our trip in Vietnam.
By now you must be drooping a bit with email overload from this long update. So I'll leave it there for now. Hope everyone well and look forward to hearing more news from you.
Siri.
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