Travelling to Beijing

9th March 2016

5 star hotel in Beijing with an interesting bathroom

I flew from Vientiene to Beijing via Bangkok, with Thai Airways, the seemingly best option from the choices available.  Not too long and not too expensive, though neither the quickest nor the cheapest option.

The hotel in Vientiene were providing a transfer to the airport and the driver was ready earlier than I had booked, which resulted in getting to the airport before check in started.  Not totally comfortable as I was dressed for the flight, not for Vientiane’s maximum temperature of 39 degrees!

The airport cafés did, of course, sport airport prices for their food, and I purchased a packet of banana chips and locally produced purple potato chips – tiny packets for almost the price of huge packets in the tourist destinations in town!

Beijing transport

The duty free shop has an interesting selection.  Despite the fact that tonic is available in every small convenience store in town, the choice of gin in duty free is limited to VERY top of the line and something with a price tag that suggests I do not want to put it into my body.   Nothing in between.  A 750ml bottle of Pernod looks good, and might even use up my remaining kip. 

I had selected seats when I booked the flight, and when I tried online check in, had the option of an exit row seat for the Vientiane – Bangkok sector, which I selected for the extra leg room, though when I reported at the airport, the lady on check in decided to move me forward in the plane and give me an isle seat, so I would be more comfortable?  Not sure why, but anyway, it was only an hour or so flight.

The flight from Bangkok to Beijing confirmed that I do not like night flights.  It was an 11:59pm departure.  I am sure there is a good reason for this departure time, although it eludes me.  There were several flights departing Bangkok at this time.

More Beijing Transport

When I booked, I had chosen seat 72F, an isle seat in the centre row right at the rear of the plane.  I had chosen this on the grounds that it might be an area most likely to have no neighbours and I might curl up slightly horizontally for a bit of sleep.  Navigating my way to the rear of the plane via a squillion other passengers who had pushed their way further forward in the queue to board and were then busy playing musical seats was interesting, but was assisted by a series of flight attendants.

I finally reached my seat, and since it was well past my normal bedtime, did not actually register that someone else’s belongings were strewn across the entire middle row.   As I went to put my handbag on my seat and place my backpack in the overhead locker, a Chinese gentlemen got a bit agitated, so I showed him my boarding pass and he continued to get agitated with a flight attendant, who simply told him she did not understand him.  He removed his stuff and I sat, and had an amusing conversation with the gentleman in the window seat diagonally across from me.  It seems that this man was trying to lay claim to all the seats in the rear row of the plane.  There was ongoing animated conversation involving me as the subject between this man and the flight crew and my subsequent inquiry of a flight attendant who appeared to speak both his language and English suggested that he wanted a row of seats for his wife who is sick, but has found some further forward.  I am a little sceptical.  He is told to return to his allocated seat for takeoff.

Trees still in their winter dress

After takeoff and all the required signs permit such activities, I go to the toilet and return to find that someone has moved themselves to the other isle seat in the centre row.  As I organise myself, and get my jacket from the overhead locker, which necessitates passing it across her to my seat, and prepare to make myself comfortable, she presumably realises that she is not going to get this row of seats to herself and leaves.  The aforementioned gentleman returns to the rear window seats to find a young girl attempting to sleep on them.  There is another animated conversation in which he sends the young girl away.  I guess from the conversation involving a couple of flight attendants, they are trying to manage him, and there is some more conversation in which I am clearly the topic of his attention.  Again, the gentleman in the diagonal window seat shows amusement and we have another short conversation at his expense.   Sometimes its good not to understand!!

Lovely landscape amongst the concrete jungle

A hot meal is served and I am not sure about the “certificate of authentic Thai food” in respect to the rather bland fried rice with chicken.  However, flight attendants from both isles are attentive to my needs when it comes to drinks and the wine is the most drinkable I have had in months, so a refill or two is welcome.  I guess that I am travelling with a substantial number of people who do not consume alcohol, or at least in the form in which it is on offer, so there is more time for attention to those who do!

The flight is bumpy, so I do the right thing and fasten my seatbelt, before curling up horizontally across the 3 seats, which now seem to be left to me.  Oblivious to his wife’s needs and health issues, the Chinese gentleman attempts to do the same on the 2 seats nearest the window.  There is subsequent conversation in which I am the subject, later in the flight.  Rather not my problem.  Anyone else could have made the same choices when booking their flight.

As we get closer to China, the flight attendants advise that no photography is permitted over China - interesting!

Bushes wrapped, presumably to protect against frost

Arrival, immigration and bag collection goes smoothly.  I need to catch a train to actually collect my bags, but go along with the signs.  Unusually my bag is not one of the last on the carousel, which is nice, but it does mean I have to push my way past the people who have already pushed themselves and their luggage trolleys in front of me (in the area which says “keep clear”)

I clear customs and am out in the general area.  My first need is an ATM, but the ATM wants a phone number code.  Minor panic.  A  young Caucasian man confirms he has also had trouble, though had managed to extract money from this machine before.  I ask for assistance at the adjacent tourist information desk and after someone is located who speaks English, I am directed to another ATM.  The ATM’s have their number pads so securely shielded, that I am hard pressed to read the information on them, however, I am eventually successful in obtaining both currency and the return of my card.  It’s probably a Visa cash advance but I will deal with that later.

Traditional buildings amongst the concrete jungle

I avoid someone touting his taxi services and proceed to the taxi information desk, and the young lady writes the name of my hotel in Chinese on a slip of paper for a taxi driver, (although  I did already have this on my phone) and suggests the fare may be about 200CYK, as was also suggested by the travel agent.

