Wanting to visit this country since ages, but time was not right, as I was before working overseas, and secondly, was thinking it is within SEA and can visit anytime I wanted to. So finally found the time to visit this time around, and it is the 10th country in ASEAN, for me to cover. And I am glad I made it this time around.
Flew with AirAsia cause it was the only airline that offers direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Luang Prabang, hence the decision to fly with this airline (though it was not my favorite airline). Everything went well, we took ETS from hometown, then stay a nite at KLIA2, as initially the flight was suppose to depart early in the morning. But later it was changed to noon. And the hotel we got, was capsule hotel (first time for me to use one here and it was not cheap actually but nevertheless, was quite an experience to use one).
The infamous nite market
Part of the world heritage streets, very nice to walk around at nite time.
First impression when landed at Luang Prabang airport was that, the airport is rather small and taxi ride from airport was expensive. But as soon as we reached the hotel, we liked it a lot. Mostly made of timber or hard wood and hotel reception was very nice. And the city is green, and walking along the city is nice, especially along Mekong river and the old street under world heritage. It is safe and people are nice. I told my friend, Nestor, that despite of GDP or the wealth of the people, they are very nice, down to earth, safe, no robbers around, and very clean and this feeling is good for travelers and tourists. I think it will out a lot of shame of so called "richer countries". And in the nite market you can find a lot of nice handicrafts where they still I believe spend a lot of efforts to make them and worth to support the locals. Despite telling myself not to buy more, I still bought some, because they are beautiful and because I would like to support the locals. They deserve the support.
Note:Taxi from airport to hotels in Luang Prabang town is around 50000 Kip, and you can buy your ticket at the taxi counter. There is a local vegetarian food which is quite tasty and they charge at 10,000 Kip per plate, you are allowed to choose what you like and can fill the plate full if you can consume all. It is in the middle way, along the nite market. Please try it out if you are there. And the coconut cake is very nice, very delicious.
After 3 nites in Luang Prabang, moving to Vang Vieng was a bit difficult, in my opinion but was worth every minute spent on the road once we arrived to the hotel, the riverside hotel. The journey of about 300KM took more than 8-9hours in total, with a total of 3 stops for resting, and a few more stops to pick up passengers along the way. They picked us up at 830am, and then departure from Luang Prabang bus station was after 1030am. And we reached Vang Veing only around 6PM. Again, you need to negotiate with the tuk tuk taxi driver, and for a short journey they asked for 20,000 Kip which I think 10,000 Kip should suffice. Vang Vieng is very beautiful city, green and very much outdoor type of activities and you can have your bicycle rides, motorcycle rides, scooter rides, boat rides, etc here. But since we did not plan much time to spend here, we could not explore more but definitely a nice place for outdoor activities.
Breakfast at the hotel, was very good
Walking around the town in Vang Vieng, very beautiful.
After a nite at Vang Vieng City, the trip to Vientiane, capital city of Laos was very good. It was a shorter distance route (flat land) roads are better, and with better MPV, we arrived there faster than anticipated.It takes about 3hours to reach Vientiane from Vang Veing,
I did not except Vientiane to be that congested with cars, and air quality is not that good. Walking around the city is nice though, safe but because it was just like any other cities in ASEAN, I did not find it interesting enough for me to explore more. They also have a nite market here, and things could be cheaper than Luang Prabang at the nite market here (probable they are the distribution centre for the Laos), I still prefer the nite market in Luang Prabang, more local, more authentic, more artistics (may be the environment we are in). However, watching the sunset along Mekong river (behind Presidential palace) was a good experience.
I love this temple though, Pha That Luang.
The rice cake is very delicious. A must try
Sunset at Mekong River in Vientiane city
Honestly speaking, I am very happy with this trip to Laos, especially to Luang Prabang and I do not mind to come back for a revisit, as I think it is a beautiful place and worth to come back for a short stay. We met a family from Kuala Lumpur and they told us, they have been back for the 3rd time. And I understood why they came back, and probably I would be back there soon, for the 2nd time. I wanted to get a wooden bowl which I missed out in getting one, as I thought I can buy it in Vientiane, my last stop, as I do not want to carry to much stuff (the bowl is heavy), but I could not find it in Vientiane. So, there is a reason to go back, is it not, haha.
I am grateful for this meaningful visit, the 10th country in ASEAN to visit, and I am thankful to Laos, and happy that finally I have the chance to visit this family member of ASEAN. Hope to be back again, soon.
Choong
Nov 2017
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