south east asia | LIVE LOOSLEY

Destination 3/3 on the honeymoon tour… we flew into Luang Prabang from Hanoi on 11 November with 6 days and 5 nights left of holiday.

The drive from the airport to the city center is a short 15 minute ride. We were settled in before we knew it. The only thing we had booked in Laos was a hike with MandaLao Elephants in the middle of the week. So we needed some time to get our bearings and figure out exactly what we wanted to do with our last week of holiday.

The villa recommended we go to Utopia for lunch – we wandered there slowly, temple spotting on our way. Nobody rushes in Luang Prabang… it’s so chilled. And Utopia is a travelers oasis. You can go there, use the wifi and relax. They do Yoga in the morning, serve food throughout the day and at night it’s the place to be for drinks.

We got there midday, ordered some lunch, chilled out and started our research… planning our next move with a Beer Laos in hand. It was perfect.

We decided to mix it up – we’ll enjoy the relaxed vibes of Luang Prabang, become best friends with Elephants, chase some waterfalls like TLC would want us to, and then venture down to Vang Vieng (central Laos) for hikes, the famous blue lagoons and the notorious back-packer tubing experience.

Destination 2/3 of our ‘honeymoon tour’. Arriving after A week in The Philippines meant we could hit the ground running – no jet lag!

We landed in Hanoi knowing three things: where we were staying that night, where we wanted to go next, and when our departure flight was booked to leave.

Other than that, we had nothing organised. We did have some great advice from friends and family on where to go though, so we weren’t short on ideas. And there is so much to see! So the hard part was prioritizing how to spend our limited time there in the best way possible. Of course we (I) got a spreadsheet going… my adventurous side only goes so far…

Hanoi

Roaming the streets of Hanoi you are consumed by the buzz of the city. Particularity in old town – there are scooters everywhere. Nothing is still. Crossing the street is like an organised game of chicken: You cannot overthink it or second guess yourself. You’re almost better off not looking at all and just going; confidently crossing the road at a predictable speed so the scooters can just flow around you… like a stream of water would as if you were crossing a river. It is wild! There are loads of markets, art galleries, independent retailers via storefront/cart/market stalls, tourist shops, restaurants and hostels all over the old town.

Posted by allisonloosley

Hanoi

Posted by allisonloosley