Ha Long Bay

We spent a couple nights out on a section of Ha Long Bay called Lan Ha Bay.  It was overcast and rather dreary. But the light did enhance the rather mystical beauty of the hundreds of karst jutting out of the water.  We had fun with our friends Mark and Luci. The best part was kayaking and for just that one afternoon the sun obliged us. 

I enjoyed the industrious women who rowed their “mini marts” out to our boat after we dropped anchor. We’d bargain with them for beer and peanuts. They were fun to haggle with.

Hanoi

What a wild wonderful exciting city Hanoi can be.  It’s alive with energy, history and Indochine glamour. It’s also incredibly noisy, polluted, and dirty.  We spent five nights there and then went out to Halong Bay for a cruise for two nights before returning to Hanoi for another two nights.  We visited the Temple of Literature, saw the Hanoi Water Puppet Show, toured the gauntlet of the Old Town. The second morning Luci and Mark along with us squeezed into a taxi at 6 a.m. and went to a local sports pub to watch the Super Bowl. It was fun cheering our respective teams with the motley crew of Xpats.  We’ve sat on tiny little plastic stools drinking strong Vietnamese coffee, eaten our fair share of Pho and wandered the streets shopping.  We had dinner one night at The Hanoi Social Club, drinking two very well made margaritas apiece and got lost walking back to our hotel, laughing all the way.  Across the street from our hotel we enjoyed strong drinks at Polite, the most beautiful intimate bar in Hanoi.  They played an excellent selection of jazz and blues, had fabulous old time framed photos on the walls and a dark sexy decor.  We sat several floors up in a narrow old coffee shop looking out at the miniature copy of Notre Dame, Saint Joseph’s Cathedral the French had built in the early nineteenth century. St. Joseph is the patron saint of Vietnam. It was so fun to share this experience with our friends! It went by in a flash!

Vietnam

We’ve been in Vietnam ten days and it’s been a whirlwind.  Leaving Siem Reap where it averaged 93* to Hanoi where it started out at 61* was a shock.  The new currency equals 23,750 Dong to one dollar. Thank goodness for my currency converter app on my iPhone!  Hanoi is home to roughly eight million people and they all seem to drive motorcycles.  It’s a rite of passage to learn to cross the street. You really have to pay attention and slowly cross streets without running nor going backwards. They will maneuver around you…it’s an odd feeling standing in the road with cars and cycles buzzing around you. Especially in the warren of densely populated streets in the old quarter. The shops spill their plethora of goods out into the sidewalks, the motorcycles park on the sidewalks, music is blaring, people are yelling and pushcarts selling fruit, flowers, and food are all moving around you.  It’s imperative to be alert.  

Our hotel, The Hanoi Pearl, is situated on a small street just off the wide boulevard encircling Hoan Kiem Lake. A favorite walking area inside the French Quarter. We arrived on the weekend when they close the street around the lake to cars turning it into a walking street.  Locals, tourist and vendors all meander round the lake while little tiny kids can drive small replicas of cars and tanks that are battery operated.  It’s adorable to watch these kids zooming around and you sometimes have to jump out of their way!  The trees drape into the lake, there is a red arched bridge out to the the island in the center of the lake to a small temple and it is very picturesque. 

Our friends Luci and Mark flew in and joined us in Hanoi.

It was great to have them with us! Our first morning we circled the lake and walked over to the elegant French colonial Metropole Hotel. 

It opened in 1901 and writers Somerset Maugham and Graham Green stayed there as well as many famous actors and politicians. 

We had a drink at the poolside cafe and enjoyed its aura of romance and old world vibes.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our second flight from Luang Prabang was delayed a couple hours and by the time the turbo prop landed in Siem Reap we had been traveling since 6:30 am and it was now 3:30 pm. 

Our hotel, Viroth’s, sent a driver in a beautifully maintained 1968 Mercedes limo to pick us up. 

As other travelers rode off in motorcycle rickshaws we were whisked away in the back of the limo with cold scented towels and cool water. 

We have stayed in some very lovely hotels on this trip but Viroth’s is another step up altogether. Contemporary Asian chic.

It’s so beautiful and tastefully done. The staff are young, pretty and so well trained they anticipate your every need. Everything is perfection. It’s not large but it’s very elegant.  

Our neighborhood of Wat Bo is the new hip area to be with attractive restaurants and cafes. 

Across the narrow river slicing through the middle of town is the more happening party streets of the “Pub Street” area.  Loud!  Congested! Hundreds of motorcycles and rickshaws! Bars blasting music. We loved returning to our hotel. 

