it seems like forever ago since we went to luang prabang even though we've been back in chiang mai for less than a week. i am motivating myself into finishing a luang prabang entry now by eating some really yummy cantaloupe, which is now in season.the last two days in luang prabang focused on day trips around the city. on monday (3/25), we slept in, moved from the villa santi to the apsara boutique hotel (also a converted french villa), and then hung out in town at
l'etranger bookstore for a bit before going down to the mekong river and hiring a boat to Tum Ting Caves, two caves carved into limestone cliffs that house 4500+ Buddha images (some of them are carved into the cave themselves). People visit the holy site every year in April around Thai/Lao New Year and bring Buddha images to leave in the caves or wash in holy water (there used to be a spring in one of the caves and a trough is carved into the wall for washing Buddhas). The tradition continues even though (i think) the water has dried up and i'm not sure if people can still leave Buddhas in the actual caves themselves. it was a really beautiful, relaxing ride down and we saw many aspects of river life -water buffalo bathing themselves in the water, men fishing and boating, women doing laundry, women and girls collecting rive
r vines (similar to seaweed, which is then dried with sesame and tomatoes for a really yummy snack - see pic of chris with this snack drying in the sun), kids swimming, etc. we also stopped at two villages (one of them pretty touristy) and saw families making local rice wine, women weaving cloth, and people chilling at the temples. for those who have been to asia before (or certain chinese restaurants), you most likely have seen wine with crazy animals bottled inside, many of which are said to have medicinal properties. in this pic, i am holding a small vial of rice wine with a cobra inside.
after enjoying sunset on the boat, we walked to l'elephant, the most famous french restaurant in town, for dinner. chris had buffalo steak (which he said was ok) and i had this amazing pork dish with basil mashed potatoes and super yummy blue cheese & walnut salad. for dessert, we had a fruit tart with french pastry & chocolate mousse. perfect way to end a long day :)
on our last full day in laos (monday, 3/26), we woke up early (around 6 am) to participate in giving alms to the monks and novices who make their morning alms rounds in the city. this is a Buddhist tradition where monks and novices take their alms bowls and walk barefoot in neighborhoods in order to give lay people a chance to offer food and drink for the day. monks generally eat only once or twice a day and are not allowed to eat anything after noon (or midday). luang prabang is one of the few cities where this ritual is still a part of daily life and thousands of monks and novices (and many lay people) taking part in it. chris and i went out at 630 and were a little late already, but we were able to buy two baskets of sticky rice and had some fruit from the hotel that we gave to the monks. after alms was over, chris and i enjoyed breakfast ourselves and then took a hired car to Kuang Si Waterfall, a national park and animal reserve. we had heard before that there were bears and a tiger at the waterfall and were kinda dreading seeing animals kept in crappy conditions, but were pleasantly surprised when we found a large enclosure with many Asian black bears playing and sunning themselves. 
there were also kickass signs in english about the bears and tiger (housed separately), the situation re: hunters/poachers (most animals were saved and repatriated by the lao gov't who caught them after they had killed their parents), and what we could do to help. on our way back from the waterfall, chris and i ran into one of the australian volunteers who was working with the bears. he gave us a lot more info about the bears, the rescue mission, and advice on what size shirts to buy. one cool fact about the asian black bears is that they have this v-shaped stripe on their necks that's like their own fingerprint (every one is different). also, because it's kinda in a crescent shape, lao people decided to call them 'moon bears'. :) the shirts we have find out more about asian bears here!
back to the waterfall. unfortunately, chris and i dont have so many pics of the waterfall because chris (and the bag he was carrying with all our stuff) fell in backwards into a pool (the first level of the waterfall) while he was attempting to take a picture. our camera died in this accident, but everything else (including chris) was soaked, but fine. chris was grumpy after he fell in and didn't want to go swimming anymore, so we ended up just hiking up and exploring a bit before heading back. we did make our way up to the top of the large falls though on a somewhat obscured path and were able to look down on the park and the falls - next time we go back we're definitely swimming there!
after returning from the waterfall, we were hot and unhappy, but ate a great lunch at dao fa cafe (i had cobb salad and chris had a chicken curry sandwich). the power was out in luang prabang all day and i suffered through a relaxing (but really hot and sticky)massage at khmu (an ethnic minority in laos) 'spa'. when my massage was over, we still had some time before dinner so strolled around, stopped in at joma cafe for a drink and pastries, and spent an hour or so doing crazy shopping for souvenirs at the night bazaar. exhausted, we enjoyed a fab dinner at the apsara restaurant (attached to our hotel). i had a refreshing salad, fish cakes with tomato basil sauce, and chris & i shared mango and sagu (like tapioca) in coconut sauce. i also enjoyed a beer lao before turning in for the night.
