Laos and Vietnam, June 17th to June 26th, 2023
17.06. - 19.06.23 Travel from Pakse, Laos, to Vietnam
19.06. - 22.06.23 Da Nang, Vietnam
22.06. - 26.06.23 Hoi An, Vietnam
Journey from Laos to Vietnam
Hitchhiking to Attapeu, Laos
The farewell from Pakse weighed heavily on us. Our guesthouse had been so wonderful.
In Don Det, I met Vincent from France quite early on. Vincent has been traveling around Asia for a few months as well, but what's special is that he exclusively hitchhikes. He aims to minimize the environmental impact of his journey and therefore refrains from using taxis, buses, and the like. Instead, he walks along the road and tries to find vehicles to pick him up.
We had already tried this for two days in Thailand, and we really enjoyed it. In Laos, we hadn't dared to do it so far because Laos is even poorer than Thailand. Vincent's stories encouraged us to give hitchhiking another try here. So, we've already hitchhiked from Don Det to Pakse. Two kind young women gave us a ride there. Now we want to hitchhike all the way to Vietnam. What appeals to us is that it takes us outside the cities and the touristy places.
Said and done. Once we were out of downtown Pakse, we treated ourselves to a tuk-tuk. Unfortunately, we set the destination wrong and still had to walk for another hour. In the meantime, Karli and I started bickering again. By now, we've got the hang of it better and realize more quickly that it's not actually each other that's the problem, but rather that we're physically stressed from the heat. So, let's start with a cold cola to cool off.
Back on the road, not even 10 minutes later, a pickup truck stopped. A Vietnamese person who doesn't speak English picks us up willingly. He's on his way back to Vietnam and can take us all the way to Attapeu, our destination for today. That's incredibly fortunate, as many Laotians usually only drive to the next bigger city. The range of movement for most Laotians is much smaller than in Germany. The Laotians who own cars here are quite wealthy. An unskilled worker, like a server or a farmhand, earns only 1.5 to 2.5 million Kip. That might sound like a lot at first, but that's only about 75 to 125 Euros (as of June 2023) per month. And the majority of Laotians are unskilled because the education system isn't good. Coming back to the point, most Laotians cannot afford to own a car, and if they do, their travel distances are limited due to the expensive gasoline. That's why Karli and I had expected to change vehicles several times before reaching our destination city for today, Attapeu. We were all the happier when the Vietnamese person took us all the way to Attapeu. The ride was incredibly pleasant. We sat in the back of the pickup truck and had plenty of space. Honestly, much more comfortable than the last rides in buses. It's just a shame that we can't converse with our driver due to the language barrier.
You might wonder why we didn't get a ride all the way to Vietnam. The answer is: because of the visa. This time, we didn't have any issues obtaining the Vietnam visa, but our visa period only starts in 2 days.
Attapeu
Having arrived in Attapeu, we wanted to give our driver some money. This isn't customary when hitchhiking in Germany. But in Pakse, a foreigner living there told us that locals always give some money for fuel during private rides. Very intriguing, we think. Before we hitchhiked in Laos, we read some blog posts online about others' hitchhiking experiences. And in these stories, this difference in payment for private rides seems to have caused problems and disagreements a few times. I still find these pricing questions complicated. We as Europeans are quite privileged. We were fortunate to be born in Europe and, among other things, have the privilege of traveling easily to countries with strong currencies. Asians here don't have this luck. At the same time, I don't see a solution in making things easier by giving tips everywhere. Tipping is not common among locals in Asia. If I, as a white person, give tips everywhere, it would be perceived by locals as if someone in Germany were to directly match the tip amount to the value of the meal. They would think, "That person must really have a lot of extra money." And suddenly, there are way too high fantasy prices offered at many places. Additionally, in my opinion, this encourages a strange dynamic between locals and tourists, where as a white person, you feel like you're only seen as a walking wallet. Well, a difficult topic. I also haven't found a solution for it. Except that it's not the case outside of tourist destinations.
This brings me back to our ride to Attapeu. I'm getting off track. We had given our driver some money for the ride. Roughly half the cost of a bus ride. But our driver didn't want to accept the money.
Afterward, we looked up accommodation on Google Maps and went to the hotel without a prior booking. No problem.
The next morning, Karli and I realized that we had another bout of tonsillitis. Grrrrrr. We decided to take a day off and stay another night in Attapeu. Additionally, we planned to travel by bus the next day instead of hitchhiking. Just to hopefully minimize the physical strain of traveling.
