Boston Harbor’s Marvelous Trip to SE Asia.
Jan 19th, 2008, 09:58 PM
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Boston Harbor’s Marvelous Trip to SE Asia.
Hello Fellow Fodorites and Happy New Year.
I spent a wonderful New Year’s Eve in Bangkok at the ROS after a spectacular 12 course dinner at the Blue Elephant, but that’s the end of my three week adventure. Let me start at the beginning.
I arrived in NYC from Boston on Wednesday evening (Dec 12) in anticipation of my 11:35 flight on Thai Air non-stop to Bangkok. I stayed at the Fairfield Inn at JFK. It was clean, comfortable, nice people at the front desk and a really nice breakfast included. Well, turns out the 11:35 flight was delayed until 4:10, but that wasn’t too terrible. I’m at a decent hotel with WiFi and I can get into the Business Class lounge when I get to JFK. However, then the airline version of Chinese water torture started. “It will be leaving at 5:30”, “It will be leaving at 6PM” It will be leaving at 7:05” meanwhile, the flight hadn’t even landed from Bangkok yet. We finally left at 8:30 PM, nine hours late. They said it was an equipment problem on the Bangkok end. Oh, well, there go the plans for dinner in Bangkok during out layover. It has already been a very long day.
Thai Air business class is very nice. Comfortable quasi-flat chairs, great food. Unfortunately because of the change in schedule (and logic), they gave us three full dinner-type meals rather than fitting in a light breakfast somewhere. I would have loved just some juice and a croissant. On a 17 hour flight it seems there should be a breakfast in there somewhere, no matter what time you take off, doesn’t it? Must be another mystery of flying over the North Pole and international dateline—you miss breakfast. Go figure. The flight was smooth and I was able to get a around seven hours of sleep. Bad movie list, but the food was good, the wine plentiful, and the flight staff is delightful.
We arrived BKK at 1:30 AM. By the time we got to the airport Sofitel it was 2:30 AM. With our 9:00 AM flight to Luang Prabang, we didn’t exactly have a slumber-filled night. We figured with our four hours of sleep, the Sofitel ended up costing us about $40/hour. However, a shower and a nap? Priceless.
We head back to the airport at 7:30. Check in for our Bangkok Air flight for Luang Prabang and head for the gate. Yes! Our journey awaits. We wait for a while at the gate and then are told that our flight to LP has been cancelled. We are rescheduled for a flight two hours later and given a coupon to spend $5 at Burger King (couldn’t make this up). We are also given a pass to go to the premium lounge where we meet four also-cancelled members of the “Wilderness Travel” group with whom we will be traveling. They seem very nice.
I decide to make the most of the two hours and have a foot massage. Love foot massages. Might move to SE Asia just for the foot massage, but I digress…
More in my next post....
I spent a wonderful New Year’s Eve in Bangkok at the ROS after a spectacular 12 course dinner at the Blue Elephant, but that’s the end of my three week adventure. Let me start at the beginning.
I arrived in NYC from Boston on Wednesday evening (Dec 12) in anticipation of my 11:35 flight on Thai Air non-stop to Bangkok. I stayed at the Fairfield Inn at JFK. It was clean, comfortable, nice people at the front desk and a really nice breakfast included. Well, turns out the 11:35 flight was delayed until 4:10, but that wasn’t too terrible. I’m at a decent hotel with WiFi and I can get into the Business Class lounge when I get to JFK. However, then the airline version of Chinese water torture started. “It will be leaving at 5:30”, “It will be leaving at 6PM” It will be leaving at 7:05” meanwhile, the flight hadn’t even landed from Bangkok yet. We finally left at 8:30 PM, nine hours late. They said it was an equipment problem on the Bangkok end. Oh, well, there go the plans for dinner in Bangkok during out layover. It has already been a very long day.
Thai Air business class is very nice. Comfortable quasi-flat chairs, great food. Unfortunately because of the change in schedule (and logic), they gave us three full dinner-type meals rather than fitting in a light breakfast somewhere. I would have loved just some juice and a croissant. On a 17 hour flight it seems there should be a breakfast in there somewhere, no matter what time you take off, doesn’t it? Must be another mystery of flying over the North Pole and international dateline—you miss breakfast. Go figure. The flight was smooth and I was able to get a around seven hours of sleep. Bad movie list, but the food was good, the wine plentiful, and the flight staff is delightful.
