Day 310 - Flight from Bangkok to Luang Prabang, Laos
Monday, May 13th, 2019
We were not in a rush to get up early because our plane leaves at 2:30pm. We woke up and had our breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, and coffee in our rooms. Gregory had to get a photo for his Lao visa. I had visa photos taken in Mexico of me and the kids and I will finally be able to use them.
I stayed busy trying to catch up on the blog, even though the Wifi was bad.
We took Grab to the airport. Everything went very smoothly. The best part of flying is the airport lounge because it is so quiet, has good food and good Wifi. I think we all look forward to spending time there. We were relaxing until our names were called on the loudspeaker asking us to come board. That's how long Gregory likes to wait in the lounge before boarding. You can imagine how nervous I get and how much I want to kill him but we still made it on time! The flight was short, only one and a half hours. Not enough time for me to do my favorite hobbies in life: read and sleep.
We landed on time, and we got in line for visas. They happily took our $35 + $1 for processing and our photos. They stamped our passports and because we didn't check in any language, we were outside the airport in no time. Even better, there was a driver waiting for us. Sunshine smiled at me and said, "this is nice". We have experienced so much hassle in many different airports and the kids have to learn to wait patiently but it is so nice when someone in a foreign country is waiting for you and takes you to your hotel right away.
The view of the countryside was stunning. Big green mountains and palms everywhere. The weather seemed hotter than it was in Thailand but we had AC in the van! The van dropped us at the Elephant Boutique Hotel after 20 minutes. We were welcomed with cold watermelon juice and a big smile. The lady at the front desk told us that we had booked rooms without AC but that she could give us rooms with AC for the same price if we wrote a good review about the hotel. Gregory and I looked at each other and thought it was weird, especially because he had booked the deluxe room. One would think that would include AC, right? Whatever, we said, as long as it has AC, we needed it!
The hotel is clean and cute but far from fancy, which is perfect for us. Plus, where can you get two nice rooms with breakfast included for $40 a night? There are five-star hotels where you can spend $300 or more a night here. We settled in and rested until the sun went down before we ventured out. We went to a small restaurant near our hotel that the owner recommended. They only had rice or noodles with all sorts of toppings to choose from: pork, chicken, beef, fish, or tofu. The kids only got vegetables and Gregory and I got chicken. With the food, they served a bowl of chicken broth with green onions. We all had dinner and drinks for about $10.
Afterward, we walked to the night market on the main street and looked around. The vendors had a lot of things like those we saw in Sapa, Vietnam. The sold the same colorful skirts for kids, they had the owl bags and backups, and wood dishes. We bought bamboo straws to use and give as presents. Well, that's what Sunshine wants to give to her friends, and I love to support her cause of not using plastic straws!
After that, we walked to see the Mekong river and we were happy to see many cafes along the river. It looks like a lovely place to spend more than 3 days! It started to rain a little bit and we decided to go back to our hotel but we stopped for Daniel's dessert first.
I don't know why I was so tired but I fell asleep before 11:00pm. Really, we didn't do much but the days that we travel I feel exhausted. Maybe it's the emotional energy but I feel like I have gotten much better and I don't worry anymore about time or food. [Gregory's note: yes she does.] Anyway, I'm thankful to have a clean and comfortable place to sleep!
We were not in a rush to get up early because our plane leaves at 2:30pm. We woke up and had our breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, and coffee in our rooms. Gregory had to get a photo for his Lao visa. I had visa photos taken in Mexico of me and the kids and I will finally be able to use them.
I stayed busy trying to catch up on the blog, even though the Wifi was bad.
We took Grab to the airport. Everything went very smoothly. The best part of flying is the airport lounge because it is so quiet, has good food and good Wifi. I think we all look forward to spending time there. We were relaxing until our names were called on the loudspeaker asking us to come board. That's how long Gregory likes to wait in the lounge before boarding. You can imagine how nervous I get and how much I want to kill him but we still made it on time! The flight was short, only one and a half hours. Not enough time for me to do my favorite hobbies in life: read and sleep.
We landed on time, and we got in line for visas. They happily took our $35 + $1 for processing and our photos. They stamped our passports and because we didn't check in any language, we were outside the airport in no time. Even better, there was a driver waiting for us. Sunshine smiled at me and said, "this is nice". We have experienced so much hassle in many different airports and the kids have to learn to wait patiently but it is so nice when someone in a foreign country is waiting for you and takes you to your hotel right away.
The view of the countryside was stunning. Big green mountains and palms everywhere. The weather seemed hotter than it was in Thailand but we had AC in the van! The van dropped us at the Elephant Boutique Hotel after 20 minutes. We were welcomed with cold watermelon juice and a big smile. The lady at the front desk told us that we had booked rooms without AC but that she could give us rooms with AC for the same price if we wrote a good review about the hotel. Gregory and I looked at each other and thought it was weird, especially because he had booked the deluxe room. One would think that would include AC, right? Whatever, we said, as long as it has AC, we needed it!
The hotel is clean and cute but far from fancy, which is perfect for us. Plus, where can you get two nice rooms with breakfast included for $40 a night? There are five-star hotels where you can spend $300 or more a night here. We settled in and rested until the sun went down before we ventured out. We went to a small restaurant near our hotel that the owner recommended. They only had rice or noodles with all sorts of toppings to choose from: pork, chicken, beef, fish, or tofu. The kids only got vegetables and Gregory and I got chicken. With the food, they served a bowl of chicken broth with green onions. We all had dinner and drinks for about $10.
Afterward, we walked to the night market on the main street and looked around. The vendors had a lot of things like those we saw in Sapa, Vietnam. The sold the same colorful skirts for kids, they had the owl bags and backups, and wood dishes. We bought bamboo straws to use and give as presents. Well, that's what Sunshine wants to give to her friends, and I love to support her cause of not using plastic straws!
After that, we walked to see the Mekong river and we were happy to see many cafes along the river. It looks like a lovely place to spend more than 3 days! It started to rain a little bit and we decided to go back to our hotel but we stopped for Daniel's dessert first.
I don't know why I was so tired but I fell asleep before 11:00pm. Really, we didn't do much but the days that we travel I feel exhausted. Maybe it's the emotional energy but I feel like I have gotten much better and I don't worry anymore about time or food. [Gregory's note: yes she does.] Anyway, I'm thankful to have a clean and comfortable place to sleep!
Comments
Post a Comment