Our plan to take a bus turned out to be more complicated than expected. In Attapeu, no one speaks English, and the accommodation doesn't arrange transfers. Karli walked 45 minutes to the bus station, only to return empty-handed (which makes me wonder if our plan to reduce physical strain failed in the end, or if hitchhiking and taking a bus are equally tiring). The bus station staff were incredibly kind and helpful, but due to the language barrier, Karli only found out that no buses to Vietnam depart from the bus station.
Our accommodation didn't provide information about bus companies either. When we asked how to get to Vietnam, they shrugged. I still don't understand the bus system here.
During lunch, we watched the cars on the street. There were some buses with Vietnamese markings. We couldn't figure out whether they were group tours or regular buses. But if they were regular buses, where do they stop? Across the street, we spotted a minivan. Fortunately, Karli gathered the courage to approach the bus and ask the driver if he could help us find a bus to Vietnam. And indeed, luck was on our side – the minivan was heading to Vietnam. There are three daily connections. The driver wrote everything down for Karli because he speaks very little English.
Crossing the Border
The journey to Vietnam the next day is exhausting. Although we're relatively comfortable in a minivan, the road isn't good, there are many curves, and we realize that we're still not fully recovered.
At the border when leaving Laos, we're shocked to realize that today is actually the last day of our visa. Laos was initially planned as a short visa run. We hadn't kept track of the date we needed to leave. We didn't intend to stay long in Laos – we're just on a visa run. In the end, we stayed here for a whole 30 days. Lucky that by chance, we're leaving on our very last day.
The rest of the border crossing goes smoothly.
Arrival in Vietnam
We arrive in a small town in Vietnam in the evening. The first day in a new country is always demanding, especially without internet. We don't yet know where we can eat, where we can sleep, and how we'll continue the next day.
Priority 1: Find food and Wi-Fi. With Wi-Fi, we can search for accommodations.
Priority 2: Find accommodation.
Priority 3: Find a place where we can buy mobile internet.
Once we've successfully checked these three points, we walk to the bus station. However, with little success. The stalls are already closed, and as expected, there are no bus schedules. There are signs from various bus companies with directions, but no times, no prices, and no websites.
The next morning, we check out of our accommodation and look for something to eat for breakfast. It's amazing how people here are delighted by two foreigners. Children, in particular, keep waving at us. While having coffee, we meet a few teenagers. They're really excited about us and chat with us a bit. They warn us that things are more expensive in the big cities – especially places for foreigners. Unfortunately, their English isn't that good, so we mainly communicate through Google Translator. In the end, they buy us coffee, which I found really touching!
After that, we head back to the bus station. This time, the ticket stalls are open. Using Google Translator, we try to figure out the quickest way to get to Danang. The woman tells us that there's a bus at 9 p.m. Otherwise, we should just stand on the main road and wave at passing buses. Ah-ha! I've spent hours pondering how the bus system works here in Laos and Vietnam. I've always wondered because only a fraction of the trips are available online on platforms. And how do all the residents who live between two cities book their buses? As a Frenchman confirms to us a few weeks later, locals in rural areas simply know where the buses go. They sit by the road with their luggage and wait for a bus to pass, then they wave and hope it stops.
We walk to the road. We take a break under a tree; we're still weak, and the tonsillitis isn't fully healed yet. We discuss whether to try stopping buses or hitchhiking. Then, a Vietnamese man and his daughter stop to help us.
The journey to Danang is very comfortable and pleasant. Unfortunately, the bus doesn't go directly to Danang; it just passes by. The bus drops us off 13 kilometers before the city at an intersection. A few taxi drivers immediately surround us, wanting to take us to the city center at highly inflated prices. It would have been smart to negotiate with them. Instead, our stubbornness takes over – we're not in the mood to negotiate with "rip-offs." So, we decide to walk a bit and hope a plan emerges in the meantime. Not very clever, especially when you're still sick. But both Karli and I are stubborn.
We walk for fifteen minutes and then find a bus stop. According to Google Maps, the next bus is in an hour 😑 but luck is on our side: while we're still figuring out what to do, a bus arrives, and we get on. And indeed, it goes to the city center. What luck we have!
Even though many things have gone differently than we originally envisioned, especially the tonsillitis, we've really enjoyed this journey. We've had many moments where we were at the edge of our mental and physical strength, but that's what made the journey so incomparable. A true dive from the 10-meter platform. Challenging ourselves and seeing what we're capable of is an incredible experience.
