March 2012 Laos Day 3-4

Can't believe but time flies, the day for the departure already!
Fresh fruits for the breakfast....

And pancake. Yum!

Mount Phousi is the landmark of Luang Phabang.
People say it's amazing to see the sunset from the top of Phousi, and people also say it's too crowded there at the time of sunset.
So I was planning to go there in the morning instead.
There are several gates to Phousi, and I entered the one on the main street facing the national museum.

The entrance fee costs 20,000Kip.

 
There was a small temple near the gate and I prayed there for the safety of my climbing.

Then started walking....

And yay! Reached at the top!
It was a good exercise for me, never mind even though I couldn't take any pictures on the halfway.

You can see the the landscape of the town and Nam Khan River.

There are some benches  so that you can rest and refresh.
I wrote a few cards there.

On my way down I met a tourist group by 3.

One Japanese man, one Japanese woman, and one Chinese woman from Beijing.
At first they looked at me curiously and wondered if I am Japanese or not.
The Chinese woman said she came there alone, and told me "woman must be strong".
Yes, for sure, I wanna be much stronger!

There are lots of statues of Buddha.

They said there was a footprint of Buddha, but I couldn't find which it was.
They need more accurate sign inside.

Then I rambled about the town.

Boxer sold at Dara Market... ewwww!

Classical beauty salon.

Khao Piak at Saburo, near Wat Visoun, 8,000Kip.
I love this kind of taste so much, and squashed lime... I need their branch in Tokyo!

A school in Luang Phabang.

A typical local store near my hotel.
Various drinks are available.
Apparently they even have a wine cellar.

Brownie and ice coffee at Scandinavian Bakery on the main street.
Good for refreshment.
They had a pizza and it looked really nice.

As I said, time flies!
I went back to the lobby of my hotel and the lady picked me up at a little after 3:10pm and brought to the airport with the other several tourists.
There were 2 planes to Hanoi at that time, and somehow the mother and son stayed at the same hotel were given the tickets of Vietnam Airlines, while I and the other travelers took Lao Airlines.

The terminal and the restaurant/shop are in the separate buildings.
They say you can go out to the restaurant/shop after the security check, however, they also say that the planes have a possibility to leave EARLIER than the schedule, eh!
So I never left from the terminal building patiently until the boarding time.
And you board by walk....

The main building of the Luang Phabang International Airport.

Again, they had an in-flight meal. Okay.

Aaaand, Noi Bai again!

I had 6 hours until my flight back to Tokyo.
This airport is really small, while Hanoi must be the capital city of Vietnam.
Only 3 restaurants/cafes are available there, and 2 of them are the separated same restaurants actually.
When I met the mother and son they asked me if I would join in their travel in Hanoi until the boarding time, but I had no chance to answer, and in fact I was too tired to play in the city of Hanoi with US$14 payment for the exit tax.
Then I went upstairs to eat with the meal coupon given at the connecting flight counter.

There were a few choices in the menu and I ordered pho bo as I like pho.

Soon I regret because of its oiliness... and bitterness of the green tea....
In fact the pho I like is pho "ga".

I spent plenty of time there but still a few hours left.
Soooo bored.
You can't imagine how boring to stay in the small airport which toilet without paper has a broken door.
It was a wise choice of me to bring a book even though I wanted more space in my luggage.

Finally boarding time after midnight....

And in-flight breakfast unbelievably given at 3am(5am in Japan).

In general I enjoy every food without complaint.
However, for this meal I have to say I didn't feel good except a roll, tomato juice, and fresh fruits(while I can't believe them calling that roll "croissant").
Sleepless at the end of the travel + Japanese dish cooked in the other country might be the reason of the problem, don't ask me, I don't wanna remember, ugh.

Anyway I came back without any serious problem.
That's all, thank you for reading!
I've already started thinking about my next trip!

