Laos - Luang Prabang

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  Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, October 28, 2007

The town that we are in now (Luang, Prabang in Laos) is really lovely - it kind of reminds me of Ubud in Bali - quite relaxing but a fair bit to do. On Monday we went on an adventure - first a bus up into the mountains - we were on asphalt but then the guide assured us that we would soon be on the "dancing roads". Compared to Guatemala though it was luxury!! We arrived at the "elephant farm" - not too many fat people there though! We got on our elephant (a 30 year old female) and went for a tour of the jungle. Slow but sure - took some video so you can see the angle and bump of the ride. The elephants took some time bathing in the river and depositing various fibrous logs and torrents (with us still on their backs) before we returned. We got to feed them bananas - I was going to peel them but was told that they like the skin on.
After that we had decided on the kayak rather than the boat that the other tourists had opted for and we paddled down river where we got out to see and swim in a pool with a waterfall

Craig cools off in the waterfalls

. It was nice and refreshing - the waterfall is called Talat Sao and is only accessible by boat. We thought that we had already experienced quite a nice kayak ride until we were herded back into the boat to continue our journey .... and continue .........and continue...two and a half hours and 12 km later we arrived at our destination. I thought my arms were going to drop off by then. We braved a few rapids and managed to keep the kayak upright all the way. It was at this stage that it dawned on us why we were the only ones who chose the kayak. Anyway we did it!! The scenery was great - rice fields, hops, fishing boats, family farms and huts, mountains etc. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos as it was a bit wet to risk the camera!
We came back to town for a well earned drink and some dinner. We have decided that the more upmarket and expensive, the restaurant the worse the food seems to be! We should have opted for the market where they had whole fish and chicken cooked on coals. There was also a vegetarian buffet with cold rolls and lots of dishes for 50 000 kip (which is equivalent to 50 cents) a plate.
On Tuesday, we decided that kayaking was enough exercise for two days so we didn't do much except explore the town on foot. It is really very relaxing and beautiful here - there are quite a few tourists but fortunately none like the old fat men we saw in Cambodia with their young Asian women on their arms

Feeding our elephant

. Most people here seem to be couples or families - from all over the place. We have met some from Germany, Poland, Holland, Australia and Britain.
I had a pedicure and foot massage ($10 for one and a half hours of relaxing bliss) whilst Craig recovered in the room.
Wednesday, we booked into the Three Elephants Cooking School, and cooked and ate our way through enough garlic to ward off even the most determined vampire! Along with three others we travelled by tuk-tuk to the market where Leng (the chef) explained the various ingredients to us and purchased fresh produce ready for our cooking extravaganza. The other cooks were Kevin and Karen, a couple from Glasgow who are travelling the world for 12 months. They are going to visit Adelaide in January so hopefully we can catch up with them again. The other traveller, Chris, was entertaining if nothing else. He literally put his blood (cut his finger whilst chopping vegetables), sweat (wiped if off his brow and then continued to cut tomatoes) and tears into his work! He was from England and entertained (?) us with his tales of bribing the Laotian police after he was caught with a prostitute in his hotel room. It cost him $900 to get his passport back! He was off on a 44 hour bus trip after the class and I can't help but wonder whether he is still on the bus alive!! I couldn't imagine being in a confined space with him for that long and maintaining calm

Laos BBQ

. Luckily he had picked up some over the counter Valium for his trip (not sure if it was for him or his fellow passengers).
We chopped, mashed and stir fried our way through a number of different dishes. We learnt how to make sticky rice and a delicious local chili paste which we will be making up in bulk when we return. I can see a trip to the Central Market happening along with a feast for friends and family.
Today is Thursday and we are just catching on on a few emails and uploading photos etc. This morning we hired some pushbikes for $2 a day and explored the town - including the Chinese Market and the other local markets. The Lao people eat everything and don't waste any form of protein. With crickets, worms, frogs, buffalo skin and plenty of offal it is pretty easy to imagine the vegetarian lifestyle! Luckily pork,chicken and fish are also freshly available. The town has quite a lot of French heritage and many places serve the most delicious warm and crusty baguettes along with the traditional fare.

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Laos boys pretending to be Dragon Boat racers	Luang Prabang - Buddhist Monk	Luang Prabang - Cool off at the waterfall	Luang Prabang - View over River Khan
Our cooking school dishes	Our kayak guide	Pig head skins at the Luang Prabang Market	View from our elephant's back

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