11 – 16 July 2013 – Luang Prabang, Laos

The old quarter of Luang Prabang is located on a peninsula bounded by the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan River on the other.  The UNESCO listed peninsula is a patchwork of Buddhist temples, Indochinese mansions converted into guesthouses and hotels, and French colonial buildings.

One of the nicest things about Luang Prabang were the night markets in Sisasangvong Street.  Every night this street is closed off to traffic and rows of stalls are set up and strung with coloured lights.  On sale are a range of hand made handicrafts – silverware, textiles, lanterns, paper and art.

Tuesday, 15 July 2013 – Tamarind Cooking School, Luang Prabang, Laos

We booked ourselves into an evening cooking course at the Tamarind Cooking School which was held in a beautiful out of town location overlooking a lily-filled dam.

The cooking school was really well organised with all ingredients washed and prepped.

On arrival we were issued with an apron and handtowel and then we made our way to a fully equipped workstation. Over the next couple of hours, our teacher demonstrated each dish and then we pounded, chopped, grilled, peeled, wrapped and stuffed our way through each course.

We were first shown how to make sticky rice (white and purple) in Laos bamboo steamers.

Then we made a couple of dips (Suzie made a smoky eggplant dip, Keith made a Lao tomato salsa), fish steamed in banana leaves, chicken stuffed lemongrass and finally dessert - purple coconut sticky rice served with fresh local fruit.

Charcoal roasted ingredients for eggplant dip and tomato salsa

The finished product

Fish steamed in banana leaves

Chicken stuffed lemongrass

Purple sticky rice served with fresh local fruit

After cooking all the dishes, we all sat down together to eat. In addition to the dishes that we had made, on the table was bamboo soup, sour peanut dipping sauce (for the stuffed lemongrass), steamed pumpkin salad with sesame, and a minced buffalo and herb salad.

It was all totally delicious and even though we had been to a couple of really nice Laos restaurants in Luang Prabang, we felt that it was the nicest food that we had eaten in Laos. Just before we were transferred back to Luang Prabang we were each given a little cookbook containing recipes for everything we had eaten and more.  We were really pleased because all of these ingredients are readily available in Australia so we should be able to reproduce these dishes.

Saturday, 13 July 2013 – Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos

It was a really hot day so we decided to cool off with a swim in the Kuang Si Waterfalls, 30 kms outside Luang Prabang. 

The waterfalls were set in a lush green park. Near the entrance were a couple of enclosures housing Asiatic black bears that had been rescued from poachers.

We stayed to watch them being fed before heading to the falls for a swim. The waterfalls were really stunning – water cascaded from multiple levels and tumbled over limestone formations into menthol green pools.

We climbed up to the highest pool without a “No Swimming Area” sign and clambered in over the slimy mud and rocks for a swim. We got a shock because the water was icy cold and then we found ourselves being nibbled by hundreds of small fish – just like the Dr Fish Spas!!

We spent a pleasant couple of hours swimming, talking to other travellers and watching the young backpackers (braver than us) diving off the falls and playing on the rope swing.

Saturday, 13 July 2013 – Tak Bat Ceremony, Luang Prabang, Laos

This morning we got up early so that we could watch the ancient Buddhist ritual of Tak Bat – the morning alms giving ritual. At sunrise silent saffron robed monks (with the oldest in front) walk in single file along the main streets of Luang Prabang carrying large lidded urns attached to their shoulders by a strap. Lining the streets waiting for them are locals and tourists (men standing and women kneeling) with offerings of sticky rice, crackers and incense sticks. As each monk files past, he receives a handful of sticky rice which is dropped into his urn. There are around 80 temples in Luang Prabang and over 2,000 monks so we saw several “batches” of monks coming from all directions. However there were only a few devotees with offerings in the street outside our hotel, so the monks moved quite fast and the ceremony was over in around 15 minutes.

 

Tuesday, 9 July 2013 – Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos

Vang Vieng was once party central for backpackers in South East Asia.  It was famous for the ramshackle wooden bars lining the Namsong river, water slides, rope swings and zip lines. Fuelled by free shots of local whisky, potent cocktails and drugs, injuries and fatalities occurred with alarming regularity. In January 2013, the Laos government shut down all but 3 of the bars.  Before the government intervened, there were 40 bars and in excess of 400 people would tube down the river each day – this number had now dwindled to around 130 per day.  We took a ride down the river to find out what it was all about.

At noon we arrived at the tubing shed where we each handed over 55,000 Kip for tube hire and 60,000 deposit.  We signed a disclaimer and were warned that if we didn’t return our tubes by 6:00 pm we would be fined 20,000 kip.  We had to wait around until more people arrived to make up numbers.  We were then loaded into a tuk tuk with 6 other people plus tubes and driven 3 kilometres north of town.  There with money and cameras in dry pouches slung around our necks, we clambered into our tubes and headed downriver.

Riding the tube was much easier than we expected. However the water was shallower than we expected as well – sometimes scraping our bottoms on submerged rocks on the shallow river bed. We were carried along by the current and at each ramshackle wooden bar, waiting attendants threw out ropes weighted with plastic bottles of water to haul us in. We stopped at all three bars spending most of our time at the liveliest second bar where you could play petanque, basket ball and volley ball.

We left the third and last bar at a little before 5:00 pm so that we could be back in time to return our tubes without forfeiting our deposits. We thought we had plenty of time but it was quite a long way and we only arrived back in town just after 6:00 pm and just as it started raining.

The last leg of the journey was sublime – we drifted over gentle rapids surrounded by the forest-topped limestone karsts and watched the sun set.

5 – 7 July 2013 – Vientiane, Laos

We arrived in the nation’s capital after a rocky, bone rattling journey of 10½ hours in a sleeper bus from Pakse.  Our compartment wasn’t as small as we had feared – probably just a little wider than a single bed and only just long enough for both of us to lie fully stretched out. This is fine if you are travelling together as a couple – but if you are a solo traveller you don’t know who you might be sharing your compartment with. Some solo travellers actually purchase two bus tickets but perhaps it’s a good way to meet new friends!

Presidential Palace

The cloister at Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple in Vientiane

Locals playing boules on the street

Vientiane’s answer to the Arc de Triomphe – the Victory Gate (officially called Patuxai) built to commemorate Laos who had died in pre-revolutionary wars

How would you like your frog?  Rare, medium or well done?

The bizarre Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park) – a small area crammed with concrete Hindu and Buddhist statues

Baguette vendors in Talat Sao Bus Station

Tarte aux pommes at Vientiane’s best bakery – Le Banneton

1 & 2 July 2013 – Si Phan Don (4,000 Islands), Laos

Si Phan Don is a group of islands in the Mekong River in Southern Laos.  It took us almost a day and a half of travel by bus and ferry to reach there from Southern Thailand.  There are three main islands visited by travellers – Don (island) Khong, Don Det and Don Khon.  Don Khong is targeted towards the older, more sedate traveller whilst the other two islands Don Det and Don Khon are cheaper and targeted towards the younger party loving crowd.  Needless to say we stayed at Don Khong!

On our first full day we cycled across the island.  It was a long, hot and dusty 8 km ride to the other side of the island. We rode past lots of rice paddies, cows, buffalo, and little houses on stilts.

The next day we went on a longtail boat which took us past some of the some of the islands dropping us off at Don Khon where we walked to see the Somphamit waterfall.

Somphamit Waterfall

Old French Primary School on Don Khon

On the river we motored past friendly kids playing in the water along the riverbank, little islets, fish traps, fisherman and little settlements all along the banks of the river.