Luang Prabang, Decemeber 13-14

"Eggs and sausage and a side of toast, coffee and a roll,
hash browns over easy, chile in a bowl
with burgers and fries, what kind of pie?"

-Tom Waits


In a rare splurge on luxury, I flew into Luang Prabang rather than take a 2 day boat trip along the Mekong. The flight took 35 mins, though looking down at the river I wondered if the scenic trip might have been worth the (literal) pain in the ass. Never mind, time is now of the essence: I have only 2 weeks left and lots still to see.


The food in Laos deserves special mention. It is spectacular: fresh and flavourful. My first meal, at a funky restaurant-cooking school, I ordered the "lemongrass stuffed chicken", thinking that a translation error mean I would receive chicken stuffed with lemongrass. Not so. Here's a picture to prove it: the dipping sauce was divine. Last night, with the company of two Laos girls from my travel agency, I had chicken with basil, local sausages, and a river fish cooked with lemon grass, chilies and lemon. The fish was expertly cooked, just long enough to cook the flesh but still incredibly moist. The flavours induced a whimper of happiness from me. I tried not to think about Agent Orange or PCBs in Mekong fish. Mine, I'm sure, avoided such unpleasantness.



Drinking here is also noteworthy. First of, you can order any beer you like, as long as it's Beer Lao. It's thankfully a non-offensive lager that suits the climate. My guesthouse owner invited me to join her and two mates for beer, which is consumed as follows. First, from a large bottle, she pours herself one quarter of a small glass, says "now I drink" and downs it. Then she repeats and offers to the person on her left. As a result, beer is consumed rather slowly and at the discretion of the host! Ice may or may not be added. Don't laugh, it's refreshing!



Spent most of yesterday kayaking on the Ou river amidst karst land formations and beautiful, jagged mountains. Went to bed tired and slept 11 hours.






PS: delighted to hear about Ignatieff back home. He's got the guts (backed by actual thinking) to repair Harper's mess. All I want for Christmas is...