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Location:Luang Prabang, Laos
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Crashing a Wedding
On the ride back from Tin Keow Village, we were passing through a tiny village when our guide shouted "wedding", the driver screeched to a halt, and we jumped out and joined the party. A parade was in process, with drumming, singing, and clapping. People carried small white candles. Inside one house, the groom sat with his family, around what appeared to be a flower tower or wedding cake shaped centerpiece. Outside, in the back of a pickup truck, was a gilded, framed photo of the happy couple. The bride was nowhere in sight. We milled around with the crowd and watched. In the back yard, people were cooking food for a crowd, while men drank beer at picnic tables. Suddenly the mood shifted. "She's coming, she's coming!" And there she was, the elegant bride. She came into the room, took her place at her husband's side, and the ceremony began. At that point we quietly withdrew! Photos courtesy of Lada, our guide.
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Monday, January 13, 2014
The Real Deal
The photos in this post were all taken by Lada, our superb guide! For the last couple of days our guide, Lada, has said, with a twinkle in her eyes, soon I'm going to show you The Real Deal. We came to understand that this was related to food. She said "I challenge you to try it!" Of course I imagined that it would be something totally gross, like insects, dog meat, or snake. But I said to myself that I am here to experience a new world, and I would try one bite of almost anything. So after our riverboat trip we set out in the tuk tuks to a local roadside eatery, crowded with people eating barbecued duck and drinking beer.
First Lada pulled outcome bottles from her shopping bag: milk, Red Bull, and a bottle of rice whiskey from the distiller we visited earlier in the day. She mixed them up together into a "crazy cocktail" she said she learned from a "lady boy" which is what gay men are apparently called here. It was surprisingly yummy and while we sipped that we waited for the main surprise.
A waiter arrived carrying a bowl of deep red liquid, and several smaller bowls as well. Here it was,the Real Deal. As it turned out, the red liquid was duck blood, a locally relished delicacy. To prepare it, they first put a later of cooked chopped duck liver in the bottom of a soup bowl, then cover it in duck blood. Next they add mint, lime juice, crispy fried onions, green onions and peanuts. This is called Lerd Ped, it needs to sit for about 10 minutes to congeal, and they we eat and savor. Only a few of us got the courage to try it. Many were totally turned off at the idea. But it was surprisingly good tasting, and although I wasn't tempted to have a second bite, I'm glad I had that first one. Of course we all laughed for hours about that evenings festivities. We ended up at a restaurant in town where we had a great meal, more foods than you can imagine. I've Beene ting vegetarian this whole trip (except for the duck blood!) and each meal is completely satisfying and delicious.
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First Lada pulled outcome bottles from her shopping bag: milk, Red Bull, and a bottle of rice whiskey from the distiller we visited earlier in the day. She mixed them up together into a "crazy cocktail" she said she learned from a "lady boy" which is what gay men are apparently called here. It was surprisingly yummy and while we sipped that we waited for the main surprise.
A waiter arrived carrying a bowl of deep red liquid, and several smaller bowls as well. Here it was,the Real Deal. As it turned out, the red liquid was duck blood, a locally relished delicacy. To prepare it, they first put a later of cooked chopped duck liver in the bottom of a soup bowl, then cover it in duck blood. Next they add mint, lime juice, crispy fried onions, green onions and peanuts. This is called Lerd Ped, it needs to sit for about 10 minutes to congeal, and they we eat and savor. Only a few of us got the courage to try it. Many were totally turned off at the idea. But it was surprisingly good tasting, and although I wasn't tempted to have a second bite, I'm glad I had that first one. Of course we all laughed for hours about that evenings festivities. We ended up at a restaurant in town where we had a great meal, more foods than you can imagine. I've Beene ting vegetarian this whole trip (except for the duck blood!) and each meal is completely satisfying and delicious.
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Location:2501,Luang Prabang,Laos
Up the Mekong, Part 2
The crew of the river boat prepared a delicious lunch for us. Our local guide, La, gave us lots of history about the area. He is an endearing young man who sings John Denver's Country Roads several times a day ( he has a beautiful voice). Our group is so compatible and playful that we all feel as if we have fallen under a magic spell. We laugh together so many times a day, truly until tears are running down our faces. La joins the mirth wholeheartedly. Our hotel is near the Puh Si market, and so the big joke is that La herds us up saying "time to go back to Pussy Mountain" and then he and we double over!
Next stop of the boat trip was at an Elephant Camp, something not on our agenda but deeply desired by some group members. Here five people got to ride elephants out into the teak forests, while the rest of us stayed behind and played with the elephants. Those of us staying for the post-trip will have more chances to ride elephants.
Finally we made one last stop at a little riverside village where they make rice whiskey in a still. We all had a taste - delicious.
I'd need a month to begin to describe the picturesque villages we have visited , the babies, puppies, roosters, handicrafts on display, amazing homes and tools, all of life displayed for our amazement. People are friendly, open and welcoming. Loving every minute!
Stay tuned for The Real Deal.
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Next stop of the boat trip was at an Elephant Camp, something not on our agenda but deeply desired by some group members. Here five people got to ride elephants out into the teak forests, while the rest of us stayed behind and played with the elephants. Those of us staying for the post-trip will have more chances to ride elephants.
