{"id":1560,"date":"2023-02-05T00:28:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-05T00:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/?p=1560"},"modified":"2023-02-05T00:28:58","modified_gmt":"2023-02-05T00:28:58","slug":"sabbatical-week-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/?p=1560","title":{"rendered":"Sabbatical Week 10"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Opening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This week coincided with the Chinese New Year tourists and also being in popular destinations. It’s definitely more effort needed to figure out how long to stay and where to book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also interesting to see how many Chinese campers were in Laos. Loads of Chinese plated cars were from far away to the border. (Consider China is already pretty big)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Angkor Wat like temple<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tried to get to the Royal Palace. It seems Laotians have the tendency to leave work early and combined with a big lunch break, we were not able to find time to visit. (We got to the Palace right around 11am before it said to be closed at 11:30am, and the guards wouldn’t allow us to go in)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up next was the heritage house (10k). It’s pretty interesting to know the Lao way of life before the colonial period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We had to wait to get up to the house. It’s 10ppl max but 8 if you are Western…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Traditional instruments for dancing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I wasn’t able to find the second dish – oua sii khai anywhere unfortunately. The stew which I had previously was quite good <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I didn’t take many photos, the lighting wasn’t good in the house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Learned to how to do vertical paroranma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lunch time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Found this local restaurant that situated right next the Mekong river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lao steak. The tally was 130k with a big Beer Lao. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I needed strong coffee after that big meal. Found this really cute coffee shop with a photo gallery top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Americano – 23k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Such a beautiful oasis. There’s a photo gallery upstairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Loads of good books – unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the gallery itself<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lots of Chinese campvans. Not sure why I took the only photo in front of a tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We went to the train ticket office to get our ticket, we got there at 3:20pm and the office closes at 3:30. I was the last person who the ticket. I had to both borrow money and borrow someone’s money. Oh well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, me and the Finnish girl Aino parted separated ways with the French group. I think it’s for the best, the American and Dutch guys just want to go bowling at night and the French didn’t want to take the boat ride for some reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We caught a local ferry to the other side of the Mekong. (5k each way)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I totally could use a sister haha!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s nice walkway and locals hanging out. Children play with puppies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking from the other side<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tried to take a short cut and found this random house with farms and a truck. Interesting family. Lots of cute little goats jigging with their bells<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We climbed 123 stairs to the a temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stayed around until after sunset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We initially worried about not being able to catch the last ferry since we had no information about it. Luck caught to our favor this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just in time for the city to light up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One more reflection view!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that we went for dinner. One of the highlights of the trip (I followed follow the local rule – if there’s no locals, I am not eating!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Great portion side, the larp, the tofu curry, the finger beef, even the veggie dip are just phenomenal! 130k We didn’t finish half the food, which I felt bad haha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s waterfall day! Another highlight of Luang Prabang!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Started relatively early, but still didn’t get to our tuktuk before 9:30am. Though after some haggling we managed to get 400k for 5. (Thanks to Mauritius girl for making decisive decision for us. The Brit would probably waste an hour for nothing!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Brit, though obnoxious still nice <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This photo isn’t from my phone. The Mauritius girl’s Google Album for photo sharing works wonders!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In almost no time (45min) we arrived at the waterfall (20k) gate. We then took an electric bus to get to the walkway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two girls on the second row to the left are from Thailand!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first stop was the “freethebears” cage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They are Sun and Moon bears<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Soonish, we arrived at the waterfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can see it’s still quite chilly, I didn’t jump in at this point<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Group photo!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Did some feet dip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Brit decided to go in!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There he is<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Next was the Mauritius girl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Look how cute we are!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Brit decided to crack an unknown fruit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s hiking trail that goes to the top of the waterfall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This isn’t the trail. Not sure the purpose of this path is<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Only about 45min, we arrived at the top<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The water was surprisingly calm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Mauritius girl decided to demonstrate her tree climbing skill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One last selfie at the top<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My time to jump in!