Pinoy Roadtrip

LUANG PRABANG, LAOS: VILLA DEUX RIVIERES HOTEL: Highly Recommended Budget Hotel in Luang Prabang Old Quarter

February 21, 2020

LUANG PRABANG,LAOS:

VILLA DEUX RIVIERES HOTEL:

Highly Recommended Budget Hotel in Luang Prabang Old Quarter

The best place to stay in Luang Prabang is at the Old Quarter. Villa Deux Rivieres Hotel is located in the Old Quarter. Although it does not sit right across the Mekong River, it has the view of the Nam Khan river so the rates are so much lower than hotels located along the Mekong River. As you can see below, it's very near the Mekong River hotels but without the premium rates of Mekong River hotels.

WHY I LOVE THIS HOTEL

LOCATION

1. It's very near all the places you want to visit.

Must see places and must do activities that are just 3 min. walk from the hotel are Wat Xieng Thong, Xieng Thong Noodle House, Sakkaline Road where the alms giving is centered upon and Silver Naga Spa, where they give a fantastic Lao massage. Everything else is at most a kilometer walking distance, like Mount Phousi entrance, the Night Market, the Royal Palace, the Sasa Sunset Cruise along the Mekong River and Xieng Thong Phonsavanh restaurant, where you can taste authentic and inexpensive Lao cuisine.

CHECK OUT MY POST:

10 Must Try Luang Prabang Food near 3 Must See Places: Location, Menu and Prices
Xieng Thong Phonsavanh Restaurant: Home of Authentic Lao Cuisine (with Prices)
XIENG THONG NOODLE SOUP: The Restaurant near Wat Xieng Thong serving the Traditional Lao Noodle Soup

2. It's very quiet compared to hotels situated along the Mekong River.

The hotel is located across the Nam Kahn river The area along the Mekong River is the center of tourist activity so you can expect the noise lever to be higher in that area.

ROOMS AND AMENITIES

1. Rooms and bathrooms are very spacious as you can see in the photos below.

The have rooms that will accommodate 2 persons, 3 persons and 4 persons in one room. So if you visit as a group and wish to stay in the same room, Villa Deux Rivieres Hotel has rooms with a maximum capacity of 4 persons.

2. Water pressure is very strong.

3. Air conditioning is very strong.

4. Toilet and bathroom is very spacious, with tub, walk-in shower, bidet and plenty of towels.

View of the Nam Khan river from the balcony of our room

The facade of the hotel in the evening
Our room is on the 2nd floor

FREE BREAKFAST

Coffee with a view

Muesli with milk
French baguette with butter

Tomato and onion omelette
With ham

Khao Piak Khao (Lao Rice Soup)

I BOOKED VILLA DEUX RIVIERES HOTEL HERE FOR BEST RATES

Disclosure: I paid for my accommodations and wrote this article with my own biases, opinions and insights.

CEBU PACIFIC AIRLINES: Step-By-Step guide on How to Get a Full Refund Online for Change of Flight Schedule

February 20, 2020

CEBU PACIFIC AIRLINES:

Step-By-Step guide on How to Get a Full Refund Online

for Change of Flight Schedule

This article is about an airline-initiated change in flight schedule.You receive an email or text that your flight booking had a change of schedule. If the change in schedule is more than an hour from the original schedule, passengers are given 3 options in case the new flight schedule is not acceptable:

1. Rebook or reroute to an alternate airport up to 30 days from original flight schedule
without charges.

2. Get a full travel fund which can be used up to 90 days from the date of creation.

3. Get a full refund.

What I'm going to show is how to get a full refund online, which is the third option.

STEP ONE. GO TO THE CEBU PACIFIC WEBSITE AND LOG IN TO YOUR CEBU PACIFIC ACCOUNT

After logging in, you can view all your bookings.

2. CLICK THE BOOKING YOU WISH TO REQUEST FOR REFUND. THEN CLICK "MANAGE".

3. CLICK "REFUND TICKET".

After clicking "Refund Ticket" , note that the refund will be made in the same form of payment you originally made. If you paid via credit card, it will be refunded to the credit card you used to book this ticket. If you paid using paypal, it will be refunded to the credit card registered with paypal that you used at the time of booking

WARNING!!! CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DON'T ATTEMPT TO GET A REFUND ONLINE IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO YOU:

1. If the credit card you used to book this flight is no longer existing, expired or inactive.

It will create a bigger problem and can cause delay if you choose to refund the ticket online and they attempt to credit the refund to an expired or inactive credit card.

