A last glimpse of Laos

We ended up returning to lovely Luang Prabang for one more night, and finally took some pictures of the market.  We wished we could just bring everything home, including our favorite sandwich lady.  Every gesture she made was somehow so sweet.  We finally left Laos, making another epic journey to arrive once again in Thailand....three tuk-tuks, two buses, one boat, and 25 hours later.  Needless to say it's taken a day or two to recover.  We are currently in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, laying low in a seedy hotel room.  Next blog entry....the dark side of Thailand and a Big Surprise (no, Mom, not that kind of surprise..).

Some beautiful textiles in the market in Lao. These are silk wall hangings.

This is where we ate dinner in Luang Pra Bang. After sunset, the narrow alleyways turn into gigantic smorgasborgs, you can fill your plate for just less than a dollar. Those things on sticks are legs of chicken or whole fish - they are an additional  dollar. There were tables piled high with whole chickens stuffed with herbs, chicken feet, bbq frogs, and things that looked like bbq intestines (could a person safely eat that?). We mostly stuck to the noodles and the salads and beer.

Pick and point smoothies.

These are handmade blankets done by women from the villages in the area.

Cats!

Luang Prabang Province by Boat

These pictures were taken as we travelled around the province of Luang Prabang. Most of our travel has been by boat and bus. The boat being a narow, rickety, wooden river boat that braved the small rapids of the Mekong River.

Poinsettias

Fish Laap  (Really good)

One fish fillet (skin on ok, but you will need to remove)

Lemongrass

Shallots

Lime

Dill

Mint  

Fish Sauce

Toasted rice powder

Whole fried chilies

Ate with sticky rice - A delicious meal

We took a beautiful bike ride with our new friend, Heather.  It was a fantastic way to explore remote villages and learn how to fashion brakes made of bamboo (discovered after the first steep hill).

Laos Time

We have now been in Lao for a while....time is kinda irrelevent here. Lao seemingly has no time schedules and is very relaxed. It has a dramatically different atmosphere than anywhere we've been so far. John and I have both been sick with a cold (probably a little parting gift from Vietnam that we picked up at that crazy border-crossing) and our plans are continuously being revised.  We wanted to do some bike riding around the country side, but now we are renting a scooter and seeing the same sights. If I were to do this trip again I would plan on seeing the whole of Lao either on motorcycle or by bike. The roads here are perfect for bike travel; every 10-20km is a village and the roads are in good shape.  The scenery is by far the most stunning we have seen so far.  It is all lush, sprawling jungle and steep mountians jutting skyward, with the gentle Mekong river meandering through.  There is a playfullness and gentle nature to the people here that is also unique.  When we ride our scooter into a village almost all the people yell "Sabiadee" a greeting in Lao and smile. It is pretty heartwarming. Traveling by motorcycle is also a great way to see how people live. Grass houses on stilts, kids playing volleyball, people working in the jungle cuttting bamboo and in the fields harvesting rice.

I think this village had a hairdresser who liked to bleach hair, all the kids had streaks.

A small house in a rice field

We climbed up and over this waterfall

This water was really cold, even for us.

We are planning on going to a village tomorrow with little electricity and no internet so we will not be able to keep in touch for a few days. Lag On! (Laos for Goodbye)

Halong Bay Pictures

Our Junk

Pictures just don't do this place justice

The cove just beneath Surprise Cave.  Foggy, crowded, cheesy, but still spectacular