Our first afternoon we we thought maybe it was a bit too chic and sophisticated for us. Everyone around the pool spoke in soft voices, proper British accents, demure French.  But immediately we met such nice people we realized it was all in our heads.  The staff never stop attending to you. Upon leaving they would spray your ankles and arms with delightfully scented natural mosquito spray. Returning, a cold scented towel was immediately placed in your hands with a cool drink of lemongrass juice.  It’s HOT here!  Around 93-94 degrees.  

The town has been cleaned up since we were last here six years ago. During the Covid lockdown the government fixed the city sewers, paved the streets, made better sidewalks and have more recycling programs. The trees along the river are lovely, the little arched bridges every few streets have lights and colorful lanterns.  What an improvement!  We spent the first three days doing nothing but laying around the beautiful salt water pool.  

Breakfast was made to order unlike the buffets at the other hotels we have stayed.  

We learned to say “moi moi” which means “step by step” after we asked our waitstaff to first bring our cappuccino and then our fruit, before the eggs and toast.  

They got it and we never had to request that again.  

Nice to have a week here so we could relax and not feel rushed to venture out to the Angkor Temple Complex. The temples, mostly Buddhist and a few Hindu temples, were built between the 9th into the 13th century.  

The jungle over took them after people left the area and were rediscovered in the 1930’s by a French surveyor.  They are amazing!  

You crawl around through their tunnels and over the huge stones they were built with. They are in a state of collapse and are constantly being rebuilt but slowly as there are hundreds upon hundreds of stones, at each temple site!  

It’s feels so amazing to be walking where elephants walked  and royalty lived and bathed.  We hired a car, air conditioned thankfully.  

Went spent seven hours going from temple to temple. Driving out into the countryside, villages of locals were making palm sugar, weaving baskets, growing rice.  It was exhausting and exhilarating to crawl all over the ruins. Each time we’d return from our walks the driver would hand us a cold towel and a small bottle of cold water. It felt divine!  

We waited a couple days before we did a shorter trip out, only four hours, riding this time in a motorcycle rickshaw.  

No cold towels! But lots of water.  It was so hot my clothing was completely soaked through.  Sunset at Angkor Wat, the largest temple. 

But my favorite temple was the smaller Banteay Kdai meaning Citadel of Monks Chambers.  There, hundreds of beautiful reliefs were still intact. 

And Ta Kep, a miniature of Ta Prohm, (from the movie Tomb Raider).  It was built entirely of sandstone by the Khmers. Beautiful!  Amazing structures in their decay. 

What they must have been like when they were alive with royalty, elephants, hundreds of people living and praying amongst them.

Farewell Luang Prabang

Always difficult for me to leave this small special town.  We enjoyed a mellow rhythm weaving our days into a multi textural adventure.  Waking with the birds. The sun slow to break through the low roof overhangs of our heritage building.  Breakfasts were wonderful. Sitting next to the lily ponds.  Dragon flies dancing over the water.  All of the young kids working there were adorable. Teaching me a few words of Lao and me forgetting them instantly.  They noticed I was cold early in the mornings and offered me a cashmere shawl to wear.  

Thoughtful kindness prevailed.  

We would walk 6-7 miles daily, wandering around with little purpose other than to enjoy the day.  

By the time we left we had accomplished most everything we had wanted. 

We walked across the precarious bamboo bridge over the Nam Khan river. 

Sat with the monks as they chanted their evening prayers, the “temple” dog's hanging out in the sanctuary with us.  

Last night we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (there were so many!). 

Ron noticed a woman with incredible silver bracelets. I peeked over and realized I had met her in Thailand!  She is very distinctive!  

She is a friend of Pla and Ricardo. We joined her for a short chat and found she stays where we have stayed for many years.  Small world!  

Strolling through the night market one last time…Ron called it the “gauntlet”…I found one more small bag I just had to buy.  Only a few “Kip” left for tips and taxi to the airport the next morning.  Awakening early and hearing the monks hitting the gong announcing morning prayer at 5 a.m. one last time.

A long day of travel… the “ hurry and wait” day. Leaving for the little airport at 6:30a.m.  Two flights on Laos Air turbo prop planes to reach our destination of Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We heard from other travelers who flew two days earlier that the ground crew line up and wave goodbye to the plane as it taxi’s out.  So quaint.  With heavy hearts filled with wonderful memories we are off to another culture, currency rate, and hotter weather… away we go.