Luang Prabang
Laos was never part of our original itinerary; we planned to head straight to Vietnam and then Thailand. But, because Laos borders both these countries, and we were trying to save money (badly) by travelling overland, it seemed an obvious stop-off point. Plus, I have always wanted to visit after hearing such wonderful stories from fellow travellers.
A quick word on Laos history: Laos is the most heavily bombed country on the planet, to date. During the Vietnam war (a war that Laos was not combatant in) the U.S. army dropped over 200 million bombs on this small country, in a bid to close off the Ho Chi Minh route that was plying weapons across the border into Vietnam. That is more bombs than were dropped during the whole of World War II... On one small country. As a result, it is estimated that 80 million 'bombies', or cluster bombs, remain undetonated across the Laos countryside, rendering much of the land on which this poor nation relies, unusable. Even so, Laos people have to risk their lives every day in order to grow food and sustain a living, and over 100 people die each year by accidentally stepping on, ploughing over or inadvertently picking up a bomb. Children often collect cluster bombs and use them as toys, and more recently, a black market is growing for weapons memorabilia to be sold overseas at a high price; a price locals are increasingly willing to risk with their own lives in order to feed their families.
Until recently, the U.S. government refused to even acknowledge this atrocity, and from what research I have done, I can't find any evidence that it is taught in U.S. schools. At the moment, one of the only countries supplying aid in the form of bomb removal experts, prosthetics specialists and awareness is Australia. I do not often put forward articles, but I was so moved by what we saw and believe very strongly in the support that is being given, I've attached this article for you to peruse at will.
http://aid.dfat.gov.au/Publications/Pages/9237_184_8953_7961_6055.aspx
OK, history lesson over with; lets get on with the wonder of Laos: its people, its landscapes, its food, its beer and its towns, all come together to form what might be for me, the perfect SE Asian country. Laos is just gorgeous. From the minute we stepped off the bus to the moment our plane left Vientiane; we soaked up and absorbed Laos' utter beauty like two giant sponges.
As our tuk tuk drove us into Luang Prabang we were met by hundreds of candlelit lanterns floating into the sky. The city had celebrated its yearly Festival of Lights and we were fortunate enough to catch the last remaining flames before they disappeared into the ether forever. We quickly located some digs, chowed down on a Laos baguette and slept deeply after our immense bus journey.
The next day we explored the old town. Luang Prabang is an UNESCO World Heritage site (the whole town, not just a few buildings...), and its streets are lined with numerous temples, all intricately designed with painstaking care and skill, painted in hues of green, blue and red and lacquered in gold relief. It's like walking through a peaceful technicolour dream. Monks aged eight to 80 live in these auspicious structures and can often be seen walking through Luang Prabang's streets in their vivid orange robes, adding a sense of tranquility and ancient mysticism to the place. The monks still receive alms from the local population every day at 6 am. It is considered a precious and sacred ceremony but one we did not want to intrude upon.
Shoes off before entering the nice temple please...
The Buddhist tree of life
In between the ancient temples and Buddhist traditions colonial French architecture proudly looks on, giving the town a distinct European feel. Add to this the gushing of the mighty Mekong, on which this town stands and you have a truly unique place where you could spend many weeks soaking up the atmosphere, and just be.
As if this wasn't enough, Laos cuisine is some of the finest we've tasted - a melting pot that borrows from different cultures, yet is still distinctly Laotian. Croissants, French pastries and coffee are sold for breakfast; at lunch you might choose between a foot-long baguette, or a Thai-style pancake filled with cheese or chocolate; and at dinner you can sample anything from laap salad to Vietnamese-style noodle soups to the famous Laos curry, or eat the finest green papaya salad I have ever tasted, all made in front of you at the night market.
Yep, that's my papaya salad he's making. You even get to taste it before you buy!
To cap it all off, everything is ridiculously cheap. Dinner can be yours for as little as $1.20, a whole carp stuffed with lemongrass will set you back just under $4 and a 640 ml bottle of beer Laos costs a mere $1.10. AND there are more vegetarian options than you can shake a stick at. So lets just say we ate and drank very well...