We arrived BKK at 1:30 AM. By the time we got to the airport Sofitel it was 2:30 AM. With our 9:00 AM flight to Luang Prabang, we didn’t exactly have a slumber-filled night. We figured with our four hours of sleep, the Sofitel ended up costing us about $40/hour. However, a shower and a nap? Priceless.
We head back to the airport at 7:30. Check in for our Bangkok Air flight for Luang Prabang and head for the gate. Yes! Our journey awaits. We wait for a while at the gate and then are told that our flight to LP has been cancelled. We are rescheduled for a flight two hours later and given a coupon to spend $5 at Burger King (couldn’t make this up). We are also given a pass to go to the premium lounge where we meet four also-cancelled members of the “Wilderness Travel” group with whom we will be traveling. They seem very nice.
I decide to make the most of the two hours and have a foot massage. Love foot massages. Might move to SE Asia just for the foot massage, but I digress…
More in my next post....
Jan 19th, 2008, 10:04 PM
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We board the flight for Luang Prabang (LP) at around noon and have a nice 90 minute or so flight to LP. The plane is an 70 or so passenger ATR prop plane and every seat is taken. Two 20-something Russian guys who think they are the Moscow version of Brad Pitt and George Clooney both have sunglasses on and are talking at the top of their lungs in the seat behind me. Loud Russian is far more annoying than loud French or Italian or Laotian. However, the moment they said (in English) to the flight attendant “I smell cigarette smoke” , was at the exact same moment that I was saying to my travel buddy Louise, “I smell cigarette smoke” There was no one in the toilet (it was right behind me), but then I said to the flight attendant “ I think the pilots might be smoking.” She said “no”, but then she went to the phone and called up to the cockpit. I have no idea what she said since my Thai is about as good as my Russian, but I know the pilots WERE smoking on that flight. It is weird smelling smoke on an airplane after all these years. Anyway, it was a new airplane and a nice, smooth flight—the pilots must have been relaxed since they were smoking.
We disembarked, get our visas (quick and easy) and walked out of the tiny airport to meet our fabulous tour operations manager, Matthew Smith, a Brit who lives in and has a pub in Chang Mai. We meet the other folks who are with the group (a total of 16) and then get on shuttle buses to the Villa Santi Hotel.
The Villa Santi has the best location in LP, but it has seen better days. The bathrooms are rather dark and dismal. They are tolerable however, and I wouldn’t trade the location for the more luxurious hotels further away. However, there is a new boutique luxury hotel opening in a couple months only two blocks away from the Villa Santi. It only has 20 or so rooms, but looks wonderful. It is on the street with the night market. Anyway bathrooms aside, the Villa Santi was just fine and the staff delightful. We were there for three nights.
After we got our room, Louise and I went out for a walk around the town. We wandered down to the river and had a beer and spring rolls looking down at all the children swimming in the river. It was a gorgeous day, as were most of our days during the three weeks. After our stop for lunch, we wandered around the hills, getting lost and talking with people in the back streets and allyways. We have a delightful, unexpected treat when we walked into a temple area and saw local people decorating the temple with leaves and flowers. All of a sudden we heard horns and music and five or six trucks pull up loaded with 60 or so people—very young to very old. They were ladened with flowers, banana leaves, grasses. They all joined in to decorate the temple in celebration of something—couldn’t figure out what, but they loved having us there and were incredibly friendly. They all piled back on the trucks and drove away. We kept walking around for a couple more hours. That is what is great in LP, just walking around. That night I skipped dinner and went to bed. Jet lag was causing havoc on my stomach. The thought of food was not welcomed.
More coming.....
We disembarked, get our visas (quick and easy) and walked out of the tiny airport to meet our fabulous tour operations manager, Matthew Smith, a Brit who lives in and has a pub in Chang Mai. We meet the other folks who are with the group (a total of 16) and then get on shuttle buses to the Villa Santi Hotel.
The Villa Santi has the best location in LP, but it has seen better days. The bathrooms are rather dark and dismal. They are tolerable however, and I wouldn’t trade the location for the more luxurious hotels further away. However, there is a new boutique luxury hotel opening in a couple months only two blocks away from the Villa Santi. It only has 20 or so rooms, but looks wonderful. It is on the street with the night market. Anyway bathrooms aside, the Villa Santi was just fine and the staff delightful. We were there for three nights.
