Luang Prabang, 16-19 Dec

Having had enough of tubing and partying, It was time to move on to the former capital and now World Heritage site Luang Prabang. Nestled in the mountains with the bus only being able to average 35 km/h, it would have taken us seven hours to complete the 230 km journey if there hadn’t been one eager other bus driver in a rush who almost pushed us off the road. I tried to get some sleep so I was not an eye-witness of the incident but here is what others passengers have told me: Apparently we approached a narrow bridge and slowed down to let an oncoming truck pass by. Another bus didn’t see the bridge (or the truck) and overtook us. The other bus and the truck collided and the bus crashed into our side, almost pushing us over the edge of the road. If we had been any faster we would have definitely overturned and fallen into a river.

close to the ditch

Vang Vieng 13-15 Dec

Set among the idyllic mountains, this relaxed and “happy” (“happy” meaning weed in the Mekong area; for example you can buy “happy” pizza in most towns) village is famous for tubing. You rent an old tube from a truck tyre and float down the River. I have been told that there are several bars along the stream where you can stop and get a drink. But it’s more like an entire industry (Lao style) that caters to the need of the tubers. With comfy chairs and several platforms there are up to 100 people in one location and it is bar after bar. When ordering a drink, you get a free shot (mostly Tequila) and with some loud dance music there is a good atmosphere among the tubers. If you feel courageous after a few drinks you can do the many slides, slingshots and swings constructed from thin trees or branches that don’t look too trustworthy. On the tuk tuk ride from the tube shop to the drop point some people showed me their bruised they had got the previous day and I didn’t wanna end up like them.

view over Vang Vieng from my guesthouse

Vientiane, Laos 11-13 Dec

Laos’ capital is more like a town than a city and coming from bustling Vietnam, you realize pretty fast that things go much slower here. The town centre is craving for every tourism Dollar it can get as you don’t see any locals roaming around the streets that have no business with people like me. Therefore you have westernized shops, restaurants and bars downtown much unlike the many hawker stalls in Hanoi. The French colonized the “Country of a Million Elephants” and united three individual kingdoms into one protectorate, adding an additional “s” for plural to its name. Hence Laos will be called Lao from now on as everybody else does in Asia.

The bus trip from Hanoi to Vientiane is called “Bus from Hell” on various Internet forums as you will see why. The so called “sleeper bus” is very famous in Vietnam and probably the best way to get from town to town. I used it from Saigon to Nha Trang and then to Hoi An and from there to Hanoi. The journeys take about 9-12 hours and starts between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. There will be one or more stops along the way depending on whether there is a toilet on board. Sometimes you have your own private seat, as shown in the picture, sometimes you have two seats next to each other and you are “cuddling” with some foreigner. Actually a resting bus would be more specific, as you rarely get much sleep. The roads are partly in horrible conditions with many potholes, or the driver honks to let someone know he is overtaking, etc. Also you need the physique of a Vietnamese to be comfy in those seats. I am just 177cm and would like to see how a guy with 195cm is doing. Anyway it gets you to where you want to be, you can also save the money for a guest house, but you don’t arrive there in best conditions.

Hanoi, 07-10 Dec

Thanh Long (City of the Soaring Dragon), as Vietnam’s capital was formerly called, is the country’s major city for history, culture, politics as well as education and no tour guide or bus operator fails to mention it. The most crowed and busiest city I have seen on this trip is a bustling germ full of motor bikes and hawker stalls but without all the tourists you have in other capitals like Kuala Lumpur. In the Old Quarter (backpacker ghetto) you see rarely any English signs and it becomes clear that Hanoi does not need the tourists as badly as Vientiane for example. The traffic might not be as bad as Saigon but it is a close call. At the beginning of the dry season I felt cold for the first time in Asia, what a nice and almost unfamiliar feeling ;-) and you don’t have to pay extra for a/c.

Wedding in Hanoi

Halong Bay 05-06 Dec

Literally translated it means “decending dragons” and is definitely my personal fav of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tokin features more than two thousand vegetation-covered limestone islands and even after having seen a lot during my trip, the beauty of the area is truly amazing. 

Halong Bay

Some travellers opt to skip Halong Bay but I cant understand how you could miss this World Heritage Site (geologically and for natural beauty). The scenery reminds me of the 007-classic“The man with the golden gun“, shot in the Chinese Sea.

I paid $68 for a 2-day-trip which seemed a bit steep considering my 3-day-trip in the Mekong Delta was just $33. But the scenery made it well worthwhile. Just sitting on the bow (king of the world-style) with a cold one in your hand on a sunny day watching the islands pass by is worth all the trouble.

Allegedly we had the best vessel of the company’s fleet which reflected in the way the cabins were decorated and equipped.

Nha Trang +Hoi An 27 Nov – 03 Dec

Vietnam’s beach capital and most famous dive site is at the south-central coast, about 9 hours by bus from Saigon. My guest house was called “The Nice Hotel” and I must say it was on of the best value accommodation I stayed in on this trip. Clean, spacious room with free wifi, private bathroom including hot water, air-conditioning and heavy blankets for $10, which makes it €7.30 at the time. A moto driver at the bus stop suggested this hotel and I am usually a bit sceptical as it often turns out to be an overpriced accommodation that pays heavy commission to the driver.

The town itself is nothing special but it offers some nice beaches and a few islands off shore that are supposedly good for diving. At the beginning of the dry season visibility in the water drops down to just a few meters but you don’t always got a choice. So I booked a trip with two dives and lunch for $70. Usually you get seated in a cramped inflated rubber boat, but in low season there were only four divers and everybody had their own guide. Moreover, the vessel seemed like a retired and modified fishing boat with ample space and hence really comfy.

dive trip