A taxi driver at the rank confirms he knows the hotel and directs me to his car.  I should have been a little suspicious that his taxi license was not clearly on display, but it was 6am and I’d had little sleep.  He shows me a card with some prices, and I first think these are tour prices, so photograph the card and his phone number, than realise that his is showing me that the price for the journey is 480.  I express very genuine surprise and tell him it is way too much and it should be only 200.  There are ongoing discussions and reasons and I finally agree to 380.  It’s a 50Km journey and that’s probably about what it would cost for that distance at home.  I suspect he is ripping me off though.

We are driving through dawn, and as the light increases, there is frost on the ground.  The information as our flight landed identified it was -2 degrees.  A bit cooler than the 39 degrees of Vientiane.

China's traffic was always busy
but not always as well ordered as this

The hotel is expecting me and has no issue with me checking in at 7am, which is a huge relief.  However, I was quite surprised not to be shown to my room and assisted with my luggage (not that I really need assistance with a small backpack and a suitcase on wheels, but it would have to be the first overseas destination where I have not got this assistance)

My first action was try to figure out how to make the room heater work, my second was to crawl into bed for a few hours.

The bathroom is interesting.  There is a very large window between the bathroom and the bedroom, and while the toilet is a little obscured from full view from some parts of the room, it’s an interesting choice for design.  I subsequently, after discussion with others on the tour, discovered that there is a blind that can be lowered to give bathroom privacy.  The shower is also rather interesting.  It’s a hand held shower, but overhead, embedded into the ceiling, is a dinner plate type shower – no water saving nonsense here!  And the drainage from showering is slightly lacking – but I am used to Asian bathrooms and am glad that I did not leave my “bathroom slippers” behind.  It had crossed my mind.

The hotel is supposed to be 5* and it certainly has prices to match – as I find out when I find the room service menu, so I chose to go to the shopping centre just across the road for lunch.  The initial choices on offer at the mall entrance were MacDonald and KFC.... as I walked further, Pizza Hut was added to this choice.  I went higher and eventually found a floor with restaurants, and based on the menus on display, chose one place that might serve food I wanted to eat in China (as opposed to pizza and chips) and would be relatively easy to order.  There was one waitress who could write the cost in numbers, although this was relatively unnecessary, as I could do the mental arithmetic.   I ate a very tasty lunch for half the price of the cheapest hotel breakfast item!  It was tasty, 2 different plates of dumplings – fillings involved leafy green vegetables and various other ingredients and a bowl of sweet potato soup with noodles.   Judging from the interest in me from staff and other diners, I guess they don’t get many Caucasian customers.

I eventually found another food section, and this looked not only much cheaper but also a bit more “fast food” like, but given that I was totally “packed” as my Bhutanese students would have said, I did not need to investigate further

I also found the supermarket section to buy some snacks for later - that was interesting.  It might be a communist country but consumerism and luxury foods are pretty big!  I chose nuts, dried fruit and a packet of digestive biscuits with black sesame seed.  What is did find a little alarming was the amount of packaging.  Inside each packet are small, single serve packets. 

The hotel concierge had provided me with a map and a suggestion that a subway trip to a museum might be my best option, as there was little locally of interest, but as I am walking through the shopping mall, light headedness from being tired sets in, so feeling not obligated to play tourist, I return for an afternoon nap. 

Checking out the hotel swimming pool (it’s a big pool, but colder than the outdoor one in Vientiane) and the spa and restaurants takes few minutes later in the afternoon, but I decide that I don’t need to pay more for a massage in China than I would pay at home, and I don’t need to eat Japanese food, at huge prices, in China, nor am I in need of a huge buffet meal.  Some hot drinks and snacks and attempts to connect to the internet to do a bit of research about my upcoming travels consume the rest of the evening.

Vientiane

An elegant French Colonial building - the Governor's office

4th March

Upon arrival in Vientiane I was half expecting to be met by the hotel I’d booked into but there was no indication of their presence so I headed for the taxi counter. As in Chiang Rai, there is a well-organised system with published fixed prices to different destinations and I pay for my taxi fare before leaving the airport. I rather like this system, it takes out the uncertainty and the need to negotiate with drivers who may or may not be being honest with new arrivals to the city.

Pha That Luang

The driver helpfully stowed my bags then was puzzled by my attempt to get into the left hand front seat – I did need to explain that where I come from cars are right hand drive, although I am not certain he really understood. 

I was reminded of Linda Silverman staying with me during the last TAG conference a couple of years before and repeatedly trying to get into the driver’s seat in my car!  The driver identified himself as “Mr Air” (because his taxi has air conditioning) and gave me his card, offering a half day tour.

The hotel was quite nice, but the kettle did not work and the sink tap leaked. The staff changed my room and the sink drain leaked a little if I opened plug too much. I did not worry about it too much, just put the towelling mat under it. There was a good balcony with comfy chairs overlooking the third floor swimming pool and the laneway with local houses opposite.

Hibiscus, one of my favourite flowers, came in so many colours

Having learned my lesson in Luang Prabang, I checked the paper map provided by the hotel before relying on Maps on my phone to navigate my way around the city. My first destination was the tourist information centre, and I got there just before it closed. A very helpful young man gave me a larger map and identified key attractions – the list of which was very similar to lonely planet’s list. He also identified, at my request, good local street food area. 

The traffic is a little bit hectic, which made crossing roads a little bit of a challenge; there were pedestrian lights, which appeared not to work. I tended to join with groups of other people to cross some of the busier roads. 

Wat That Phoon

I purchased a couple of items in small shops – including a tiny unscented deodorant in a plastic bottle; the assistant indicated it was the same as those with English labels labelled, which was useful given the total lack of anything I could interpret on the label. There was a man with a food cart selling steamed pork buns, and this provided a tasty snack while I decided what to do next.

