Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 2/3

Goodbye beautiful Laos, hello Vietnam. We arrived by plane and then caught a bus into the capital of Hanoi. At night the city looks great. Bright lights everywhere and people meeting by the lake that is the center of the Old Quarter. We thought, "Wow, Vietnam is gonna be pretty cool!" We found our hostel and met up with Becca and called it a night, eager to get an early start the next day.

There is a lot tell about our travels through Vietnam, so to save time and not bore you with mindless drivel I will sum it up in with a few bullet points.

• Hanoi has an energy to it. You can feel it in the streets and in the peoples faces. Another fellow traveler said it best when she said "the city has a dark dome of gloom on it." We couldn't agree more. I don't know if was the weather or what, but no one had a smile on their face. It made me depressed. But, there was some good news. Vietnamese cuisine is incredible. I had never been so excited to eat. Noodles and spring rolls were everywhere, and we ate them every chance we got. I probably gained five lbs. Oh, and traffic in Vietnam is absolutely lawless. Dozens of motorbikes, cars, and bicycles meeting at an intersection that has a traffic light, but seems to go unnoticed. It was exciting to watch.
  
  

• Riding the trains down the coastline of Vietnam was really cool and I wasn't heartbroken when we boarded the train in Hanoi and headed south to DaNang and Hoi An. This was our first sleeper train ride, and we were all pretty anxious to see what it was like and also excited to see who our two bunk mates were going to be. Luckily, we were greeted by an older German couple at the entrance to our sleeper, so we felt pretty comfortable about the situation. Being the gentleman that we are, Connor and I gave the girls the middle bunks and we took the top bunks. There was one foot of space between the tip of my nose and the top of the ceiling. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but after a while I felt right at home. I looked down and Steph was asleep within the first twenty minutes, so I knew she was content with the sleeping arrangements.
  
  

• Hoi An completely washed away all the depression and darkness that Hanoi had planted in our minds. We checked in our hostel and bought a case of Biere Larue for 210,000 dong and sat by the pool and played some cards. Day 2 was spent biking through the quaint bustling market. Postcards and tanks were purchased.
  
  

• Another train ride, this time it's 17 hours, and it's headed for Saigon. We were all pretty excited about this. Two of our friends, Katie and Chelsea, were already there so we were anxious to see them. We got some dinner with them and had a few drinks then called it a night and went back to watch Jurassic Park. It was great.

• The next day we booked a tour to the Mekong Delta. I have always wanted to see the mighty Mekong River, so I was pretty pumped about it. The day was filled with boat rides through floating markets and authentic Vietnamese dining. Seeing how the river provides in so many different ways for the villagers was pretty cool.
  
  

Goodbye Vietnam. You left me with mixed feelings. On one hand your grimacing faces made me feel unwanted and insecure, but on the other hand you dazzled us with delicious food and breathtaking scenery. It's a toss-up.

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 1/3

Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand in 2.5 weeks. Can we do it? Can we see everything that each place has to offer? No, but we damn sure tried.

Me, Steph, and Mr. Connor set off on our our adventure from the Bangkok train station with Laos being our first destination. The overnight train ride was incredibly cold and for some reason they didn't turn off the lights, so needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep. But that's OK, because Laos is one of the more relaxed and chillest places on the globe. We get through the border easily and jump on a plan for Luang Prabang, a.k.a chill city.

We checked into our hostel and then hit the streets in search of some authentic Laotian cuisine. We found a nice place by the Nham Kham River and ordered some laap, which is a Laotian salad that has chopped meat mixed with chilies, onion, and garlic placed on a bed of lettuce. FLAVOR EXPLOSION! One of the best dishes I've had in Asia. During all of this we watched some monks and other locals enjoy the calm and cool waters of the Nham Kham River. It made me want to go to the mountains of Laurel Fork.

The next morning Steph had convinced us to take a 39 mile round-trip bike ride through villages to the Kuang Si Waterfall. Connor and I thought she was a little crazy, but once we started we had a lot of fun. Connor had some issues with his bike chain. So he was forced to head back into town and get another beach cruiser. Steph and I continued on and battled through the blazing heat and "gentle undulations" while passing through several small villages. This was the highlight of the trip for me.

The children of the villages had just been let out of school and were walking home. Not many foreigners come riding through their streets on beach cruisers so you can imagine the reception we got. We biked by groups of kids and were met with little hands being held out to give high fives. At one point a group of 8 year olds started chasing after us. This image will forever be burned in my memory. On the way we passed by a couple Laotian kids riding their bikes. I gave them some water and we pushed our bikes together up a massive hill. These little guys motivated us to finish the ride and make it to this elusive waterfall.

Connor met us at the waterfall and we swam around for a little while and had some photo shoots. The ride back wasn't as bad as it was mostly downhill. I swear at one point I was blazing at 60 m.p.h. Once we got back to the city a great feeling of accomplishment came over me. It was a great end to a wonderful day.

The next two days in Luang Prabang we spent relaxing. Biking and walking through the charming little town was great, so was trying different cakes that were offered at every street corner. Mango, apple, chocolate, orange, and pineapple all lit up our taste buds with flavor. Some of the best baked goods I've ever had.

The french colonization is evident in the architecture and food. Connor and I woke up every morning thinking it was Christmas, because we got to go the sandwich section of the main street. The toasted chicken and cheese was by far the best.

We didn't want to leave Laos, and it was tough to say goodbye. The food was excellent. The scenery was captivating. And the people welcomed us with open arms and caring eyes. When we took off for Vietnam we weren't expecting the same reception.


To be continued...