After we got our room, Louise and I went out for a walk around the town. We wandered down to the river and had a beer and spring rolls looking down at all the children swimming in the river. It was a gorgeous day, as were most of our days during the three weeks. After our stop for lunch, we wandered around the hills, getting lost and talking with people in the back streets and allyways. We have a delightful, unexpected treat when we walked into a temple area and saw local people decorating the temple with leaves and flowers. All of a sudden we heard horns and music and five or six trucks pull up loaded with 60 or so people—very young to very old. They were ladened with flowers, banana leaves, grasses. They all joined in to decorate the temple in celebration of something—couldn’t figure out what, but they loved having us there and were incredibly friendly. They all piled back on the trucks and drove away. We kept walking around for a couple more hours. That is what is great in LP, just walking around. That night I skipped dinner and went to bed. Jet lag was causing havoc on my stomach. The thought of food was not welcomed.
More coming.....
Jan 19th, 2008, 10:06 PM
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The next day was Sunday and we went into the mountains to visit the hill tribes. The day had been changes as the Hmong tribe was having a celebration and was in full regalia and our guide didn’t want us to miss it. I’m SO glad we went when we did. However, the first thing that happened is that our bus got stuck on a muddy approach approach to a bridge. It was really muddy. The bus driver kept spinning the wheels. So I (Vermonter that I am) said, “we need to get off the bus). We got off the bus and the bus driver attempted to get up this small incline and over the tiny wooden bridge. He was getting deeper and deeper in the mud. Of course, I’m there thinking “let ME drive the bus”. I am standing with one other trip member named Gunnar. Gunnar is from Sweden. I say to him, “There are two Laos and a Brit down there trying to get that bus up a hill in mud. You are from Sweden, I am from Vermont…let’s get this over with.” So, Gunnar and I grab huge clumps of hay/grass/whatever, and create a path for the bus through the thick mud and to the bridge. We are now on our way after some graciously accepted high fives. Along the way we stopped at a pineapple farm and ate freshly picked pineapple slices. I don’t think I can eat a Whole Foods pineapple again. I’ve been spoiled. We then moved on the Hmong village. The Hmong girls were dressed in gorgeous, elaborate costumes (see fantastic pictures in my album link below) and everyone was having so much fun. Our local guide had brought tons of little individually wrapped tea cookies for all the children which they seemed to love. He gave them to me to hand out, so I became the favorite visitor and was able to take wonderful pictures. There is a pride among the Hmong that is palpable. I am always impressed by how much children are loved in these villages. We then visited a Khmu village. Again, those cookies were a huge hit and therefore I was a great hit. The Khmu seem quite different from the Hmong even just walking around. The Hmong seems more industrious. However, what do I know—I’m just a woman with cookies dropping by for a few minutes and taking pictures.
Back to LP for lunch at 3 Nagas. The lunch was devine and I had the best salad I think I have ever had in my life--a vinagarette to die for. Now, I know that many of you have a big taboo about salads outside of your hometown, but our guide assured us that he has been taking Wilderness Travel folks to these restaurants for 15 years and no one has ever had a problem. I cannot tell you how much better the greens are in these countries. We all had salads—here and at most the other restaurants throughout our trip—and not one of the 16 of us had even the slightest stomach issue. A number of us went back to the 3 Nagas the next day, just for the salad. That afternoon we wandered about the Temples which I won’t describe—but they are wonderful. I have great pictures of them if you are interested. That evening we had dinner at Elephant,(a block away from the Villa Santi) where I had a delightful spinach soup, perch and crème caramel. All with a wonderful French white wine. Fabulous.
The next morning we took at Klong boat to the Buddhist Caves and visited a Lao village. The Lao village children were gorgeous, friendly and so respectful. One China-doll toddler kept following me around. I have many pictures of this precious child—she tried to get into every picture, it was hilarious. I wanted to just squeeze her. We walked through the woods over rocks and tree trunk bridges to a place where we had a marvelous picnic lunch. There was a wonderful open terrace-type structure with a large dining table overlooking the Mekong. A wonderful lunch was served. They even had Lao beer! We then walked back down to our boat for the ride up the Mekong back to LP. We stopped at a weaving village and observed how the wonderful patterns are woven. I bought two high quality shawls (like I needed another shawl after India!! ) However, I am glad I did as I saw nothing even close in the following two weeks. The good shawls in LP are expensive, $100 and (way)up. However, a good shawl takes two months to complete. One of them is going to be a wall hanging in my foyer—it is indeed a piece of art. That night we had dinner at 3 Elephants directly across from the Villa Santi. It was family style and very good. It included a beef stew type dish that includes cubes of wood (yes, wood) for “flavor.” It was delicious, wood and all.