2. If multiple guests are booked in one booking reference number and not all of the guests wish to cancel and get a refund.

If one of the guests booked in the same booking does not agree to the chosen option, you should call customer service so they can address each guest separately. Executing this option online requires that all guests agree on one option.

AS YOU CAN SEE BELOW

YOU GET A FULL REFUND FOR THE FARE AND ALL TAXES

FOR AIRLINE INITIATED CHANGE OF SCHEDULE

OR FLIGHT CANCELLATION.

LAOS: Luang Prabang Airport Guide: Everything you need to know upon arrival that is hard to find elsewhere

February 14, 2020

LAOS: Luang Prabang Airport Guide:

Everything you need to know upon arrival that is hard to find elsewhere

UPON ARRIVAL

These are usually the things you'll need upon arrival:

1. Mobile data

I purchased a sim card which I picked up at Bangkok airport. Bangkok is one of the places where you can take flights going to Luang Prabang. So from the Philippines, we took a flight to Bangkok, stayed a few days then took a flight to Luang Prabang. We had the option to pick up the sim card at Bangkok airport or at Siam Center. We picked up the sim card at Siam Center since our flight arrives in Bangkok when the sim stall is closed.

My review of the Laos sim card: Data speed is fast and never lost signal all over Luang Prabang, even on top of Mount Phousi. The sim allows tethering of data to my other companions, so my phone was effectively turned into a hotspot. The signal and speed did not slow down. Data is unlimited and good for at least 10 days. Price is 485 php or 9.60 usd.

I GOT MY LAOS SIM CARD HERE

You can book other Laos wifi/sim card options HERE

I saw a counter selling sim cards and renting pocket wifi in the baggage claim area. But I opted to buy in advance and prior to arriving in Luang Prabang so I won't have a problem finding currency to pay for it.

2. Currency exchange

After exiting the baggage claim area, we immediately saw the currency exchange counter, right beside the airport taxi. Luang Prabang airport is a small airport. Immigration, baggage claim, currency exchange counters and the airport taxi is all on the same level. You just follow the direction of the people who are all walking in the same direction towards the exit.

Below is where we changed currency.

MY TIP: I changed only 100 usd and it was sufficient for 4 days and 3 nights in Luang Prabang to cover food, the sunset cruise, massage and some souvenirs. Our accommodations was paid prior to our arrival. This is just to give you an idea how much you need to change upon arrival. The Lao kip cannot be changed or is not accepted elsewhere in the world so you need to spend in Laos all the currency you converted to kip. So it's best to change the right amount.

This is the location of both the K money exchange and the taxi service as you exit baggage claim. You won't miss it.
This photo was taken from https://trevallog.com/luang-prabang-airport-guide/
Thank you trevallog.

They buy the ff currency:
USD, EUR, THB, GBP, CNY, AUD, JPY, CHF,
VND, CAD, SGD, KRW, MYR, NZD, HKD,
IDR
They sell the ff currency:
USD, EUR, THB, GBP, GBP, CNY, AUD, JPY, VND, CAD
Rate is as posted. There is no commission.
The smallest bank note of Laos is 500 kip.

Rate of exchange

OTHER MONEY CHANGERS AT THE LEFT SIDE OF K MONEY CHANGER:

3. Airport taxi

Initially we booked the hotel shuttle until I discovered that the airport taxi is much cheaper. The rate of the taxi is fixed at 50,000 kip. Going downtown, where our hotel, Villa Deux Rivières Hotel , is located, the one-way airport taxi rate is 50,000 kip per group of 3 persons, approximately 5 usd. The hotel charges 10 usd one-way for a van for 4 people. We instead booked the hotel shuttle for the trip back to the airport.

I BOOKED VILLA DEUX RIVIERES HOTEL HERE

This is the location of both the K money exchange and the airport taxi as you exit baggage claim.
You won't miss it.
This photo was taken from https://trevallog.com/luang-prabang-airport-guide/
Thank you trevallog.

Taxi service rates.
To downtown, it's 50,000 kip per group of 3 persons per car
To suburban, it's 80,000 kip per group of 3 persons per car

Although it seems to give the impression that you're getting a private car for a group of 3 persons,
the ride is actually shared ride.
What they actually mean is that the rate of 50,000 is good for up to 3 persons.

AT DEPARTURE

FIRST LEVEL

Public area