Lao/Viet Nam: what's good?
rootlesscosmo
12,848 Posts
I wanna hit these countries on my way home from Nepal.I know it's gonna be hot weather-wise.What can the Strut tell me about places to visit?I love me some pho.
Comments
Lao is a lot more laid back, especially when you get out of Vientiane. Luang Prabang is fantastic, and down south is pretty interesting too. Savannakhet, Pakse etc. I've never made it out west.
I love Vietnam, particually Hanoi. Hoi An is great, and a easy entrance point if you're coming over from Lao. Because it it such a long skinny country Vietnam is really easy, as you basically just have to travel north or south and you get to take in nearly everything.
In my opinion you'd be crazy to be in this part of the world and not take in Cambodia. It really is gem. You can make a very easy loop between the three.
oh yes it is. it really makes a difference compared to any of the neigbouring countries. luang prabang is nice, but you will hardly see a local there. It??s flooded with tourists and, even worse, backpackers. Great food, great area though. I liked the slow boat trip on the mekong from luang prabang to thailand with an overnight stay in a small drug trader village called "pak beng". vietnam favourite is saigon and the real shit pho. many types of dumplings and steamed stuff in banana leafs as well = really good.
the real shit pho is in Hanoi.
edit: quick tip, last time I was in Lao, 2006, there wasn't any ATMs in the country, so make sure you have enough cash to see you through. Either that or you can cash advance from the banks in Vientiane.
Of course that could have changed by now however.
if you done kampuchea before now might be a good time to scratch things off the list you haven't done yet, then again seeing how pnomh penh and siem reap have changed in the past years is interesting too, boeng kak lake will no longer exist in 18 months, btw
i've seen all sorts of weird things going on there, i've met american collegegirls who in the daytime work for an ngo that battles childprostitution but at night they're having fun with their underage boyfriend... now isn't that ironic, don't you think...
on the southcoast i take kampot and kep over sihoukville any day, very chilled out spots - boddhi villa is a must stay in kampot, the aussie owner is a major bonghead and a cool dude (he's not around 24/7 though), one overnight stay at the island near kep is recommended, package deals are a nono, just talk to local boatsmen and gogo
angkor wat is one big atm but you already knew this
factoid: if a cambodian friend tells the guards at angkor you're a-okay (even via cellphone) you can get in for free - i was having major doubts on tonle sap lake but it was actually pretty cool, just bargain and haggle like a mf
i bicycled over 100 miles to the koh ker pyramid (hefty 10$ entrance fee), there's no tourists there but once the area is de-mined and paved it's gonna be angkor wat junior so now's a good time to visit, motorbike hire from reap might be a better bet, that way you don't need to stay overnight, there's no decent accomodation there
i didn't have enough time for eastern cambodia but supposedly it is beautiful; kratie and the likes, thorntree/lonely planet forum is pretty usefull to do research for that part as the most recent LP edition is hopelessly outdated
getting sick of typing right now haha
lao
yeah
go to the waterfall near luang prabang it's like the blue lagoon only without brooke
vang vieng is for teenagers, there's tang for the taking
there's a big waterpark in vientiane nobody knows about
get a motorbike for bolaven plateau
4000 islands is the shit
i also cycled from hanoi to the mekong delta
but man, it's been a long day
send me PM if you want more info dude
peace akhi
This really scares me, just seems so insane what they are doing there.
there's ATM's everywhere
I remember I was in Siep Riep when they got their first ATM. People slept out overnight to be the first to use it!