Ok, that’s it for my first post. I want to thank everyone for all their great advice before my trip. As usual, you were terrific.
I know I’m a bit late with my trip report and Gpanda will probably panda-slap me, but I wanted to get most of my photos up first. I think you will like them. The best way to view them is to start with the “The Monks” album and click “start slideshow” (have your sound turned on). If you want to take a look, my album can be found here: http://patpom.phanfare.com/album/542164
OK, that's it for now. And, I'm only on day 3! Oh, oh..... ;-)
Back to LP for lunch at 3 Nagas. The lunch was devine and I had the best salad I think I have ever had in my life--a vinagarette to die for. Now, I know that many of you have a big taboo about salads outside of your hometown, but our guide assured us that he has been taking Wilderness Travel folks to these restaurants for 15 years and no one has ever had a problem. I cannot tell you how much better the greens are in these countries. We all had salads—here and at most the other restaurants throughout our trip—and not one of the 16 of us had even the slightest stomach issue. A number of us went back to the 3 Nagas the next day, just for the salad. That afternoon we wandered about the Temples which I won’t describe—but they are wonderful. I have great pictures of them if you are interested. That evening we had dinner at Elephant,(a block away from the Villa Santi) where I had a delightful spinach soup, perch and crème caramel. All with a wonderful French white wine. Fabulous.
The next morning we took at Klong boat to the Buddhist Caves and visited a Lao village. The Lao village children were gorgeous, friendly and so respectful. One China-doll toddler kept following me around. I have many pictures of this precious child—she tried to get into every picture, it was hilarious. I wanted to just squeeze her. We walked through the woods over rocks and tree trunk bridges to a place where we had a marvelous picnic lunch. There was a wonderful open terrace-type structure with a large dining table overlooking the Mekong. A wonderful lunch was served. They even had Lao beer! We then walked back down to our boat for the ride up the Mekong back to LP. We stopped at a weaving village and observed how the wonderful patterns are woven. I bought two high quality shawls (like I needed another shawl after India!! ) However, I am glad I did as I saw nothing even close in the following two weeks. The good shawls in LP are expensive, $100 and (way)up. However, a good shawl takes two months to complete. One of them is going to be a wall hanging in my foyer—it is indeed a piece of art. That night we had dinner at 3 Elephants directly across from the Villa Santi. It was family style and very good. It included a beef stew type dish that includes cubes of wood (yes, wood) for “flavor.” It was delicious, wood and all.
Ok, that’s it for my first post. I want to thank everyone for all their great advice before my trip. As usual, you were terrific.
I know I’m a bit late with my trip report and Gpanda will probably panda-slap me, but I wanted to get most of my photos up first. I think you will like them. The best way to view them is to start with the “The Monks” album and click “start slideshow” (have your sound turned on). If you want to take a look, my album can be found here: http://patpom.phanfare.com/album/542164
OK, that's it for now. And, I'm only on day 3! Oh, oh..... ;-)
Jan 20th, 2008, 01:30 AM
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Patricia-don't worry, you are well within the appropriate time frame to avoid a penalty. Plus, I know you wrote these posts late at night. Dedication is rewarded even if it is slightly tardy.
I agree that the salads in LP are the best anywhere. The watercress had a much more complex taste than we get here in the States.
Great beginning, keep it coming.
GO PATS.
I agree that the salads in LP are the best anywhere. The watercress had a much more complex taste than we get here in the States.
Great beginning, keep it coming.
GO PATS.
Jan 20th, 2008, 02:40 AM
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Patricia - a great start to my Sunday, reexperiencing (vicariously) the fabulous time we had in LP two years ago. Sorry your flights were late/canceled but it sounds like you survived the ordeal ok - business class eases the pain a lot...
Jeane also LOVED the weavings at that village.
I looked at the first two chapters of your photo album. Great pix and presentation - the background music is a nice touch too. Looks like you found a photo-sharing site that really works...
Looking forward to the next installment as we've not been to VN.
Jeane also LOVED the weavings at that village.
I looked at the first two chapters of your photo album. Great pix and presentation - the background music is a nice touch too. Looks like you found a photo-sharing site that really works...
