My last day in Vietnam started quite early. I got up at 05:30, had breakfast, packed the last things and said goodbye to my host family before my host dad drove me into the city centre, from where I took a bus to the airport. Taking a Grab would probably have been more comfortable. However, the bus was just the cheapest option. The bus journey took an hour and cost 0,90€. Due to the tropical storm Wipha, my flight was delayed and I landed in Luang Prabang at 16:20 instead of 13:15. I went through immigration, which was super quick. For Austrians, the Visa on Arrival is 35 US $. I did not have $ with me, which was not a problem since they seem to accept multiple currencies. I paid with €. I’d still recommend you to bring US $ for the Visa since they do not really care about the exchange rate and give you back whatever they have. I gave them 50 € and got back 15 US $, a girl from the Netherland gave them 50 € as well and got back a 10 € note and a 5 $ note. So actually the Visa cost me a little more.
When I left the plane, I was relieved to see that in Luang Prabang it was only rainy and not stormy. I walked out of the arrival gate, looked for an ATM, withdrew some money and thought about my options to go into the city centre.
How to get from Luang Prabang airport to the city centre
The airport is located only 4 kilometres from the city centre and how you get to the centre depends on your travel style and how much money and time you have. There are three forms of transportation to get into the city.
Taking a taxi is one of the options you have. When walking out of the airport, you will reach a car park where a wide range of taxi drivers are waiting for passengers. A taxi costs approximately 7€ and the car ride should only take about 10 minutes.
When in Asia, you have to take a Tuk-Tuk at least once. Tuk-Tuks are not allowed in the airport’s parking area and you have to go outside to take one. Maybe it is a little less convenient but also less expensive. By taking a Tuk-Tuk you can save 2 to 3 €.
The third option: your own two feet. The road to the centre is only 4 kilometres, it doesn’t even take an hour and for most of the way there is a footpath. Walking is not just the cheapest of those options, it also leaves numerous unique experiences in your memory. You can already see so much of the city before you even checked in into your hostel.
Before I reached the city centre I had to pass a little bridge which was quite scary. There were huge gaps between the wooden boards and it was pretty slippery. To be honest, I was just too scared (it was also really high, the water underneath me seemed to have an extremely strong current, the wood made noises that worried me and the bridge didn’t seem stable to me. So I turned around, walked back and walked on the road where only motorbikes were supposed to drive.
After I checked in, I visited Wat May Souvannaoumaram temple (where I saw monks praying) I walked through the night market. While strolling through the market, I got a little hungry and tried to keep my eyes open for some food. After passing only loads of meat, I already thought I will have to end up getting some fruit and maybe a piece of bread. However, I found a huge buffet with only vegetarian food (not a single piece of meat) -> just perfect: a bunch of veg, delicious and cheap.
