When I visited the countries formerly known as French Indochina last year, I almost neglected their capitals. Even though I started my trip in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, I mostly used it as a departing point for a 2-day trip to Halong Bay and a day trip to Ninh Bình, rather than a destination in its own right. As such, even though I stayed in Hanoi for a total of 3 nights, I did not explore it as much as I would’ve liked. Similarly, when I visited Laos, I stayed in the country for a total of 6 nights. Of those, 3 were in Luang Prabang, 2 in Vang Vieng,…