Looking forward to the next installment as we've not been to VN.
Jan 20th, 2008, 05:17 AM
#8
Ah, you took me right back to Luang Prabang! (And its restaurants, lol.) Glad you had a good trip despite the plane mess. I laughed at the bus in the mud piece - sounds like you'd make a good trip leader!
Jan 20th, 2008, 06:38 AM
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Enjoying your post, please keep it coming. I'm jealous about the festival you were able to see! My fondest memory of LP is the parade that took place while we were there, celebrating an anniversary of LP being designated a World Heritage Site. We ate dinner at 3 Nagas twice during our trip (we enjoyed the restaurant much more than the room at the hotel). I am so anxious to return to LP because my husband was out of commission (heat related) for 24 hours during our 3 days there, so we didn't do any trips outside town.
Jan 20th, 2008, 07:58 AM
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The Monks:
I rose early on two mornings to observe the monks walking through LP and try to “make merit” on this earth—which I need, badly. For those who have never been to LP, the monks do a walking round down the main street in LP each morning at 6:30 AM. Tourists and locals offer sticky rice, bananas, and various food wrapped in banana leaves. It is really quite moving and beautiful. I took a short movie if you have never seen it (at end of next post)
After the monk merit-making, we went to the morning market. Vegetables in glorious colors, fish, birds. I asked about these little birds in tiny reed cages. I certainly didn’t want them to be eaten. Well, turns out some enterprising LP native knows that soft hearted tourists are suckers for tiny little birds and will buy them and then release them to “make merit” Then they just go out and catch them again. A renewable resource. We released them at a temple to make sure the “merit” really stuck.
OK, let’s talk about the massages in LP. First, they cost nothing. $3 for a ONE HOUR foot massage. I lost count of how many foot massages I received. I also decided to get my hair washed and dried a couple times as it cost $5 and came with a 30 minute head massage. Since it takes forever to dry curly hair in LP (and throughout SE Asia), $5 hair washing is the perfect solution. And, for my curly hair sisters out there, I just let it go. It did what it wanted to do and the curlier it got, the better. The “moisture block” product tip from another post in this forum worked great.
More.....
I rose early on two mornings to observe the monks walking through LP and try to “make merit” on this earth—which I need, badly. For those who have never been to LP, the monks do a walking round down the main street in LP each morning at 6:30 AM. Tourists and locals offer sticky rice, bananas, and various food wrapped in banana leaves. It is really quite moving and beautiful. I took a short movie if you have never seen it (at end of next post)
After the monk merit-making, we went to the morning market. Vegetables in glorious colors, fish, birds. I asked about these little birds in tiny reed cages. I certainly didn’t want them to be eaten. Well, turns out some enterprising LP native knows that soft hearted tourists are suckers for tiny little birds and will buy them and then release them to “make merit” Then they just go out and catch them again. A renewable resource. We released them at a temple to make sure the “merit” really stuck.
OK, let’s talk about the massages in LP. First, they cost nothing. $3 for a ONE HOUR foot massage. I lost count of how many foot massages I received. I also decided to get my hair washed and dried a couple times as it cost $5 and came with a 30 minute head massage. Since it takes forever to dry curly hair in LP (and throughout SE Asia), $5 hair washing is the perfect solution. And, for my curly hair sisters out there, I just let it go. It did what it wanted to do and the curlier it got, the better. The “moisture block” product tip from another post in this forum worked great.
More.....