Vangthong night market was identified on the map I obtained from hotel reception, and being close to the hotel, I headed for there. It was clearly not for tourist: full of cheap and nasty goods and some funfair type activities for small children.

Stunning murals at the Pha That Luang complex

I continued on to Phai Nam Road, the authentic street food area identified by the helpful man in the tourist information centre. The young man in the Tourist Information Centre was certainly right about authentic street food. My first identification was the barbecued chicken feet, shortly followed by barbequed intestines and liver. Roasted grubs of a couple of varieties were on offer and there was probably a lot that I missed.

I walked on towards the night market near the riverfront, with a diversion to buy and eat a delicious banana roti.

Lovely stupas at Pha That Luang

At the edge of the market I was engaged in a conversation by a local lady who called herself "Kim". She asked the usual questions – where was I from etc and seemed very friendly and said she was a kindergarten teacher but was going to Australia shortly for an occupation therapy placement in Melbourne. As the following day was a weekend, she said she would show me around some of the tourist attractions and we could have lunch cooked by her auntie.

After a bit, I excused myself as tired and she walked part of the way with me back to the hotel, pointing out the areas to buy silk on the way.

Lao Tipitaka Translation and Research Centre
(translating sacred Buddhist texts to Lao)

I agreed to meet the following day at one of the attractions, but upon reflection decided there seemed something a bit odd about the situation – she’d had a very brief phone call at one stage and then said that she had told her auntie that I would be coming for lunch the next day – thinking about it, there seemed to scarcely be time to advise that she had met an overseas visitor and invited that person to lunch. I googled “scams in Vientiane” and came up with similar scenarios which had resulted in the person finding themselves in a situation where they were being pressured to gamble (and lose money). I decided not to keep the meeting appointment.

On my walk home, close to the hotel, I scored my record for motorbike spotting:  5 on a motorbike! With no babies included.

5th March

Bougainvillea also comes in many colours

I walked to Pha That Luang with its beautiful golden stupa and lovely grounds and visited some of the religious places in that complex, including the place where the sacred Buddhist texts are being translated into the dominant Lao language.

I tried some of the little rice/coconut flour cakes with vegetables, which were being cooked on one of the food stalls, and very lovely they were!

From there I walked to the Paxutai monument and climbed the stairs to the top, avoiding assorted souvenir shops on the way.

My impressions of Vientiane were consolidated by this view. The city is very flat and is a real mixture architecturally. There are the temples, with their beautiful traditional lines, the French colonial buildings, very elegant, then there is the modern uninteresting box like buildings and in between the small homes and businesses of Lao families.

My next destination is the COPE visitors' centre.  This not for profit organisation does some wonderful work helping people to deal with the issues caused by the enormous amount of unexploded ordinance  (UXO) that still litters the countryside.  

Laos, during the "secret war" was bombed more heavily per capita than any other country on earth, and the legacy of this action is ongoing.  Children, living in poverty, can receive payment for scrap metal - but much of what they find is not safe to handle. I watched a documentary about the training of locals in dealing with UXO as well as watching most of a short video of a couple talking about the incidents leading up to the death of their son as a result of UXO exploding.  It was a very sobering couple of hours.  Cluster bombs were (and still are - not all countries have signed up to ban them) a particularly nasty piece of artillery and one display illustrated how many smaller bombs might be contained within one of these.

Modelling a cluster bomb

Despite the traffic, the lack of footpaths that are available for pedestrian traffic, and the heat, waking has some real benefits. It gives me the opportunity to pause and identify interesting buildings; it presents me with opportunities that travelling from point A to point B by tuk tuk would not, such as pausing to admire a flower, to purchase the odd tasty snack from a street food vendor, to observe people going about their daily business in the open fronts of buildings and on the footpath, and to look more closely at what the street vendors have for sale.

Patuxay Monument

I walked along one street section that was the choice of the vendors selling products for traditional medicine, and observed on their small cloths spread on the ground, assorted roots, wood, bark and animal products. Lack of a common language limited conversation about where some of these animal parts came from but I was concerned about horn, attached to part of the scalp of an animal. The horn was no more than 15cm long, with a second horn bud not far behind it. I thought young rhinoceros, but the horn looked more bone like than fibrous, so I am totally unsure. However, the 2 girls on reception were absolutely sure the next morning. So much for reducing and policing the trade in protected species. There were also teeth, which I suspect may have been tiger, bits of skin with fur.... all the ingredients for a real witch's brew.

From Patuxay Monument

The lady with the horns for sale indicated to me that they are horns, and pointed out medicines for stomach upsets and medicines for encouraging breast milk production, communication all carried out non verbally but very successfully.

Late afternoon I returned to the hotel and enjoyed the cool delights of the swimming pool. I decide that I do not have the inclination or the energy to go out looking for dinner so consume the pineapple I had purchased earlier and some forgettable packaged snack food.

Traditional medicine ingredients - Rhino horn?

6th March

It did not occur to me that Sunday would have such a significant impact on business in Vientiane. I started by inquiring about a couple of places out of town, for which I would hire a bicycle, and they were closed, which did not really surprise me. So I decided I would see the sights that were in the old town area. Since all the sights are relatively close, I decided that a bicycle would be more of a liability than an asset so set off on foot to look at That Dum Stupa. This stupa is set in a tiny neat park in the middle of a side street (literally the middle, it forms a traffic roundabout) and is a little bit decrepit. The stories tell that it was once covered by gold but this was carried off by the Siamese in their general pillaging of the country in 1828.

That Dum Stupa - once covered with gold?

I should mention here the significant difference in traffic on this Sunday - roads were easy and safe to cross, many pavements could actually be walked upon.