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Chinese girl !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The French reunion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Goodbye waterfall \ud83d\ude41<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Okay, honey, don’t die<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lunch! We were starving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The raw beef larb is the highlight!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I think the chicken feet had scared non Asians haha. Though I thought they were deboned. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(130k with a big Beer Lao)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coffee is always needed after a big meal! The cold brew was quite excellent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For dinner, I ordered some food panda for the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We chatted with some Vietnamese who were staying in our hostel. I decided to order some food panda (25k). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had some local whiskey (80k) which made me awake all night. Quite medicinal for sure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mauritius girl managed to convince the hostel to fry some chips for her where she bought from a local night market.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sadly it’s time for me to leave Luang Prabang (well, I booked the train ticket in advance was to blame. Normally I’d travel slower.. With all the Chinese in town, booking advance was unfortunately required and made my trip not quite as slow as I wanted)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First thing was to check out a local library that’s next to my hostel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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hmm not sure what Lao kids are learning tbh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then I went to the UXO museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just want to say, war is crude and let’s not make our kids suffer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next I went to the Arts and Cultures museum (20k) before I had to stay goodbye to my all lovely people. Sometimes you have to go far to find lovely people and yet you can’t bring them closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On my way to the train station<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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35k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Had a bit fun getting the minivan. My hostel host for some reasons didn’t want to help. You have to call to let the minivan company know and pick you up. A random tour agency helped out. Thanks! Khop Chai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last time on the train!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In just short of an hour, I arrived in Vang Vieng!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only to find out my hotel reception was AFK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Managed to find a local shop owner to help out. Thanks again! I bought a water and beer from them as a thanks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walked around town to feel the city<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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only 3k each! it’s tough (beef) but yet tasty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The city<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sam’s restaurant, but most Korean? maybe having a Korean name first?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Not starbucks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Did some investigation on pricing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hmm.. taste of North Korea?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally sat down for some local food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Didn’t quite finish the food. Two dishes plus a fresh mango smoothie for only 70k! what a treat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 4<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Motorbike day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pretty solid complimentary breakfast. The Vietnamese really knows how to make good breakfast even for a budget hotel!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My cute little motorbike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Passing by a bamboo bridge across the Mekong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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First stop was the Lagoon 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cave that’s with the Lagoon 1 (entrance fee 10k)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I didn’t end up swimming there. I went straight to a hike nearby<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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entrance fee is 10k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rough trail up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In around 45min cardio, I arrived at the top<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Signature image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

me “riding” the bike <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The views are really astonishing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that I drove to the Lagoon 3 (10k kip)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mid day sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lagoon!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jump! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There! I hit the water<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A bit hot tea to warm up (the lagoon was under the shades at that time, quite chilling)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Driving back to town was quite dusty, and was getting quite dark as well<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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cows~<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Twin Ballon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Right a bit after sunset, I got close to town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quite alright at sunset time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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people enjoy water activities <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s night market time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I got some chicken wings and a beef skewer for 20k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Local coconut pancake for 5k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Met up with someone from my Luang Prabang hostel for some hot pot for 85k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 5<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chill day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Breakfast at my hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chatted with the British a bit (he has lived in southern part of the USA for a few years and thought that America was very racist) before went out for some coffee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cute coffee shop with a garden. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Coffee (25k) was alright, but the smoker in front of me was annoying that I had to move around. This is where I dislike Europeans where smoking is still a big part of the travelers culture despite lots of them attempting to be vegan or so<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rented a bicycle (30k) from a Korean travel agency for half a day and tried to find the famous tubing but only managed to find a local shop on the river which tubes only big enough for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The food is alright. 80k with a beer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We biked to the Silver cliff trail for sunset. It’s quite a moderate hike. Though it’s very well maintained since the trail is funded by the UN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View point 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sunset view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I think all trails have some forms of a vehicle on top<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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last one before heading back to town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The only IPA in town (13k) not sure why my photo was so shaky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Local noodle shop ford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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20k+3k for the water. Doesn’t look bad, but the soup is meh.. not sure what’s it’s made of<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 6<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Slow day; started off by chatting with the Vietnamese hotel owner a bit about countries in SEA. He’s definitely very well informed regarding what’s happening around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Passing by some local temple before heading to coffee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Coffee (30k) is okay, mostly just for the view. Though the coffee house does have a few bungalows which are really adorable to stay in <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Picture perfect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We had a little trouble with the caving tubing we wanted to do due to lack of participants, we then decided to do the river tubing instead. (60k + 15k for the water proof bag rental – I ended up getting everything wet anyways)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stopped by 2 bars, the very last leg was 2 hours in the dark and cold. It turned to be a team building exercise plus torturing at the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quickly went up to my hotel to shower and change and went out for dinner later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Random balloons in the sky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tried to find a hot pot or a Korean BBQ place to eat, all failed miserably by following inaccurate Google reviews. (it might still be great for other guests, I just didn’t feel like eating at a place where no one else was there)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The last meal in town was solid! The red curry beef was very full of flavors! the stew was good too. We devoured everything! (90k each)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Walked around the night market a bit to get one more passion fruit smoothie (10k! what a steal) for the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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10k<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Day 7<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Travel day! Lazy morning start to get to my noon bus (140k)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First time riding an actual big bus this trip!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though the bus didn’t leave until 40min after boarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The China Lao Expressway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In just short of an hour, we arrived to Vientiane. Though, it took another 20min or so to get to the city center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wide one way street without busy traffic. Probably the least populated capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hmm, is this from the “Secret War”?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Quickly checked into my hostel and got a small BeerLao to relax (20k, steep for sure) before heading out to check out the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prebooked my ride to the Airport using a local app<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The French gate?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Checked out a few not so exciting things in the city, I avoided all paid spots since none of them seemed interesting at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perhaps the highlight is the Belgium bar. First draft beer in like a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The taps are mostly from Belgium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though this was Western price, exactly what I needed though. ($13.16 for 2 draught!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Walked a bit more around town<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dinner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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80k, good deal but favors are not more favorite. The chicken is local, probably free range, but unfortunately it has no flavors at all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Something random to close out the evening<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Expenses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Week 10<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Day<\/td>Food&Drink<\/td>Lodging<\/td>Transportation<\/td>Other (tickets\/tours etc)<\/td><\/tr>
1<\/td>$17.69<\/td>$6.56<\/td>$0.63<\/td>$0.63<\/td><\/tr>
2<\/td>$13.79<\/td>$6.56<\/td>$5.00<\/td>$1.25<\/td><\/tr>
3<\/td>$5.69<\/td>$17.19<\/td>$12.19<\/td>$1.25<\/td><\/tr>
4<\/td>$7.94<\/td>$17.19<\/td>$10.00<\/td>$6.25<\/td><\/tr>
5<\/td>$9.13<\/td>$15.63<\/td>$1.88<\/td>$0.00<\/td><\/tr>
6<\/td>$11.25<\/td>$15.63<\/td>$1.25<\/td>$5.00<\/td><\/tr>
7<\/td>$19.91<\/td>$7.65<\/td>$8.75<\/td>$0.00<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td>$85.39<\/td>$86.40<\/td>$39.69<\/td>$14.38<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td>Total<\/td><\/td>Grand Total:<\/td>$225.85<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Didn’t spend nearly as much money as I thought I would.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opening This week coincided with the Chinese New Year tourists and also being in popular destinations. It’s definitely more effort needed to figure out how long to stay and where to book. It’s also interesting to see how many Chinese campers were in Laos. Loads of Chinese plated cars were from far away to the… Continue reading Sabbatical Week 10<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1705,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions\/1705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.buyuchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}