Jan 20th, 2008, 08:12 AM
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Last day in LP. We were leaving for Hanoi at 2PM so I packed up, got another foot massage and head massage/washing (this place is downright decadent!) and walked back to the Villa Santi. On the way, I ran into a novice monk in the monk house across the street from the Villa Santi annex. I smiled and said hello. He asked me if I would talk with him so that he could practice English. His name was “Novice Boumme” and he was from the temple Wat Nong Sikhunmuang. I had my tiny Sony computer with me and asked “would you like to see my computer?” He was astonished at how small it was and really didn’t understand it was an actual computer (they all use the computers in the Internet cafes, so they are used to computers for email). He said “let’s go inside” and pointed to his temple. We removed our shoes and went into the temple and sat on the floor in front of Buddha. No one else was in the temple. I opened my computer and logged on. I pulled up i-tunes and played some Eastern energy music while I showed him my photos of China, India and the US. He asked what music that boys like him in the US would listen to. So, I looked up to Buddha and said “Ok with you?” Boumme laughed. I then played some U-2 music along with some Maroon Five tracks—rock ‘n roll in the temple. He was moving his shoulders in rhythm and we were having a marvelous time. He asked me if I danced. I think it was just a question, but I drew the line at dancing in the temple 
I switched the music back to an adagio and just in case his superior decided to pay a visit to the temple, and we talked for a while I showed him how computers do computations etc. I asked him if he liked being a monk. He responded “I have no choice. My mother and father divorced and I was living with my grandmother. She couldn’t afford for me to go to school so I became a monk. My sister is in an orphanage here in LP. I want to go to university with my friend (another monk)”. Essentially, becoming a monk is a way for boys from rural areas to get an education. They do not have to remain monks and most don’t. It is not a bad system. Boumme said that he would like me to take his picture. As he was walking up to the front of the temple to pose in front of Buddha. He straighten out his robes for the picture—the monks like to look good. He then asked to hold my computer which I handed to him. It is a wonderful picture and it was a magical hour in LP I will never forget. I got his address and I am sending him the picture with an extra one for him to give to his sister. Photo of Boumme with computer: http://photo-url.com/Novice_with_Computer
Off to the LP airport. Why they have security I don’t know. You put your hand luggage through security when you are still outside the terminal. Well, I still had water in my bag (we were still outside and it didn’t enter my mind). When it came out on the other side the guard said “do you have water?” I said “oops, yes” I took out one bottle of water and tossed it. They didn’t ask for it to go through again. I only noticed later that I had another bottle of water. Oh, well, I’m on vacation and I’m not going to worry about terrorists.
Our airline is Lao Airlines. Since last October they now have a nonstop flight to Hanoi which is wonderful. You used to have to go to Vientiane and then to Hanoi. I am a bit of a nervous flyer anyway and I know that Lao does not have the greatest reputation for flight safety and airplanes. However, the flight was great, the plane brand new ATR and the pilots didn’t smoke, so high five to Lao Airlines.
Monk Movie: A fun one minute movie of the monks in front of the Villa Santi: http://photo-url.com/monk_movie
“The Monks” photos: You can’t take a bad photo in LP http://photo-url.com/monk_photos
Next post: On to Hanoi. I LOVED Hanoi!
I switched the music back to an adagio and just in case his superior decided to pay a visit to the temple, and we talked for a while I showed him how computers do computations etc. I asked him if he liked being a monk. He responded “I have no choice. My mother and father divorced and I was living with my grandmother. She couldn’t afford for me to go to school so I became a monk. My sister is in an orphanage here in LP. I want to go to university with my friend (another monk)”. Essentially, becoming a monk is a way for boys from rural areas to get an education. They do not have to remain monks and most don’t. It is not a bad system. Boumme said that he would like me to take his picture. As he was walking up to the front of the temple to pose in front of Buddha. He straighten out his robes for the picture—the monks like to look good. He then asked to hold my computer which I handed to him. It is a wonderful picture and it was a magical hour in LP I will never forget. I got his address and I am sending him the picture with an extra one for him to give to his sister. Photo of Boumme with computer: http://photo-url.com/Novice_with_Computer Off to the LP airport. Why they have security I don’t know. You put your hand luggage through security when you are still outside the terminal. Well, I still had water in my bag (we were still outside and it didn’t enter my mind). When it came out on the other side the guard said “do you have water?” I said “oops, yes” I took out one bottle of water and tossed it. They didn’t ask for it to go through again. I only noticed later that I had another bottle of water. Oh, well, I’m on vacation and I’m not going to worry about terrorists.
Our airline is Lao Airlines. Since last October they now have a nonstop flight to Hanoi which is wonderful. You used to have to go to Vientiane and then to Hanoi. I am a bit of a nervous flyer anyway and I know that Lao does not have the greatest reputation for flight safety and airplanes. However, the flight was great, the plane brand new ATR and the pilots didn’t smoke, so high five to Lao Airlines.
Monk Movie: A fun one minute movie of the monks in front of the Villa Santi: http://photo-url.com/monk_movie
“The Monks” photos: You can’t take a bad photo in LP http://photo-url.com/monk_photos
Next post: On to Hanoi. I LOVED Hanoi!
Jan 20th, 2008, 08:25 AM
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Hi Gpanda. I agree with you on the watercress. It is amazing how complex flavors come through when it was picked that morning
Yes! GO PATS!!!