As I continued to my next destination, I passed the shop "Kanchana" which sported the subtitle "the beauty of Lao silk". It was open so how could I walk past? This is a branch of the business "Lao Textiles" and has some gorgeous silks but with pretty hefty price tags. My subsequent reading of Lonely Planet confirms that this is the most upscale collection of silks in town. For this I was glad. Deciding that I did not want to pay $US1,500 plus for a length of silk, no matter how gorgeous, I thanked the sales lady and headed on my way, but not before ascertaining the location of the Lao Textile Museum for the following day.

My travels took me past the impressive presidential palace, with its locked gates, which was built to house the French Colonial governor.

The palace of the colonial governor

I continued to Vat Sisaket which is supposed to be Vientiane's oldest intact temple and has thousands of Buddha statues, some very tiny and some in quite a state of disrepair. It is a museum, rather than a temple that houses monks (I believe), but the main temple room still looks and feels like a temple, and would have felt more so if the Chinese tour guide had not been loudly talking to his group about it.

There are wedding photos in progress and both bride and groom looked gorgeous in their formal attire.

Stupas at Vat Sisaket

I explore around the outer buildings and am rewarded with some beautiful stupa. While the original purpose of stupa was to contain religiously significant relics, they are now constructed as funerary monuments, a bit like elaborate gravestones.

I crossed the road to Hor Pha Kaow, built as a royal temple to house the emerald Buddha, (yes, the one now in Wat Phra Kaow in Bangkok) but is now the national museum for religious objects. However, it is closed for renovations, so I avoided the tuk tuk drivers and headed to my next destination, Namphu fountain. While lonely planet is not hugely ecstatic about the fountain, the reality on that particular day was even less. There is no water in the fountains and all the cafes and restaurants are closed. Ok, so I head to Carol Cassidy's Lao Textiles. What I have read of her prices suggests that this is a “look only” excursion, but this is also closed.

Lao National Culture Hall

I am approached again by a lady "where are you from?" It's "Kim" again. I lie and tell her I failed to meet her yesterday because I did not feel well and I am now on my way to meet a friend for lunch. Her response and lack of interest, although she is still friendly, reinforces my concerns of yesterday. I think I made the right choice. She heads off, presumably to find someone else to befriend.

I wander up past the National Cultural Hall to the museum, which is closed for lunch. Given that I promised myself I would eat lunch at a sensible time, I head for one of lonely planet’s recommendations. It's also closed. On the way I have passed another of lonely planet's recommendations, the shop, T'Shop Lai Gallery. It has some nice things but room and weight in my suitcase were becoming a problem.

Small shrine at Wat In Paeng

There is not a lot open for lunch (at least, not a lot that I want to eat at) and I settle for Indian food - a paneer dish. I've had better. Sangay at the guest house at Gyelposhing cooked a divine version of this.

Since I am close to the 4 temples I wanted to look at, I head for those. Vat In Paeng is first with some fabulous murals and it has one quiet little temple that is unlocked and which I can visit. Wat Ong Teu is next with its particularly large and lovely Buddha statue. Wat Hai Sok has a rather interesting animal cage tucked in the back and a tree that intrigues me. The flowers look like a colourful version of my tulip tree in Launceston only they have a centre that looks positively carnivorous. I've never seen anything quite like these. Wat Mixai is the last of the temples for now and I head off to the museum.

The national museum starts off being quite interesting, but the later displays tend to be based around fading photographs from which one needs to piece together the events.

A gate at Wat Inthrathira

The photo subtitles for the "secret war" era are none to subtle "the imperialist forces and their puppet soldiers", referring to the U.S. and their use of the Hmong hill tribes to fight against the communist insurgents. Fair enough.

The French occupation was not exactly described in loving terms either.

I'm not sure if I was not paying enough attention, but I do not recall much about Laos under the royal family.... Perhaps it was just my oversight....

There were some interesting exhibits about prehistoric Laos, including one excavated skeleton of a man 1.7m tall, carbon dated well before the current era. That is remarkably tall for a human of those times.

The archaeological programs got a mention. I must confess that I'd rather not be participating in an archaeological program in a country that is scattered so liberally with UXO. Perhaps I just lack enough of a sense of adventure. 

Howdah at the national museum

After the museum I go to look at a massage place that the girls on hotel reception recommended and check their prices. Double what I have seen in other places and I realise that my supply of kip is getting low and I don't really want to withdraw any more as ATM fees make small amounts expensive to withdraw.

It's hot, I am positively melting, and the hotel swimming pool calls me yet again.

7th March

I asked the hotel reception staff for help in writing, in Lao, the name of a village I wanted to visit. Hilariously, there was no one in the hotel who spoke Lao, all the staff were Vietnamese.

I organised to hire one of the hotel’s bicycles and chose the best bike .. the one with a couple of working brakes and tyres that had tread.

Cannonball Tree (Couroupita guianensis) in a temple grounds

I checked the paper map, estimated the location of my destination and headed off; I kept going and going and going, twice as far as I thought. 7+ km

The receptionist at the vocational education centre for women assumed I would do a course, so I did. Especially since it involved doing supplementary weft weaving - a quite complex technique.

The loom was already set up with rods to separate the strings that control the pattern, and I was weaving with much finer silk for the weft (one spool only). Of course my plans did not fit with the time available and I could not even plan to return the following day as it was a public holiday, so what was intended as a silk scarf is an asymmetrically pattered table runner.

Details of my supplementary weft silk weaving

However, I was very happy, it looks very pretty.

I got many interesting looks as I cycled back. It was not as scary as I thought it might be; the cars generally anticipate my needs (ie, I will need to move out to pass a parked car) and give me plenty of space. The vehicles driving the wrong way on the side of the road are an interesting challenge and at least one young woman reacted with humour to my facial expression.

The swimming pool again provided a welcome diversion when I got back.

