It’s Chinese New Year time! Which means going back home for 1.3 billion people… And vacation time for me! Schools and most companies shut during this period and I can take a break. I’ve decided to add two more countries to my exploration of South East Asia: Vietnam and Laos. I planned to visit Vietnam last year but due to some circumstances I had to renounce. I went back to Italy instead, my home country.
I’m going to spend 2 weeks in Vietnam and 1 in Laos. At the beginning I wasn’t interested in Laos due to some negative opinion that let me down a little bit. Finally, I made up my mind and decided I didn’t want to waste the chance to explore the “Land of a Million Elephants”. The poorest and least glamorous country of the neighborhood have many interesting attractions:
- Vientiane, the laid back capital city
- Luang Prabang, a marvellous city which hosts more than 30 temples and has been declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO
- the mysterious Plain of Jars
- the azure Kuang Si Waterfalls
Of course there’s much more than that. I might stop in Vang Vieng but I’m not sure at the moment. Unfortunately I don’t have enough time to visit the south of the country and I’ll leave that for the next occasion.
Before arriving to Laos I’ll be touring Vietnam for roughly 2 weeks. I’ve been dreaming about Vietnam since I moved to China 4 years ago. It’s been on my bucket list for too long! So this is my final itinerary:
- arrive in Ho Chi Minh, previously known as Saigon
- some relax time between the dunes and beaches of Mui Ne
- visit the old town of Hoi An, the jewel of Vietnam
- roaming through the ancient ruins of Hue
- cruise at Halong Bay, one of the most beautiful places in Asia
- visit the frenetic Hanoi
Here you are a map of my trip!
I’ll upload some pics of my trip on my instagram account for sure !
Zaijian! 再见 ！
Joe
Great choices. If u get the time visit the chu chi tunnels and cadai temple near Mekong delta. You will love it. Make sure u find a street away from the tourist throng if you get up for the monks alms procession. Philistines can spoil it for you otherwise. Enjoy. Wilbur.
Hi Wilbur! Thanks for the tips and for taking the time to leave a message! Very much appreciated. I woke up early enough to enjoy the procession in a deserted street for few moments. The atmosphere was quickly ruined by a flood of tourists who tried to get the most exclusive pictures right on the face of the monks. Quite disgraceful. Lovely place Luang Prabang though, really loved my stay 😀