Finally we made one last stop at a little riverside village where they make rice whiskey in a still. We all had a taste - delicious.
I'd need a month to begin to describe the picturesque villages we have visited , the babies, puppies, roosters, handicrafts on display, amazing homes and tools, all of life displayed for our amazement. People are friendly, open and welcoming. Loving every minute!
Stay tuned for The Real Deal.
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A Day on the Mekong
Today we took a long day trip on a boat up the Mekong River. The landscape was stunning, and we made several stops along the way. First up was a paper making village where a cottage industry thrives making paper and paper products. Several of our group got to participate.
Next we stopped at a cave along the river bank that is a local shrine.
In the hope of speeding the I upload of photos I'll continue this post in a second offering. But what a beautiful and relaxing day!
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Next we stopped at a cave along the river bank that is a local shrine.
In the hope of speeding the I upload of photos I'll continue this post in a second offering. But what a beautiful and relaxing day!
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Sunday, January 12, 2014
Luang Prabang, Laos
We flew into Laos today in a nifty Laos Air plane, gasping with delight at what looked to be a little Shangri-La nestled between green, razor-sharp mountain peaks. Indeed this is a totally captivating small town. It's a trekking center on the Mekong River, and people come here for the relaxed lifestyle, the elephant camps, river rafting, climbing, and the famous Night Market which stretches through the entire town every night from sundown til about 10 pm. We checked into our rustic hotel and took a tuk tuk into town for lunch. We could not resist the street food despite warnings to be careful and we happily ate several lettuce wraps filled with some nutty, spicy veggie combination. Yum! We also had a kind of Pho noodle soup and a smoothie made of bananas, mango and ginger and -uh oh - ice and water friom a plastic bucket. Yikes. Anyway it was delicious and we got lucky. No Rama's Revenge for us!
In the afternoon we visited yet another amazing World Heritage site, a stunning temple complex with a completely different architectural flavor. It is an active monastery as well as a huge tourist site.
On the way in we were taken into a small home where people were making rice cakes, first steaming the rice in a basket over an open wood fire. They then make them into round cakes and drying them in the sun. Last of all they deep fry them (I know, right!!). Delicious!
Inside the temple complex we admired the beautiful mosaic walls, black and gold painted murals, and many-headed dragons.
Finally we got to do a little shopping. Daniella and I left the group for the evening to meet our French friends, Marilene and Nicola who are vacationing here. We walked the length if the Night Market and back again, then had a lovely dinner at the 3 Nagas restaurant.
One last adventure to top off the day. We hired a tuk tuk to get back to our hotel, which is a bit outside the city. He plunged off into the dark night and we soon realized that we were going the wrong way - in fact going way out into the countryside along the river. We got scared. Nobody knew where we were and we had only the name if our hotel. We protested, he turned around and took us to the wrong hotel with a similar name. We protested some more. He asked for directions (!) and at about 10 pm we got safely back to our room. Phew!
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In the afternoon we visited yet another amazing World Heritage site, a stunning temple complex with a completely different architectural flavor. It is an active monastery as well as a huge tourist site.
On the way in we were taken into a small home where people were making rice cakes, first steaming the rice in a basket over an open wood fire. They then make them into round cakes and drying them in the sun. Last of all they deep fry them (I know, right!!). Delicious!
Inside the temple complex we admired the beautiful mosaic walls, black and gold painted murals, and many-headed dragons.
Finally we got to do a little shopping. Daniella and I left the group for the evening to meet our French friends, Marilene and Nicola who are vacationing here. We walked the length if the Night Market and back again, then had a lovely dinner at the 3 Nagas restaurant.
One last adventure to top off the day. We hired a tuk tuk to get back to our hotel, which is a bit outside the city. He plunged off into the dark night and we soon realized that we were going the wrong way - in fact going way out into the countryside along the river. We got scared. Nobody knew where we were and we had only the name if our hotel. We protested, he turned around and took us to the wrong hotel with a similar name. We protested some more. He asked for directions (!) and at about 10 pm we got safely back to our room. Phew!
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Ayutthya Part 2
What a packed day it was! After lunch we took an hour long ride in a long boat, a motorized wooden speedboat, up a river to the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace. Built by a king who had visited Europe and wanted to emulate the architecture he saw there. The grounds are huge, manicured and landscaped with topiary, formal gardens, and winding canals. The buildings are eclectic with classical European styles tinged with an Asian flavor.
The most surprising moment for me was noticing what looked like a 12 foot long alligator walking down a canal bank and sliding into the water. I immediately thought of the hundreds of Thai schoolchildren swarming all over this place, and was gripped by fear. I raced up to a bridge and caught a photo of it. Turns out it was a Monitor lizard, a local giant from this area. How gorgeous is this skin pattern !
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The most surprising moment for me was noticing what looked like a 12 foot long alligator walking down a canal bank and sliding into the water. I immediately thought of the hundreds of Thai schoolchildren swarming all over this place, and was gripped by fear. I raced up to a bridge and caught a photo of it. Turns out it was a Monitor lizard, a local giant from this area. How gorgeous is this skin pattern !
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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