In fact, we fell in love with the food so much that we signed up for a cooking course the following day. Starting early, we were treated to a cooking demonstration of nine dishes, including Laos' famous chilli paste. Of these dishes we got to cook five of our choice. Me, being the sole non-meat eater got a cooking station all to myself, which was probably for the best as I do have a tendency to act executive chef when I'm in the kitchen (although I'm sure none of you have ever witnessed this trait in me...!). Our day started at the local market where we were shown an array of weird and wonderful food for sale: from Burmese pythons to crabs in little wicker harnesses to a type of bark that is used to smoke food from the inside. Buffalo was sold in every permutation possible (tastes like beef, according to Ais): Huge blocks of congealed buffalo blood to flavour soups, buffalo burgers, buffalo steaks, buffalo sausages and not forgetting dried buffalo skin all ensure every part of the animal is used. After collecting our ingredients we headed back to the restaurant for our very own edition of Masterchef.
Python? Tastes like chicken.
We started off with a classic Luang Prabang salad - nothing fancy, consisting of watercress, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and egg, but taken to a whole new level with the addition of a special homemade mayonnaise - a recipe I just have to share with you for its deliciousness and simplicity. No blender required here!
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Use a mortar and pestle to pound the egg yolks into a fine paste. Add the remaining ingredients and adjust the seasoning to taste. Use as a salad dressing or as a dip for chips. Mind-blowingly simple and unbelievably tasty. This is definitely my new mayonnaise of choice; although you do end up wasting the egg whites, which is a pity.
We then made stir-fried noodles, Laos-style, which required us to make a fried noodle pancake in a wok before mixing through an egg and adding our vegetables of choice. Voila! And lunch was served.
Luang Prabang salad...
In the afternoon, I opted to make a laap salad with delicious banana flower as the star ingredient, and with enough punch to make it linger on your palate for the rest of the day. I then made a tofu and pea aubegine red curry served with sticky rice and a large helping of fish sauce. This was to be dinner, which we ate approximately three hours after lunch, and therefore sadly under appreciated because we were all still so full! Still, we came away with all the recipes and I'm sure we'll be having a Laos dinner party pretty soon after we get home. You guys bring the beer and we'll do the cooking!
'Did you mean to put that sauce in there?' Ais and Ian get to grips with Laos red curry.
The following day was a wash out (it literally didn't stop raining for 12 hours), so we whiled away the hours sipping coffee and eating pastries to our hearts' content. Sometimes, it's just bliss to do nothing. That night, we met up again with the lovely Ben and Alex and sauntered through the night market, where the tourist 'tat' is not only half decent, but also half the price (if that's possible) of Thailand and Vietnam. At the food market we scoffed our faces with fish and an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet, before finishing the evening at a bar overlooking one of the Mekong's estuaries. And, where I sadly had my favourite havianias stolen from an opportunistic tourist who obviously took a shine to them. That's the last time I leave my shoes at the door!
Friends reunited
On our last day we all took a tuk tuk out to the local 'cascadas', which came with a surprise bear sanctuary attached to it. Here, rescued sun bears from as far away as India come to live out their days in peaceful environs after a life often filled with cruelty and abuse. Apparently in Laos, there is still a demand for bear bile (yes, it is as gross as it sounds), as it is considered a delicacy. And although you don't have to kill a bear to extract said bile, the process is somewhat akin to the cruelty associated with foie gras and definitely doesn't have the bear's best interests at heart. So, when you visit Laos, go say hi to the bears, but don't eat the vile bile! Of course, The waterfalls were beautiful, as waterfalls are wont to be and many-a picture postcard picture was taken.
A bear in a hammock? There must be a pun in there somewhere. Send your answers to...
I told you they were pretty...
At night we took a small boat (and I mean small: less than a metre wide and close enough to the water to ensure one awkward step would put us all in the drink. I have no idea why no one wanted to have me in their boat!) to the other side of the river, where a small restaurant draped in fairy lights awaited us. We dined on the finest Laos food ($7 - expensive by Laos standards) and drank beer and wine under the starry sky. After successfully navigating the river back to the mainland we farewelled our friends for the third and final time, and made our bleary-eyed way home to bed, for the next day we were taking a minivan to Laos' party (by Laos standards anyway) and tubing capital: Vang Vieng.
Thank you Luang Prabang for being what you are. May you never change and may you reign long as a hidden gem in the middle of the South-East Asian jungle. Adios.
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