Getting lost in time: Vientiane, Laos

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Another long over due travel post here! Over the Chinese New Year holiday (mid-february) we had two glorious weeks of vacation in which we met up with my parents and toured around the charming country of Laos. Our first of three stops was the capital city of Laos.

Marked with a long history of foreign control (the country was ruled, at various times, by the Khmer, Vietnamese, Burmese, Thai, and most recently and notably French), the capital feels more like a large town than a major city centre.  Architecturally it includes a range of classic temples and pagodas next door to colonial style mansions. The hot dusty streets are lined with an equal number of traditional Laos cuisine and french cafes. The French influence is everywhere you look and it creates a charming old time-y feel that transports you to time of slow paces, long drinks and the slow twirl of a ceiling fan.

The tourist area of Vientiane is spread along and around Nam Phu, the Mekong riverside with a few main streets that are lined with hotels, restaurants, and shops.  Everything is within walking distance, though it is also common to rent a bicycle and go from site to site in that fashion. The terrain is relatively well paved and endlessly flat and as long as you time it correctly, you could see almost everything in a day.  

We spread our time over 2 full days and took the city at a leisurely pace, which seemed to fit our surroundings well. We followed a relatively popular walking/cycling route and managed to take in a a good amount of what the city has to offer the average tourist (read: Wats, museums, a lot of food).

Haw Pha Keao

Wood Carvings in the courtyard of Haw Pha Keao

We started at Haw Pha Keao, which was built by King Setthathirat as a royal temple to house the famed Emerald Buddha (which now rests in Thailand).  Today it holds a collection of religious (buddhist) art and sculpture and has one of the finest (if not small) grounds to stroll around.

Across the street from Haw Pha Keao is Wat Si Saket.  Wat Si Saket, with it's relaxing atmosphere, tall trees and welcoming benches, is most notable for it's courtyard that is lined with hundreds, if not thousands of buddha images ranging in material from bronze and silver to wood and stone.  This was truly a site to behold, and  was topped off with an impressive sim, with as many as five roof tiers, and keeping yet more buddha images. A must see.

Next it is up the (quite long) street to Vientiane's very own Arc de Triomphe. Known as the Patuxai the 4-gated monument is impressive from afar, but notably lack lustre up close. Built slightly higher than the Parisian original, and made with US donated cement (originally meant for a new airport, the Patuxai is worth a visit in order to climb to the top. The view of the city is vast, the climb is not horrendously difficult (approximately 7 stories), and the ice-cream at the end is the perfect cold treat.

A View of Patuxai

Patuxai

The remainder of our time was spent in various cafes (enjoying far too much iced coffee and pastries), wandering the waterfront, exploring various shops, and eating in many excellent restaurants. 

My favourite part of the city was the food (of course), and I just loved the mix of french and traditional Lao. A buttery croissant by day and spicy Jaew Mak Khua (eggplant dip) by night is just fine by me!

Places of note:

Hotel: Hotel Khamvongsa - very pleasant, excellent location (close but quiet), clean, traditional furnishing, delicious breakfast

Cafe: Le Banneton - Please don't leave the city until you been here. Great coffee and amazing salads and pastries.  I wouldn't bother with the other food because after having one of their salads you won't want to eat anything else ever again. Seriously. Go there. 

Restaurant: Makphet - related to the Friends restaurant that I mentioned in this post, Makphet is also a charitable restaurant that works to train former street youth in the hospitality industry. Food seemed to be reliably good, and had a good hit of spice.

Shop: T'Shop Lai Gallery - part gallery part shop this store was opened by Les Artisans Lao, a group of local Lao Artists who specialize in the use of renewable materials to make handicrafts, art, and personal care products.  I can't get enough of their extra virgin coconut oil, and their natural insect repellent.  They offer a good variety of lotions and potions and it's impossible to walk out empty handed. Their facebook page offers more information

Please note: these businesses are not sponsoring this post.  Any recommendations made here are based solely on my experience while visiting.  I try to make a note of mentioning establishments that are authentic, have excellent service, and where possible are connected to some greater good. 

Local Exploration: OCT Loft, Shenzhen

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Have you ever thought something about a place or activity, and been sure you were right, before you even went there? For example I knew Vancouver was going to be a beautiful city that I could easily live in before I even stepped foot on the plane. I knew this years before I had visited for the first time.  There’s something about the west coast (of Canada and America) that I am just so drawn to. The vibe? The pace? The scenery? A little bit of all of it I think. And while I’ve never been to the west coast of the United States, I already know I’m going to love them. It's just a fact.

Anyway, this post is not about the west coast of Canada or America. It's about China.  And it's about how I thought I knew something about my life in China before I ever got on the plane. Ever had a time like that? We all have at some point, I’m sure. But have you ever been wrong?  I may have been right about my thoughts on Vancouver, but my pre-China thought and my reality are quite different.  

Let me explain... before moving abroad I had the naive thought that I would be exploring a different part of the city almost every weekend. I was wrong. So very, very wrong.  The truth is, there’s just been so much work to do, or to get caught up on that I have done almost no exploring of the city we live in.

Given that it’s now MAY (holy smokes, where does the time go?), it’s about time I got out there and explored again. So this past Labour Day (which they celebrate May 1), I headed out of doors with a friend to explore the OCT Loft area of Shenzhen.

I had been to this area once before for a jazz festival way back in October and had been immediately taken with the ambiance of the place.  It felt like no other place in China I had been, and it still feels that way.  OCT Loft is an open warehouse/art gallery/boutique shops space that reminds me just enough of home to help curb the home sickness that inevitably creeps up every now and again. But also feels different enough that I'm eager to explore each building and turn in depth.