Craig: Yes, Phanfare is a nice photo application. It is 80% of what I want and I use SmugMug for the rest. Did Jeanne ever get a weaving?
Glorialf: Yes, I am the one who used the Maxroam sim card. It was great. I was the ONLY one of the 10 or so people who had phones that had service in LP. It worked in every city, village and hamlet and it automatically picked up the local signal in seconds. I loved it and would recommend it highly for those who are going to multiple locations.
From DC: Your experience must have been wonderful. The are so proud of being a UNESCO Heritage site. You really should go into the hills. It is fascinating.
Thanks to you and everyone for your replies. It is such fun to share the trip with my Fodors friends.
Hi Gpanda. I agree with you on the watercress. It is amazing how complex flavors come through when it was picked that morning
Yes! GO PATS!!!
Craig: Yes, Phanfare is a nice photo application. It is 80% of what I want and I use SmugMug for the rest. Did Jeanne ever get a weaving?
Glorialf: Yes, I am the one who used the Maxroam sim card. It was great. I was the ONLY one of the 10 or so people who had phones that had service in LP. It worked in every city, village and hamlet and it automatically picked up the local signal in seconds. I loved it and would recommend it highly for those who are going to multiple locations.
From DC: Your experience must have been wonderful. The are so proud of being a UNESCO Heritage site. You really should go into the hills. It is fascinating.
Thanks to you and everyone for your replies. It is such fun to share the trip with my Fodors friends.
Jan 20th, 2008, 09:35 AM
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Your pictures bring back lots of great memories. I love the one of the elderly lady sitting on the little stool sorting peas. When I sat on one of those I couldn't get up, LOL.
I guess a new term has entered our lexicon: "Panda-Slap"
I guess a new term has entered our lexicon: "Panda-Slap"
Jan 20th, 2008, 02:30 PM
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After consulting with my wife, we decided that although we spent a lot of time at the weaving village, she only bought paper products - lanterns and wrapping paper. While I am glad that you found things that you liked, Jeane thinks I confused weavings from there with those from a village in Myanmar. We got some great photos in that Laos weaving village though as you did.
Jan 20th, 2008, 05:18 PM
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Hanoi:
We left the hot, sunny climate of LP to the overcast cool world of winter in Hanoi. The Hanoi airport is modern and hectic.
Before I move on, I forgot in my initial post to outline my trip destinations.
Luang Prabang
Hanoi
Ha Long Bay
Hue
Hoi An
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City
Siem Reap/Angkor Temples
Bangkok
Regarding checked baggage weight. I was never assessed any fees from Bangkok, Lao or Vietnam Airlines although I was overweight by a few kilos. No one paid any attention to hand luggage.
OK, on to Hanoi. I really loved Hanoi and would have liked to have at least another day there. We stayed at the Hilton Opera Hanoi for three nights. I loved the hotel. It was fabulously located, the rooms were very well appointed, the bathrooms were divine (and a wonderful relief after the Villa Santi), great pillows, great bathrobes, and their broadband internet was terrific.
By the time we got to the hotel and checked in, it was 7 PM. Three of us walked over to the Metropole for drinks and bar food. It was great. The Sofitel Metropole is lovely and the sparkling white Christmas lights all over the courtyard made it quite magical looking. We had three cocktails and lots of bar food and had a simply splendid evening. I had a “Graham Green” cocktail. Graham is everywhere and everything is named after him.
We landed in Hanoi on the 35th anniversary of the “Dien bien phu” of the air, which is what the government calls the December 1972 “Nixon” bombing of Hanoi. John McCain talks about this massive bomb attack in his book. He said the “Hanoi Hilton” shook from the explosions and that is was a huge attack. The North Vietnamese forces shot down many airplanes that night and consider it the victory that began the pullout of American troops. There were lots of flags and billboards and flower arrangements, but no one really seemed to care. The Vietnamese have gotten on with their lives and 50% of the population is under 25.
We visited the Temple of Literature which is lovely and quite interesting and an island of tranquility in the bustling Hanoi. We also visited the Tran Quoc pagoda where you can get wonderful vistas over one of the lakes in Hanoi. That day for lunch, we ate the famous dish “cha ca” which is a sautéed catfish dish (I think) that has been marinated in a secret sauce. It is served with noodles and condiments. I loved it. We later went to the Museum of Ethnology which I found OK, but was not memorable.