Da Nang
The shock in Da Nang is significant. Going from the small villages of the past few days back to a (big) city. The relationship between village and city is comparable to Germany. The differences between a village somewhere in the Westerwald and cities like Berlin or Munich are vast. Here in Laos or Vietnam, the contrast is even more significant than in Germany. In the village, there's a low standard of living, simple one to two-story buildings, basic restaurants with plastic chairs. From a European perspective, everything appears "scruffy" and improvised. The restaurants only offer food from the respective country. Even cafes are hardly found. In the cities, on the other hand, the cityscape is much more modern. There are restaurants and shops that look "modern" = European and clean. You can find a wide variety of restaurants offering dishes from all over the world. Compared to rural regions, the cities here sometimes feel like a fairyland.
However, in Da Nang, actually more than half of all tourists are Vietnamese. Vietnam is the first country in Asia where we're traveling where the country's residents take a lot of vacations. In the previous countries.
By the way, you can distinguish between Vietnamese and Laotian people by their clothing. While all Laotian women wear traditional skirts, Vietnamese women wear very modern, sometimes really unusual, clothing.
Here in Da Nang, it's currently 36 degrees Celsius, but it feels like 43 degrees. Incredibly hot. Too hot. The Vietnamese avoid the sun. Uyen, the great YouTuber, once said that the German sun isn't like the Vietnamese sun, "Vietnamese sun is melting your skin off" (you can find it in this video by Uyen on the topic of dating at 1:45). The city of Da Nang is right by the sea. However, at noon, the beach is completely deserted. Only a few crazy Europeans can be seen. In the afternoon, when the shadows of the high-rise buildings get longer, creating shady oases – that's when the beach fills up more and more. The Vietnamese crowd together in the water.
We didn't do much in Da Nang; we're still recovering from the tonsillitis. This heat is really getting to me again. I get grumpy from the heat at least once a day.
Hoi An
Old Town
After two nights in Da Nang, we continued our journey to Hoi An. Hoi An is world-renowned for its Old Town. Here's what I've taken from the internet for you:
Hoi An's Old Town is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and for good reason. The many old houses, painted in traditional shades of yellow, offer a glimpse back into the city's early days. Hoi An was established in 1595 as a trading post. Over time, various trading delegations from countries like Portugal, Japan, China, and the Netherlands settled there. In the course of history, Hoi An became one of the most important trading posts in Southeast Asia. After a few revolutions and the colonization of Vietnam by the French, Da Nang became the new commercial center of the country, and Hoi An faded into obscurity. This spared Hoi An from many of the war's upheavals, allowing the old buildings to survive until today. Since 1999, Hoi An has been a UNESCO World Heritage site and is now an important destination on Vietnam's tourist map. Source: www.flueddi-on.tour.eu
The Old Town is a highly popular national and international tourist destination. However, this also leads to it being very crowded. The entire Old Town is entirely geared towards tourism, with souvenir shops, cafes, and restaurants lined up one after the other. And at the same time, the Old Town is truly beautiful. The small, yellow houses, the narrow alleys, the colorful lanterns. Take a look at the photos in the gallery and form your own opinion!
If you ever visit here, you should definitely consider getting something tailor-made. Hoi An is well-known for its good and, from a Western perspective, affordable tailoring shops.
Museum and Gallery
On the second day, I stumbled upon a photographer's gallery by chance. As it turned out, it was the gallery of the internationally renowned photographer Rehahn (link to his Instagram profile). Actually, I recognized one or two of his pictures. Rehahn particularly enjoys photographing ordinary people, the rural folks. Just like Laos, Vietnam also has a great ethnic diversity. In Vietnam, about 88% of the population are ethnic Vietnamese (Viet or Kinh). Besides, there are around 54 ethnic minorities. The photographer has visited all 54 of these ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Behind his gallery, he has set up a museum (free entry) dedicated to these groups. He introduces each ethnic group with a portrait of a person. The ethnicities differ, for example, in their clothing. Many groups dye their clothes multiple times with indigo, so the base color of the clothing is almost black. However, there are significant differences in terms of decoration. Some groups embroider their clothing, others attach coins, while others sew on patches. The clothing of each ethnicity is unique. Nowadays, the cultures of these ethnic minorities are fading away as the younger generations lose interest in the customs, handcrafts, and stories of the "elders." The modern world is much more interesting to them. It's even more beautiful that Rehahn preserves a bit of each culture and makes it freely accessible to everyone.
Splashing in the Water
On the third day, we changed our accommodation from the Old Town to a hostel that is 3 minutes away from the beach. Here, we had two days to rest a bit. In the photo album, you'll find pictures of us splashing in the sea. They are really amusing. And one evening, the hostel ignited a bonfire on the beach.
Journey from Hoi An to Nature Park
After Hoi An, we took the train northward. The train route is renowned as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. You'll have fantastic views of the sea along the way.
📷 You can find more great pictures in the photo album.
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