The afternoon was spent meandering around old buildings, sipping tea and eating cake at outdoor cafes, and oohing and ahhing at all the little bits and bobs we pretended we needed in our lives, but ultimately leaving empty handed because we were able to remind ourselves we didn’t actually need them … for now!

It was such a relaxing and peaceful afternoon that we’ve promised ourselves we’ll attempt at least one return trip before the school year is up. And I’ve promised myself time for a little more exploring!

Vietnam Chaperone

Pin It Just a quick little post to let you know that I'm back in Vietnam, but this time in the role of chaperone to 30 high school students! It's a strange role that leaves you weirdly on the outside of things and yet sharing a lot of really great experiences with so many. It forces you to play leader, mother, friend, disciplinarian, teacher, first aid-er, and so much more. It makes me thankful for the great teachers I had when I did international trips in school - I can only hope to be half as supportive, patient and fair.

I'm working on posts and photos for our trip to Laos, but writing is slow these days. Hopefully something will come soon my friends! Until next time!

Sail Away: Halong Bay, Vietnam

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I feel like I should have a lot to say about our trip to Halong Bay, but I just can't seem to put the words together. We went, the scenery was mind boggling, we slept on a boat, we climbed to the top of the highest cliff and we clambered around inside of a cave. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a real highlight to our time in Vietnam, but I just can't seem to string the sentences together to tell you that in words. While sailing through the thousands of karst lime stone cliffs that protrude from the water like the ridges of a dragons back, it's easy to be at a loss for words .... apparently that feeling lives on.

So for now, I'm going to let the photos do most of the talking for how cool Halong Bay is.

As far as basic facts of the trip go, you must visit Halong Bay by organised tour, one of which can be very easily organised in Hanoi a day or two before you leave.  We booked ours up the day before departure with a well known company known as Vega Tours. There are essentially three price options, and three trip options to meet your travel needs. There is budget, midrange, and luxury tour operators, all of which offer 1 day, 2 day or 3 day excursions on the bay.  We opted for the midrange 1 night/2 day option because there are plentiful horror stories for the budget options, and there doesn't seem to much disparity in terms of what you get between the midrange and luxury options, except perhaps a few hundred dollars out of your pocket.

When booking we were pretty mindful of exactly which tour operator we were using because as I've mentioned before, scams abound in this city. But, as with anything, just be ready with all the questions you want to ask (sleeping arrangements, toilet arrangements, crew arrangements, number of people per boat, meals, activities, etc.), they are very open with their answers, and know that you generally get what you pay for. After that it's just settling in and getting ready for the view of a life time.

I guess the one story I can't leave this post without telling is the evening activity on board. It was New Years day and the captain and crew had prepared a special party for us after dinner. At 8:00 we were told to gather around the lounging area. As we were waited, we were handed a shot of Vietnamese whisky and the captain said a few words about health and happiness in the year to come. Just as we thought we were about to be served up a slice of scrummy looking cake, the lights went out, the disco beats came on (along with the strobe and disco ball), and the captain, crew, and very confused passengers were getting down on the makeshift dance floor. While the whisky flowed fast and free, the crew demonstrated some (less than) traditional dance moves with us. To say that the Vietnamese dance with their hips is an understatement, these men could show Shakira a thing or two about the honesty of her hips.  Obviously some passengers were more reserved than others, but one good hearted fellow did manage to get himself wedged between the captain and bartender in what can only be called a swivel sandwich.

And just as quickly as the dance party began, it ended. The captain got back to his post, as did the entire crew. The lights were on and the music lowered to a dull roar, all after only 5 minutes of the most intense Vietnamese dance party I think I can ever dream to be a part of. I don't know about the other boats on the bay that night, but  I did look out at one point and noticed that there were no disco light shows happening anywhere else on the water, as far as I could see, which meant they clearly weren't having as much fun.

Until next time, keep having adventures!

Wide Angle: Vol. 6

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Less travel, more writing. That's what I said in the last post, right? Well... I sort of forgot about the last long weekend of the year - 4 glorious days off for the QingMing Festival. We leave tomorrow morning, so those Halong Bay photos are going to have to wait a few more days.

I'm actually pretty excited about this trip, because it will be my first time going somewhere within China on a holiday. We've seen a lot outside of the country, but absolutely nothing inside of it. We're headed to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army and other such delights, so while we do that... you can look at what else has been going on in the day to day!

1. The Shenzhen ferry terminal likes to serve their coffee in fairy cups. It makes me feel pretty fancy.

2. A hot dog stand in Hong Kong, and my old nickname. Clearly, a name meant for food related things.

3 - 6. We went to Macau recently, and it was awesome! Not only did it include a stop at the famous Margaret's Cafe de Nata for the best egg tart I have ever had, but it also included a trip to the House of Dancing Water show, which was cirque-esque spectacle based in the water. Obviously, it was great.

7. Our neighbour turned 60, so we celebrated with cake. I can't tell you how much I miss regular cake. I want cake and I want it to be just cake and icing. They don't do that here. They are always loading in the whipped cream and fruits and who knows what else. I get it - cake isn't their specialty - but maaaaaan could I go for a slice of fudgy chocolate cake right now!

8. Every year at our school we hold a heritage fair to celebrate the many heritages represented by our students. The best part is the food fair section (obviously) and includes tents for East Asia, India, Europe (basically all French), and North America. I couldn't get enough of the India and Europe areas... endless supplies of bhaji, samosa, quiche, sable pistache, and so, so much more. It was like a dream.  I made 3 dozen butter tarts for the North American table, and I guess they were good because they were gone before I got one!

Anyway, that's all for now! Hopefully I can get caught up on my writing once this last mini-break is finished. Until next time!