The Golden Sun Hotel - my home in Vientiane for a few days

I finally decided I really should explore the big night market, and found it very disappointing; the quality of silks, when I found them, was largely not good and the market was full of cheap copies of all sorts of things.

I had street food for dinner and could have chosen from the full range of chicken feet, intestines and liver from the braziers but chose vegetable and chicken kebabs instead.

8th March

The temperature forecast for the day was 39 degrees and it was a public holiday for international women's day., however the receptionist said that the shops would be open.

Lovely use of English Language

I confirmed that I had late checkout and airport transfers were organised and then headed towards the Tao Salat shopping mall (the air conditioning was appealing) and market. I browsed the market, including the textiles, for some time but was a little reluctant to handle the textiles much as I was absolutely dripping wet in the heat. I wiped my hands on my cotton dress each time I wanted to touch the textiles. 

I am sure that much of what I see is not the quality of that I saw in Luang probing, but perhaps I am getting more discerning. Many of the vendors seem quite disinterested, with a few exceptions.

Monk painting friezes at Pha That Luang

A small group of ladies who are being shown textiles, a particularly beautiful purple, encourage me to look closer and tell me that it's easy to sew a skirt, and describe making the fold and an elasticised waist band. I tell them that my choice would be to tailor it and so we discuss a little more but I decide to resist this piece. I am concerned about those which have "lining". Self-adhesive stuff is on the back of many of these. It is probably to give some body to relatively lightweight textiles but I'm not that keen on it. Some of the textiles are clearly synthetic and machine made.

I wander into the air-conditioned section and look a bit at the jewellery stalls. Much looks quite gaudy and I suspect it's gold/silver claims. I do not know enough about precious stones to risk buying any of the pretty sparkling things so head to find some lunch.

Reclining Buddha at Pha That Luang

The cafe produces my stir fried mushrooms on their second try....the first time they just bought me vegetables. Healthy and ok, but not the delicious flavours I have experienced elsewhere. I guess that's my own fault for going for something in a shopping mall rather than a backstreet cafe or a food vendor's cart.

Lunch over, I step out into what is now searing heat. My phone says it's 35oC and that would be in the shade. It is seriously mad dogs and Englishman weather and I am glad that it was not quite this hot on my previous days here. I beat an ignomious retreat to the hotel swimming pool, the one on the shady side of the hotel. It is still ridiculously hot sitting by the pool, but the water is considerably cooler.

Luang Prabang

The Mekong at Luang Prabang

28th February

After arriving by slow boat from Houay Xai and being taken to my guesthouse I walk back to the riverfront of the Mekong. Luang Prabang is as attractive as the written reports say. The waterfront is heavily geared to tourists, with guesthouses and restaurants everywhere. Our guide on the boat said that only tourists eat here, the prices are high! 

The night market starts around 5:30pm so I head back up to the Main Street and am delighted by the lack of tat and by the profusion of beautiful craft work ... Almost sensory overload. 

I purchased a cotton scarf for which the vendor was asking 40,000kip ... I had no change, nor did the vendor, so she asked 200 baht instead. Nothing like flexibility. I was glad that I had not changed my baht.

A market vendor displays her wares

I find the textiles very hard to resist and another vendor tempts me with a pashmina shawl for 40,000 kip.

I am very tempted by large handwoven silk shawl. "Made by my mother". The lady was asking around $100. I know the work is worth it but do not have that amount in any one currency on me and probably cannot justify spending that much on a shawl. She drops the price than asks me what I am prepared to pay. I am reluctant to bargain these ladies down too much although they drop the price to half the original if I show a little interest mixed with reluctance. 

Enjoying sunset on the Mekong

Many of the traditional skirts are already made; they are worn just like a Kira except they are sewn into a tube. I try one on but the darts etc are not really in the right place for me, I would rather buy an unmade length despite one lady's indication that she could adjust for me (ie, move the hook).

It would have been a good idea to check that the maps app on my phone knew my guesthouse earlier. I spent quite some time getting myself rather lost before I finally found myself on the corner with a familiar Wat opposite and got back to the guesthouse just before 10pm. I'd had some directions from a gentleman on a motorbike who figured I was lost as I was walking down a dark road that, as it turned out, led only to an unpaved lane that was a dead end. He spoke no English but recognised the name of the road I was trying to ask about and pointed me in the general direction. This, combined with a fairly inadequate map from booking.com, finally got me where I needed to be.

29^th  February

Luang Prabang main road at dusk

Markets and motorbikes largely dominated my time, observations and thoughts for the day. I start byvisiting the morning market and was intrigued by some fruits I could not identify along with a range of meat products on display that would not be for the squeamish or faint hearted. There was probably no part of the animals that could not be purchased for consumption, and live fish in basins and buckets also awaited their purchasers. All of these were later on display, cooked, on the street food stalls down an alley from the night handicraft market. I did not notice many tourists purchasing the chicken feet, pigs heads or trotters though.

The Mekong at Luang Prabang

I found the textile section of the market and am very tempted by the traditional silk skirt lengths and eventually do buy one in a delightful shade of blue for 200,000 kip.

Waking back towards my next destination, I am diverted by a park containing a statue of a president. It's a very peaceful park with a very pleasant sitting area overlooking the Mekong and the village opposite.

Back along the main street I start to think about a fresh fruit juice based drink, but a small cafe selling drinking coconuts presents itself and I order. It's an enormous coconut and very refreshing and I enjoy the company of a couple also there.

The cafe is roadside, and presents much opportunity to watch the world go by. Many of The tuk-tuks are very colourful and come either 3 wheels or 4. I am frequently asked if I want to hire a tuk-tuk, but drivers accept a gentle "no thank you" very readily. 

