Stop #12 Luang Prabang, Laos

All 54 of our Luang Prabang pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/200904LuangPrabangLaos?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3J88-ZuIvMLA&feat=directlink


Our first stop in Laos was the lovely town of Luang Prabang... a UNESCO World Heritage site. We were enamoured by the 2-story french colonial style architecture, the quiet streets, the pleasant river, the nice people and the delicious food.



The main street is lined with cafes/restaurants, internet cafes, small shops selling silks, massage places and travel agencies. This town definitely relies on tourism, which appears to be its most critical economic activity.





We walked down to the river just after sunset.

Okay--we had some delicious food, but we also had some non-palatable food. This green chilli dip was so hot that I could barely handle it. It's my own fault for ordering it (!) so I ate it until I could handle no more. It was served with fresh veggies, which didn't help take away the heat!

We tried the Lao Lao Whisky! With a little water, we thought it was quite good. That huge glass was about $0.90 US (and I opted for the more expensive one).

Trying some more food -- this was at Tamarind restaurant (quite nice!) . We had delicious strange drinks... Billy had a bael fruit drink w/ cinnamon and I had some type of dried plum fruit w/ coconut milk. Lao people eat sticky rice and then dip it into smaller, communal dishes. So you grab some sticy rice and kind of squeeze it together, and then grab some other food (in this case, sausage, dried buffalo, noodles wrapped in lettuce, pickled bamboo, and some green veggies.) We also had some barbecued pork -- the skewers were bamboo and quite ornamental. Anyway, I'm a big fan of sticky rice! It was fun to eat and I just wanted more. I imagine children love it.

This is when we tried the dried river weed with chillies, garlic and sesame seeds dried in it. Then they fry it for a few seconds to make it crispy. They serve it with chilli paste and PURPLE sticky rice (seasonal only, my friends). This was DELICIOUS. I wanted to cart back barrels of the river weed, but I quickly realised it would break into one million pieces. So sad. I did get a small package that will probably endure the trip, but it won't last me 10 seconds. I loved that stuff.

And you know the red tea that Thai's drink? It's called 'Thai Ice Milk Tea' at some western restaurants? Well they serve it in Laos too - with lime or milk, but it's so hard to find. No one seems to know where it can be purchased either.

Some pictures to show the architecture and sites!

This was the royal residence, built in the 30s but abandoned in 1975 when the family went into exile (and were never heard from again). But we had bad luck and it was closed for the day.

I'm modelling my new thai pants... they are very interesting and have to be fully removed if I want to go to the toilet. The first time I wore them was at the water festival in Chiang Mai. As I got drenched during the water fights, I looked down and saw black dye running down my legs and discoloring my toes. Nice! That's what you get for $5.

This French patisserie was gooood and Billy really liked the idea of eating at a desk.

Cruising the colourful markets... we picked up two small items for ourselves, but for some reason neither of us have felt a strong urge to shop. I want to help people by giving them money, but I don't want what they are selling! I already have too many things as it is. I'm usually most intrigued by the food stalls ;)

So yes, we mainly relaxed in Luang Prabang and ate food. That was pretty much it. Billy did hike up a 100m mountain while I checked email... Anyway, sometimes you just need to re-charge.