From Hanoi - Laos or more Vietnam?
Mar 18th, 2011, 11:19 PM
#21
"You should not book the hotel in Hanoi before you arrival there" - not sure I agree with this. It used to be OK to just turn up and look around, but there were way more tourists in Hanoi when I was there last month than I remember seeing before. I'm not sure I'd chance it, especially if you want something in the $60-$90 range - a bit high fr Hanoi.
Mar 20th, 2011, 08:57 AM
#22
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It looks like we are leaning towards LP - 3 or 4 nights, and will do a halong bay day trip from Hanoi. Yes we know it's 7 hours driving in a day, but with a private guide we should get 5 hours on the bay which I think will be enough for us as cruising on a boat isn't really a favorite activity for us.
Where in LP should one stay? There are a bunch of great options, but is there a benefit to stay near the mekong river or more 'in town'?
Where in LP should one stay? There are a bunch of great options, but is there a benefit to stay near the mekong river or more 'in town'?
Mar 20th, 2011, 10:17 PM
#24
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Things to do in Vientiane:
Do the walking tour in the city for starters- see the temples in the center of town and the colonial French architecture. head up to Patuxai, see the view from the top. This should take the better part of a day. There is also the Lao National Museum that most people seem to ignore, and if you're into culture and especially war history, you will find it fascinating. Also the Kaysone Phomivahan Museum at km 6.
With that as your appetizer, you can head further along down the riverside and have a real Lao meal- grilled chicken, duck or fish, spicy papaya salad and cold Beerlao. If you are in the mood for more action, there are more than a few bars in the middle of town, near the fountain. The riverside is pretty well completed now and is hardly "a mess", and the restaurants have relocated.
On day two you can head out to see Buddha Park, filled with very funky buddah sculptures in a grassy park. The little restaurant there also has good food, and cold beer. When you return to town, you can rent a bicycle and head out to see That Luang- spend some time there walking around & inspecting the various structures- there's plenty to see- and you can also talk to some monks & novices, many are dying to practice their English with a native speaker. After that head to Talat Sao(the main market). I can easily spend several hours browsing and shopping there, and there is a wet market you can go see exacty behind the main market (oddly few tourists go there). That's where the locals shop, everything you can imagine is for sale there. I believe that new shopping mall should be completed soon, you can ask Rufus about that since he lives there.
If you'd like to see a traditional Lao dance or musical performance, Tamnak Lao restaurant has performances at dinner time (they also serve amazing food).
If you have a bicycle($1 a day to rent), you can head a bit outside of town and see some villages and outlying little temples, always good for a day of exploring. I also highly recommend the street stands at Dong Palan night market- lots of good, hot food cooked up there and super-cheap. Or if you still have that bicycle, cycle the 2 kms or so over to Bunmala restaurant for some fabulous grilled duck or chicken.
Go to Thalat and have lunch on the river. Visit Cope. Go shopping at Talat Sao and Sang Jiang which are far better than any market you will find in LP.
Vientiane as well as the rest of Laos should be enjoyed at a a slow pace, there is no point in rushing around trying to see as much as you can in one day, just doesn't do it justice.
Do the walking tour in the city for starters- see the temples in the center of town and the colonial French architecture. head up to Patuxai, see the view from the top. This should take the better part of a day. There is also the Lao National Museum that most people seem to ignore, and if you're into culture and especially war history, you will find it fascinating. Also the Kaysone Phomivahan Museum at km 6.
With that as your appetizer, you can head further along down the riverside and have a real Lao meal- grilled chicken, duck or fish, spicy papaya salad and cold Beerlao. If you are in the mood for more action, there are more than a few bars in the middle of town, near the fountain. The riverside is pretty well completed now and is hardly "a mess", and the restaurants have relocated.
On day two you can head out to see Buddha Park, filled with very funky buddah sculptures in a grassy park. The little restaurant there also has good food, and cold beer. When you return to town, you can rent a bicycle and head out to see That Luang- spend some time there walking around & inspecting the various structures- there's plenty to see- and you can also talk to some monks & novices, many are dying to practice their English with a native speaker. After that head to Talat Sao(the main market). I can easily spend several hours browsing and shopping there, and there is a wet market you can go see exacty behind the main market (oddly few tourists go there). That's where the locals shop, everything you can imagine is for sale there. I believe that new shopping mall should be completed soon, you can ask Rufus about that since he lives there.
If you'd like to see a traditional Lao dance or musical performance, Tamnak Lao restaurant has performances at dinner time (they also serve amazing food).
If you have a bicycle($1 a day to rent), you can head a bit outside of town and see some villages and outlying little temples, always good for a day of exploring. I also highly recommend the street stands at Dong Palan night market- lots of good, hot food cooked up there and super-cheap. Or if you still have that bicycle, cycle the 2 kms or so over to Bunmala restaurant for some fabulous grilled duck or chicken.
Go to Thalat and have lunch on the river. Visit Cope. Go shopping at Talat Sao and Sang Jiang which are far better than any market you will find in LP.
Vientiane as well as the rest of Laos should be enjoyed at a a slow pace, there is no point in rushing around trying to see as much as you can in one day, just doesn't do it justice.
Mar 21st, 2011, 01:25 AM
#26
Well, I don't ride a bike, and I don't shop, and I have absolutely no interest in the funky Buddha statues, so that does away a lot of your suggestions. (There's a local market in LP too, south of the tourist one.) And I have a hard time believing they've made that much progress on the riverside project in the last four weeks - in sny case I much prefer the riverside walks in LP.
Mar 21st, 2011, 09:38 AM
#27
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I think we will go with LP this time as we are not as interested in the shopping/markets/food - we are relocating to Asia and will continue to do plenty of travel in the region so things like asian malls and markets aren't as appealing to us as beautiful architecture, landscapes, and temples.