Elegant buildings in Luang Prabang

The motorbikes and their riders present much entertainment. Spotting the maximum number of riders is one of my favourite pastimes. A family of 4 is my maximum so far, although I would not swear that one such family did not also have a baby in a papoose sling. The Lao ladies riding motorbikes with their elegant traditional silk skirts are common, some ride pillion, sidesaddle, in a way that would have authorities in many other countries absolutely horrified, but others hop astride the bike. 

Then there is the social nature of riding, both bicycles and motorbikes, 2 or 3 abreast to chat while travelling is not uncommon. And motorbikes are ridden through the markets. The street markets, which leave about 1 - 1.5 metres max between stalls, still have 2 way motorbike traffic... a bit daunting for pedestrians.

The Morning Market

Groups of 3 young ladies or 3 young men (or girls and boys, I swear that some of the drivers do not look old enough to to be driving a motorbike) are not uncommon.

I am bemused by one man who is riding with his motorbike helmet, but the small boy in front of him is wearing only a cloth cap!

Motorbike hire is quite popular with tourists and I see one couple with a young baby get in the swing of local practice.

And then there are the bicycles. Kids double dinking is not uncommon, but 3 on a bicycle was pretty good.

Shelter from the sun and its heat is easily achieved by riding your motorbike or bicycle with and umbrella shading you!

And of course motorbikes are used to transport goods. While some motorbikes have side-carts other are just laden with baskets or bags or assorted stuff tied or balanced on them.

Colourful Tuk Tuk

At some of the roadside stalls, and in the handicraft market, many of the ladies have their babies or small children. School aged children are sometimes doing their homework during this time but I am rather amused at the behaviour of some of the toddlers and younger children who, modelling the actions of their mother, pick up some of the merchandise and show me. 

The previous evening I had only looked at half of the handicraft market and returned to look at the other half. I succumb to another length of silk for a skirt (bargained down to 160,000 kip) and an embroidered bag for 150,000. To my great amusement, when I told one lady I could not buy her goods as I had run out of money, she said I can pay in dollars. Again I am impressed by the ability of these ladies to switch between currencies, I am often asked in what currency I would like the price quoted. 

An e-bus.  A delightful public transport alternative

I climb the small hill to visit That Chomsi (Phu Si) and look at the many Buddha statues, and at Buddha's footprint as I descend the other side of the hill. My phone battery is running dangerously low, considering I am using my maps app to find my way around, so I head back to the guesthouse to get my battery pack and manage to get lost again on the way... It helps to remember the correct wat that is on the corner near the guest house!

I break the traveller food hygiene rules again by choosing, from a street vendor, the uncooked spring rolls - and very delicious there were too.

A toddler shows her mother's wares
on the roadside

I return earlier to my guest house and am pleased that I largely manage it without my maps app, my sense of direction is improving.

A chat with the night staff on reception results in him requesting that I help him learn English and in doing so, by listening to and correcting his reading and answering his questions about English usage, I learn much more about this young Hmong man. He is one of a family of 8 children, from a small northern village; his 2 older sisters (25 and 23) did not go to school and have 5 and 3 children respectively already. His ambition is to improve his English and become a tour guide. His parents are farmers and work very hard in the fields. He has a girlfriend (I am shown her photograph in full Hmong traditional dress) and he hopes to marry once he has a good job. My guess is that night reception does not pay that well!

I suspect his story is representative of many of the young people working in this town. 

1st March. 

I try to book to go to the Kueng Si waterfall today. As I suspected a phone conversation was too difficult and I needed to race out to ask the man on reception to talk to the tour operators on my behalf. All seemed well organised and I would be picked up by a minivan around 11:30am.

Add caption

So, I walk to the Wat Manorom on the corner and wander around but this is locked so all I can do is admire the exterior, which does have a great number of murals picturing the life and deeds of Buddha. I recognise the four disciples.

The minivan that was supposed to pick me up was late, and when it arrived, I hopped in.  Around 20 minutes later I had a phone call from the booking company to say that the minivan could not find me, it seems that I had got into the wrong van…

Kung Si waterfall is absolutely stunning. A series of cascades over limestone have resulted in wonderful formations of flowstone, and the water was a milky blue. Very beautiful - especially since most of the rivers I have seen are brown with silt.

Bamboo bridge 

Despite the fact that there were hundreds of people there, it was incredibly peaceful. One only needed to walk a few metres from the swimming places to enjoy the beauty of nature and feel a degree of solitude. There were informative signs educating visitors about the importance of forest and nature and about individual tree species in particular.

I walked to the top of the waterfall and would have liked to do the extra walk to the spring, but time prohibited it. The minivan driver had said a 3pm departure. I did not even really have time for a swim.

Riding Side Saddle

Bamboo Bridge

In retrospect, choosing the full day trip, which was advertised as including hiking and swimming, might have been a better choice. 

The park area also included a bear rescue centre, housing bears that had been confiscated from people keeping them for various nefarious pursuits.

I was pleased that I was wearing my sports shoes for the walk, there were many people in sandals or rubber thongs (flip flops) that did not provide much traction on some sections of the steep and dry path. 

Upon returning to town, I visited the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre. I was very impressed by the work that is being done to maintain the local culture, traditions and crafts. 

Dara Market, which was on a corner of the intersection with my route home, gave the appearance of being a bit of a trashy market but had really nice silks.... But I arrived there late and they were closing. I did take a quick look at one particularly nice one, but it was expensive, $400 for a lovely silk skirt length with trim and sash.

One of the many beautiful temples (Wats or Vats)

Since lunch was a packet of potato chips (Laos can do potato chips most creatively, these were locally made from every colour potato conceivable, so not only white but also yellow, orange and purple. Eating these I can almost convince myself they are not that bad for me!) I decided I was particularly hungry and was tempted by an Indian restaurant offering paneer dishes. However the translation and the reality is that paneer is actually tofu..... I choose pakora instead.

