I woke up extremely tired for whatever reason even though I got close to my desired 9 hours in bed. I wasn't able to get any caffeine in my system until after the security checkpoint at Hanoi's international terminal.
The flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang was head-scratchingly expensive. This $200 flight could have bought me at least a week of accommodation over here. I guess there isn't much demand for this route. That or I booked too late. There was an empty seat between me and the guy from Taiwan though.
Approaching the landing, there was quite a bit of unnerving turbulence. The landing itself was sketchy as hell. It felt like we landed more on one side and then whipped back to the other side as the nose touched down.
Anyways, I gratefully made it inside Luang Prabang's airport to the Visa On Arrival station only to be greeted with the fact that I left Mr. Benjamin Franklin in my checked bag. Luckily, the staff let me walk through immigration and just outside the airport to withdraw 2,000,000 Laotian kips. That's roughly $96. I received the VOA and passed through immigration with no questions asked.
Instead of Grab, Laos has a service called LOCA. It's like a simple, more primitive version of Grab. Although the app could use some design improvements, it worked well enough for me to get a ride to my hotel. While waiting on the LOCA driver to arrive, I drank a Somersby Watermelon cider in the airport. It was surprisingly delicious.
After a brief nap, I had dinner at a nearby restaurant. I opted for the crispy pork on rice. It was a solid little dinner. I just wish it came with more meat. I had a Beerlao with the meal. Beerlao is a solid lager.
Following dinner, I just walked toward the downtown area and found the night market. At the night market, I had some chicken and pork skewers and a mango shake. Oh, how I've missed these mango shakes.
I retired to the hotel to veg out. The hotel is fine. However, these spring mattresses aren't my favorite. I miss the foam mattress from Hanoi.
Other notes:
I've seen a couple of BYD (Build Your Dreams) electric cars here in Luang Prabang. I guess China has a bit of an influence on Laos.