Later that day we visited a well known artist who specializes in lacquerware painting. She was really good. Hanoi is the undisputed art capital of Vietnam and there are wonderful art galleries all over the city. I spent hours going from gallery to gallery. Many of the artists are world class and the prices are relatively reasonable—although rising rapidly. I was NOT planning on buying a painting, but I fell in love with the work of Nguyen Thanh Binh, one of the most well known artists in Vietnam. He has a particular style and is copied by hundreds of artists all over Vietnam—as are most of the well-known artists. You have to be careful and buy from an approved gallery and get a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Binh has a particular style that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when I opened the crate when it arrived, I was thrilled. I have seven sisters, so women are central to my life. His style spoke to me and I bought it on the spot. Shipping was $280, but it included free framing—truly gorgeous framing. The high quality shadowbox framing would have cost me easily $600 or more if I had taken the painting with me and framed it here. Here is my painting the night I bought it in Hanoi: http://photo-url.com/Binh_Painting If you enjoy art, make sure you stay a few days in Hanoi. The art scene is simply tremendous.
More.....
We left the hot, sunny climate of LP to the overcast cool world of winter in Hanoi. The Hanoi airport is modern and hectic.
Before I move on, I forgot in my initial post to outline my trip destinations.
Luang Prabang
Hanoi
Ha Long Bay
Hue
Hoi An
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City
Siem Reap/Angkor Temples
Bangkok
Regarding checked baggage weight. I was never assessed any fees from Bangkok, Lao or Vietnam Airlines although I was overweight by a few kilos. No one paid any attention to hand luggage.
OK, on to Hanoi. I really loved Hanoi and would have liked to have at least another day there. We stayed at the Hilton Opera Hanoi for three nights. I loved the hotel. It was fabulously located, the rooms were very well appointed, the bathrooms were divine (and a wonderful relief after the Villa Santi), great pillows, great bathrobes, and their broadband internet was terrific.
By the time we got to the hotel and checked in, it was 7 PM. Three of us walked over to the Metropole for drinks and bar food. It was great. The Sofitel Metropole is lovely and the sparkling white Christmas lights all over the courtyard made it quite magical looking. We had three cocktails and lots of bar food and had a simply splendid evening. I had a “Graham Green” cocktail. Graham is everywhere and everything is named after him.
We landed in Hanoi on the 35th anniversary of the “Dien bien phu” of the air, which is what the government calls the December 1972 “Nixon” bombing of Hanoi. John McCain talks about this massive bomb attack in his book. He said the “Hanoi Hilton” shook from the explosions and that is was a huge attack. The North Vietnamese forces shot down many airplanes that night and consider it the victory that began the pullout of American troops. There were lots of flags and billboards and flower arrangements, but no one really seemed to care. The Vietnamese have gotten on with their lives and 50% of the population is under 25.
We visited the Temple of Literature which is lovely and quite interesting and an island of tranquility in the bustling Hanoi. We also visited the Tran Quoc pagoda where you can get wonderful vistas over one of the lakes in Hanoi. That day for lunch, we ate the famous dish “cha ca” which is a sautéed catfish dish (I think) that has been marinated in a secret sauce. It is served with noodles and condiments. I loved it. We later went to the Museum of Ethnology which I found OK, but was not memorable.
Later that day we visited a well known artist who specializes in lacquerware painting. She was really good. Hanoi is the undisputed art capital of Vietnam and there are wonderful art galleries all over the city. I spent hours going from gallery to gallery. Many of the artists are world class and the prices are relatively reasonable—although rising rapidly. I was NOT planning on buying a painting, but I fell in love with the work of Nguyen Thanh Binh, one of the most well known artists in Vietnam. He has a particular style and is copied by hundreds of artists all over Vietnam—as are most of the well-known artists. You have to be careful and buy from an approved gallery and get a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Binh has a particular style that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when I opened the crate when it arrived, I was thrilled. I have seven sisters, so women are central to my life. His style spoke to me and I bought it on the spot. Shipping was $280, but it included free framing—truly gorgeous framing. The high quality shadowbox framing would have cost me easily $600 or more if I had taken the painting with me and framed it here. Here is my painting the night I bought it in Hanoi: http://photo-url.com/Binh_Painting If you enjoy art, make sure you stay a few days in Hanoi. The art scene is simply tremendous.
More.....