Returning to my guest house, from the opposite direction, I passed a local cafe with a menu on display that offers some brief English interpretations ... I decide that I would like to try the frog soup, but having only recently eaten the pakora, I needed s break first. I came back a couple of hours later and ordered. Observing the preparation, which was done in the tiny kitchen area right at the front of the restaurant, it was reassuring to notice that the broth passed the cooks taste test, as she sipped from the ladle to check it. Food preparation hygiene rules....they are in the same book as the workplace health and safety rules....

Luang Prabang and the Mekong from Mount Phu Si

The frog soup was delicious. I had only eaten frogs legs once or twice before, and that was years ago in a French restaurant. It's a delicate flavoured meat and was complimented by the spicy broth and assortment of vegetables in which it was served. A clean plate was provided for the bones and presumably the slices of galangal and lengths of lemongrass which provide lovely flavour but are not particularly edible, and I chose to leave some of the skin ... I was a bit undecided about its texture and flavour. 

2nd March 

Sunset

The start to my morning was delayed as Mack, on reception, had disappeared when I went out to order my breakfast and there appeared to be no other staff member in the guest house. He eventually returned, but had disappeared again when I was ready to go out, which was a nuisance as I wanted my documents and money from the safe... I had deposited them there the previous day when I went to the waterfall. When he was eventually found (by one of the cleaning staff who ran up the street looking for him) he did not seem to do any complex unlocking but just reached below the reception counter somewhere for it....

I decided to visit the Tourist Information Centre to see if there was anything there that I might want to do. There was little that I did not already know

Only 3 on this bike

about but I did get a street map, which was a little bit useful.

A visit to the Royal Palace Museum was interesting. The building itself is beautiful and I realise I know little of the specifics of Laotian history. I ask about the fate of the royal family after the communist takeover in 1975 and am told that they were sent to a reeducation camp (although I initially thought he said eradication camp...) and no one quite knows what happened to them.... (along with a substantial number of others, I later found out) 

I found it Interesting that in the process of the revolution, the communists did not destroy the temples and palace buildings and contents. However, there had been plenty of others who had contributed to destruction in Laos' historic buildings.

Bear at the rescue centre

I visited Ock Pop Tok, a private centre which is dedicated to the preservation of weaving skills and one which is continuing to providing village women with a fair price for good work. I found it fascinating, watching the use of the template patterns on the looms to create intricate designs. I needed to wait for the free tour and enjoyed an iced latte overlooking the Mekong River while I waited. 

Their shop was full of fabulous textiles, but at a price of $US1600 for one I particularly admired, I was not tempted, although the shop did have the nicest pair of silver earrings I had seen for 132000 kip. Although they were made in Vientiane, not Luang Prabang, I decided to buy them.

Flowstone pools at Kung Si

My next destination was Ban Xang Thong a craft village which is accessed via bamboo bridge from the tip of the peninsula. Despite what was shown on the map and by my maps app, the bridge not there! Ok, no visit to Ban Xang Thong.

I visited Wat Xieng Thong, which was much decorated with black and gold painting and was rather lovely and very peaceful.

Next on my plan was a visit to Santi Chedi and on to Ban Phanom (another weaving village). Again the maps app on my phone failed me, there was a bridge under reconstruction on the route that it gave me and the detour looks much longer so I headed back to guest house via the back streets.

At Kung Si

I rather enjoy walking the back streets; it gives me glimpses into people's living areas and lives. For many houses and businesses the entire front of the building is open. Cooking is often done over an open fire or clay firepot filled with charcoal, out the front of the house or business. Ladies having their hair washed, their nails manicured, etc is all happening in full view and in the early evening families lounging, watching television, children playing is all semi open air. I sometimes feel I would like to photograph some of these scenes but feel it might seem a bit intrusive.

Kung Si

Since the local restaurant close to my hotel had provided such a nice dinner the previous evening, I opted to return and sample more from their menu, a choice that obviously pleased the cook. I chose beef lap, which was quite nice but the beef could have been a little more tender. I decided not to eat the second whole tiny chilli that was part of the seasoning.

I was tired, probably from the amount of walking in the heat, so I retired to the guest house.

3rd March.

It was quite a chilly start to the morning and I returned to my room to grab my merino jacket for while I was sitting and eating my breakfast. 

I'm not sure how long my soft boiled eggs were cooked for that morning but it was well past 3 minutes. The baguette and banana were good though and I promised myself I would eat lunch at a sensible time so as not to be thoroughly famished and exhausted and tempted by foods I would subsequently regret...

Hmong Du Women's outfit at the
Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre

I had decided the previous evening I that would like to spend the morning doing a silk weaving class, and had tried to phone, but once again, my attempts at phone conversation are not overly successful. I try again in the morning and the conversion is similar. I had also sent an email, but there was no response. Subsequent attempts to phone were unsuccessful, I was getting a recorded message which I first thought was telling me that the number was unavailable, but eventually I worked out that it was telling me I had no credit left. Interesting, 3 brief phone calls had used all my call credit. 

The young man on reception had disappeared, and I am not sure that this particular young man's English could cope with my requests for him to call and book my class, so I decided to walk there and find out. It's about a 25 minute walk and yes, they were expecting me and the complementary tuk tuk could not find me (I was not sure where it was looking for me as neither phone calls nor emails had been returned).

Silk dyed with natural dyes

Anyway, after a short time and a complementary cup of forgettable herbal tea we were taken to start our class. We would weave a silk placemat. The scarf is a 3 day course involving all processes. 