last (half) day in laos. before boarding the flight back home to chiang mai (which was much more turbulent and made me doubt whether i wanted to travel in prop planes again), we walked the city and made a trek out to the local Phou Si market (about 4 km away) in the heat. we were super disappointed in the market (i had heard there were really awesome textiles there, but it was mostly vegetables and a few textile stalls and then some other stuff) and i had gippy tummy, so we took a tuk-tuk back into the city. there, we bought a beautiful hmong batik hanging from mulberries, a local NGO supporting village crafts, sericulture, and art. we also found an awesome picture album at yen sabai, started by a 25 year old laotian in a small house, and ate a traditional lao lunch at tamarind cafe, a restaurant started by a young couple (the man is lao and his wife is australian and writes about lao food and history). it was really awesome to have a lao meal since many of the cafes and restaurants in luang prabang focus on foreigner food and not many places serve local fare. there is also not as strong of a street food culture (noted by caroline, the co-owner of tamarind, as well). chris and i got plates to share and loved the different dips (esp. this tomato based one), enjoyed with the dried river vine/seaweed and sticky rice, ate buffalo sausage (YUMMY, but im obsessed with sausage up here), pickled bamboo and ginger, and 'heavenly' buffalo jerky (like moo pan). i also really appreciated the iced cinnamon bael tea and enjoyed reading about the history of lao food in the menu and hearing about it from caroline. i DEFINITELY recommend this place if you're headed up to luang prabang.
and that's it! we've been back in chiang mai for a few days and a lot of stuff has happened, but that will have to wait for another blog entry. work is going well though, and i'll update soon. :)
back to the waterfall. unfortunately, chris and i dont have so many pics of the waterfall because chris (and the bag he was carrying with all our stuff) fell in backwards into a pool (the first level of the waterfall) while he was attempting to take a picture. our camera died in this accident, but everything else (including chris) was soaked, but fine. chris was grumpy after he fell in and didn't want to go swimming anymore, so we ended up just hiking up and exploring a bit before heading back. we did make our way up to the top of the large falls though on a somewhat obscured path and were able to look down on the park and the falls - next time we go back we're definitely swimming there!
after returning from the waterfall, we were hot and unhappy, but ate a great lunch at dao fa cafe (i had cobb salad and chris had a chicken curry sandwich). the power was out in luang prabang all day and i suffered through a relaxing (but really hot and sticky)massage at khmu (an ethnic minority in laos) 'spa'. when my massage was over, we still had some time before dinner so strolled around, stopped in at joma cafe for a drink and pastries, and spent an hour or so doing crazy shopping for souvenirs at the night bazaar. exhausted, we enjoyed a fab dinner at the apsara restaurant (attached to our hotel). i had a refreshing salad, fish cakes with tomato basil sauce, and chris & i shared mango and sagu (like tapioca) in coconut sauce. i also enjoyed a beer lao before turning in for the night.
last (half) day in laos. before boarding the flight back home to chiang mai (which was much more turbulent and made me doubt whether i wanted to travel in prop planes again), we walked the city and made a trek out to the local Phou Si market (about 4 km away) in the heat. we were super disappointed in the market (i had heard there were really awesome textiles there, but it was mostly vegetables and a few textile stalls and then some other stuff) and i had gippy tummy, so we took a tuk-tuk back into the city. there, we bought a beautiful hmong batik hanging from mulberries, a local NGO supporting village crafts, sericulture, and art. we also found an awesome picture album at yen sabai, started by a 25 year old laotian in a small house, and ate a traditional lao lunch at tamarind cafe, a restaurant started by a young couple (the man is lao and his wife is australian and writes about lao food and history). it was really awesome to have a lao meal since many of the cafes and restaurants in luang prabang focus on foreigner food and not many places serve local fare. there is also not as strong of a street food culture (noted by caroline, the co-owner of tamarind, as well). chris and i got plates to share and loved the different dips (esp. this tomato based one), enjoyed with the dried river vine/seaweed and sticky rice, ate buffalo sausage (YUMMY, but im obsessed with sausage up here), pickled bamboo and ginger, and 'heavenly' buffalo jerky (like moo pan). i also really appreciated the iced cinnamon bael tea and enjoyed reading about the history of lao food in the menu and hearing about it from caroline. i DEFINITELY recommend this place if you're headed up to luang prabang.
and that's it! we've been back in chiang mai for a few days and a lot of stuff has happened, but that will have to wait for another blog entry. work is going well though, and i'll update soon. :)
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