March 2012 Laos Day 2

Good morning!
2 hours of the time difference woke me up early, at around 6am.
Ignoring a tuk-tuk driver waiting at the entrance, I took a step toward the central area of this town.
It was cool and humid outside. I brought a wool stole to cover my bare arms until the sun rose.

Morning in  Luang Phabang begins with the mendicants.
People, both residents and travelers, were waiting on the road with offerings.

Then priests came....

There were lots of young ones.

If you want to offer them, you can find women selling foods for offering everywhere.

What I needed to do asap was the money exchange.
Since my arrival was late at night, the exchange booth in the airport had been closed.
I hope they will open until the final flight arrives for those who have no currency in circulation and need to pay for the transportation from the airport. 
Exchange booths were easy to be found on the main street, but I had to wait until they opened the booth at 7am.

At that time I had a US$100 bill which was exchanged for my past travel but never spent, so I decided to exchange it there to Kip.
Let me notice that in Luang Phabang US$ is valid, but US$100 bill looked too big considering prices there.
As I was given a bunch of the Kip bills at the exchange, I didn't count them in front of the accountant as it would take a long time with my brain stressed by the long flight.
However, later I found that I was given less than the correct amount, omg.
If possible, I recommend you to bring smaller bills so that you can count them in front of the accountant quickly soon after the exchange.

Post office.
There's a counter on the left in front of the main building selling stamps and postcards.
I bought cards there to send my friends.

Preparation for the new stores on the main street... day by day Luang Phabang is growing up as a tourist town!

Tuk-tuk as a common transportation for the tourist.
I had no courage to take it as I didn't know how to deal with the driver for the fare, even didn't know the standard fare, but it looked fun.

Then at the end of the main street,

I turned to the left and walked along the Mekong river.

Any volunteers? I found a poster on the street.

It sounded interesting if I could communicate with Lao students, however, unfortunately I am far from native.

You may see the life of Lao people through the local scenery.

Hmong's market.
You can buy sandwiches, fresh fruit juice, sandals, handcrafts, etc.

This is my hotel, Villa Ban Lao!
My room was on the 2nd floor above the entrance of the main building.
The lady from Happy Smile Tour told us that this building used to belong to the relative of the king of Luang Phabang.
I came back for my breakfast.

My breakfast of the day.
Nice omelette! And fresh fruits!

Restaurant and garden of my hotel. Lodges over there.

Lobby.

Lounge on the second floor, you may find the door of my guestroom on the right.

Then I went out again for my exploration of this town!
Now you may know Luang Phabang is known as the town of Buddhism.
You can find temples everywhere.
This is Wat Manorom, neighbor temple of my hotel.

Wat Visoun, known as "Watermelon Stupa" because of the shape of its roof they say... umm.

You can also find nice cafes and restaurants there, waiting the visit of the tourists.

Dragon fruits smoothie and lime tart at Saffron Cafe, beside the Mekong river.*Loves*

Five bites at Tamarind Cafe, beside the Nam Khan river.
Sticky rice is one of the characteristics of the Lao food.
And Beer Lao dark, great!If you love the taste of Japanese beer, you may love Beer Lao too.

I love walking around the town, however, there's a physical limit with me.
I went back to have a rest by escaping from the heat until the night market started.
I took a shower and nap... so good....

Still my body hurt.
I visited Khmu Spa on the main street for massage before my dinner.

While I was collecting information of Luang Phabang, I found a Western restaurant called Blue Lagoon.
It was my wish to visit there and eat pasta as some bloggers had mentioned it.
Their dishes were expensive comparing to the other restaurant, but their service, mood, and taste were fabulous!

Small soup, 2 baguettes, and herb garlic butter for free(!).
As the butter tasted really good, I finished baguettes unbelievably, then the waiter brought more baguettes!

Luang Prabang Salad. Huge, but never mind, I finished.

Tagliatelle mushroom sauce. Yum!

One of the fantastic moments in Luang Phabang is the night market.
You can find lovely handcrafts by Hmongs.

And buffet stalls.