We chose our pattern (one of 2 were on offer) and our colours. I chose the very traditional Naga design. The Naga is a protective snake. Then we needed to wind the skeins onto bobbins using a hand operated mechanical spinning device. My skein kept tangling and I needed much assistance. While I continued to wind for a while, my mentor started the weaving on the loom, which was already set up with the template strings that control the warp threads to make the pattern. There are 720 warp threads for our weaving today.

Weaving in progress at Ock Pop Tok

My bobbins keep catching on the fibres but my mentor winds some fresh bobbins and these work much better and I get the hang of using the 2 wooden foot rods to control the warp threads and keeping my edges more even and virtually fly through the rest of the 22cm of plain weaving before the pattern starts. The process of throw the shuttle with the bobbins, change the warp threads with the foot rods, thump the weft threads with the comb becomes quite hypnotic.

The starting of the pattern becomes more complex. Stripes are easy enough but then we start the real pattern. A template string is used to separate the pattern strings that control the warp. Once these are separated, the pattern string is taken from below the warp and relocated on the frame above the warp. The forward strings are then pulled up to lift the required warp threads and a wooden separator, which I'm sure has a correct name, is placed to separate the warp threads and twisted to raise those that need to be raised ready for the shuttle to be passed. There is a template string for each line of pattern.

A fairly complex loom set up

Complex, and I am not left to do the pattern completely on my own (I think this is a risk management against students messing up the template strings, as well as making sure we do make our lovely patterns correctly).

In due course my pattern is finished and I am back to the easy 22cm of plain on the other side. Once this is done, I hand over to my mentor for finishing off. The finishing off is not only about finishing my place mat but also about preparing the warp threads ready for the next person. I had wondered if all the setting up had to be repeated each time a new student comes to weave, but clearly not. From where I sat, the warp threads continued over my head and were contained in a bag behind me.

Feeling very proud of my efforts, I treated myself to a lunch of vegetable stuffed bamboo shoots in the cafe, overlooking the river.

Maps said that it is a 23-minute walk to Ban Phaenon, the weaving village I was going to visit the previous day, with a 2-minute detour to my guest house so I can deposit my morning's work. It lied. It took me more than an hour but it did take me past Santi Chedi, which I had tried to visit the previous day, so I diverted up the hill to this stupa; the sign said that it was open from 1:30pm until 4:30pm. It also lied.

I continued walking along the edge of the dusty, busy road, trusting that the drivers of most of the vehicles really would want to avoid me, and eventually I reached the outskirts of the village. Everything seemed pretty quiet and closed up, although there were looms set up in front of some houses. I walked a little further and was rewarded with a sign indicating a couple of craft centres and a shop displaying some traditional skirts.
I perused the goods in one shop but nothing demanded my immediate purchase, so I crossed to another. The lady instantly started to show me skirt lengths, picking up my interest in silk and showed me a wonderful grey and another lovely purple, suggesting that I could buy 2 and get a discount. I eventually dismissed the idea of the purple, as the border that had been put with it actually had a different shade of purple and mixed it with magenta, a colour combination I suspected I might later regret.

My handiwork from a morning's class

I indicated that I wanted to look at another shop before buying and she dropped the price to 200,000 kip each. Even if this is not the pure silk she says it is, it's less than $40 for a very beautiful skirt length.

I go across to the main craft centre and am instantly told that my previous purchase is cotton, not silk and here are some silk products (at much higher prices). I dally a little, admiring the colours and patterns before deciding that I do not need to spend $100 on a scarf and wandered on. I am half tempted by a pure silk ICAT scarf, yarn died pattern. A price is given and discounted then I am given the calculator to make my bid. I offer 100,000 kip, she asks me to raise it a little. I am not that committed to buying this scarf, although it is nice, and when I decline to raise my offer, she agrees to the 100,000 kip.

Hard at work at the loom

Maps said it was a 45-minute walk back to the main town, so I set off, taking my life into my hands with the "peak hour" traffic. I would have taken a tuk tuk, had there been one on offer in Ban Phaenon, but there were none until I was more than half way back, at which point I declined. I was glad when I finally got back to the waterfront and selected a restaurant with a view to enjoy some food and a glass of wine while I watched the sun set. I chose the Luang Prabang sausage, which is a slightly spicy cabana like sausage, served cold. Quite tasty, but I probably would not order it again.

I am again quite tired after the walking in the heat and decide on an early return to my guest house.

4th March

WHS Guidelines being followed?

I’d had some qualms about getting up and going to view the alms giving process. This is something that is traditionally done on a daily basis. The monks leave the temples and monasteries around dawn and walk along the streets in their orange robes. Local people bring offerings to the monks: their daily food. There are guidelines for visitors who want to participate or observe, but there are a lot of badly behaved tourists who flout these guidelines about respect for this ancient tradition, thus my uncertainty about going.

However, I did go, and found a place to stand on the other side of the street to observe some of the monks from the temples further away from the main centre of the town, and I am glad I did. Though there were a sufficient number of tourists who were trying to get up close and take photos with flash for me to feel a little embarrassed about being a tourist observing.

Monks collecting alms

I returned to the guest house for breakfast & get the reception staff to book a minivan for the airport. I had plenty of time to sort and pack, but I needed to pretend that the contents of my backpack (carry on luggage) is light.

I waited for the minivan … and waited … … and waited …. It went past in the wrong direction and disappeared out of sight. I had just negotiated a fare with a tuk tuk driver when the minivan reappeared, with apologies from the driver. I transfer to the minivan since that would be more comfortable; the tuk tuk driver seemed pretty philosophical about it.

When I checked in my suitcase was 22kg, slightly overweight, but no issues were raised.

The flight was quick and uneventful. The flight hostess’ uniform is stunningly beautiful: royal blue in the traditional Lao design.