Luang Prabang

My boss's American cousins are in town still so this weekend I went with my new friend, her cousin, Addy, to Luang Prabang, a lovely city about an hour's flight north of Vientiane. Lao's former capital is now a UNESCO world heritage site and is filled with gleaming temples, markets, lush greenness and, of course, the Mekong River.

Warm coconut juice in a coconut by the Mekong. Lovely setting. Fun treat.
But turns out warm coconut juice on a sweltering day is not delicious.

Top of Mount Phousi

Night Market on the streets of Luang Prabang

Lao is known as the Land of A Million Elephants. Unfortunately, there are only about 1600 left in the country. From Luang Prabang we took a day trip out to an elephant village where they keep eight elephants that were saved from the logging industry. They live there with their mahouts (elephant trainers) and the proceeds from tourist visits pay for their upkeep and care.

Mae Kham is a 35 year old female elephant and we were told that she was one of the most gentle of the bunch. Elephants eat for about 20 hours a day and sleep for about 4. And, indeed, while we were there, they ate nearly the whole time!

Riding the elephant

We also got to feed them bananas!

Addy and Me

Not a bad view from lunch!

After riding the elephants, feeding them and bathing them in the river,
we took a boat to Tad Sae Waterfall.

Elephants playing in the waterfall

Addy and I had a long day playing with our new elephant friends, and then enjoyed some beerlao and mango sticky rice next to the river.

This morning, I got up at 5am to watch the people give alms to the monks. Every morning, the saffron frocked monks rise at 530am and receive alms or offerings of food, usually rice, bananas, and other treats, walking through the city streets around their temple with their begging bowls from worshippers. In recent years, this offering ceremony has become a bit of a show with tourists showing up in droves with flash photography, inappropriate dress and a bad attitude. I slipped down a side street after the first group of monks passed and found an area where the tourists weren't flashing cameras and where actual Lao worshippers were passing out their offerings of sticky rice. I tried to just observe from under the shade of my tree (it was rainy) but I did get a few (non-flash) photos.

Monks receiving offerings

the side street as the monks received their last few offerings and head back to their temple

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng, a tiny riverside town about 3 hours outside of Vientiane, is known as a backpacker's paradise for its tubing, kayaking, trekking, caving and nature sites and, unfortunately, the excess and sometimes tragedy that comes with putting alcohol in the mix.

If you can avoid (or ignore) the cutoff Beerlao tshirts and 20 somethings misbehaving, this city is really lovely and also a lot of fun! I spent the weekend there with my boss and her cousins and we had a lovely time eating, wandering around town and kayaking.

When in Lao!

Me, my boss and her cousins

Meandering through Vientiane

When I am not working, I spend most of my time wandering around Vientiane and watching the world go by.
Lightning storm over Thailand
Pha That Luang
Pha That Luang
Temple grounds
Temple grounds
Flowers
Temple grounds

Temple

Laap-ing it all up!

Fine, my titles are corny.

Vientiane is known for culinary variety available at a few affordable price. Even the nicest of meals don't cost more than $20 with drinks and most of my meals are closer to $2 or less. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to sample everything that Lao and Vientiane has to offer.

In addition to having great French and Italian food, amazing bakeries, fantastic fruit shakes and other deliciousness, Vientiane also has some amazing Laotian food to offer. Laap is a meat salad, strips of beef, chicken or pork, mixed with vegetables and lots of herbs. I had heard that Makphet Restaurant was a great place to get and was also a great place to visit because of its socially conscious message. The restaurant supports the Peuan Mit Street Children Project, a program for marginalized children in Lao. Profits go to the project and the young people that work in the restaurant receive training.
Makphet Restaurant
I ordered the beef laap, served with apple eggplant, dill, greens and onions. A watermelon citrus freeze completed my meal.

Fruitiness!

The fruit in Laos is incredible. There is every type of fruit that you can imagine... and many that you can't! Vendors sell all types from carts on the side of the road. I stopped off at one this evening and bought three different fruits that I was not sure I was familiar with:


1. The spiky red one tastes lightly sweet and has a white center with little black seeds. The texture reminds me of kiwi.



This fruit is DRAGON FRUIT!

2. I thought this fruit was going to be the pear-tasting apple-looking fruit that my boss brought to work the other day. The fruit was crisp and light and tasted very much like an apple.



This fruit is an APPLE. (not the pear apple thing, unfortunately.... but a good apple!)

3. This fruit looked like a green orange. It was sweet and juicy with a lovely citrus flavor.



This fruit is an ORANGE. (A google search revealed that oranges in Laos are green.... who knew?)

There are more fruit where this came from............

That Luang

Pha That Luang is regarded as the most important monument in Laos and is a national symbol. Set about a mile away from the city center, it is often used as a point of reference for giving directions. And I happen to live and work quite close to it.

Offerings
That Luang
Panorama

Adventures in tuktuks, 3G and Beerlao

Laos has taken some getting used to. One moment I love it, thrilled to be here and be in the middle of it all. The next moment I plotting my return to Boston. Its natural, I think, and especially normal for me, the girl who sent 5 letters home the first day of summer camp because every time my mood changed I didn't want my parents to get the idea that I loved/hated the place. There are lizards in my apartment. Internet is painfully slow. I lived on graham crackers for the first week because, save for the meals that others took me to, I couldn't really figure out where else to buy food. But, on the flip side, it is true what everyone says- the Lao people are very nice. And I love the fruit smoothies (fruit, ice, sweetened condensed milk, blended together into a delicious and nutritious treat for less than a dollar) more than I could describe here. Vientiane is hot but, then again, so is Boston.... and in Boston, we don't have tuk tuks to get us where we need to go. My work is great so far and the people I work with are lovely. And today, my second Saturday in Vientiane, was just a fantastic day. The weather was sunny and warm but not crazy hot. I purchased my 3G stick for my computer without a hitch (interestingly, internet is quite expensive and fairly unreliable but fast 3G is quite cheap) . I ate some fantastic food, walked and meandered around the shops, sat in a cafe, sat in an outdoor restaurant for dinner and ended the day with a tuk tuk ride home!

Nam Phou Fountain in the city center

Temple
Presidential Palace
Patuxai at night
Chicken salad

Chop Chai Deux restaurant

From the back of my tuk tuk ride.... hold on tight!

I can see Thailand from my backyard!

As I am learning, in Laos nothing quite works the way that I am accustomed to it working. Welcome to life lived in a developing country. I so often find myself comparing Laos to Japan- the hot weather is just as brutal and there seem to be a similar number of squat toilets. However, there are many more differences, as I am quickly realizing. I have been sitting here for nearly 40 minutes trying to upload photos to this blog post. While internet in Vientiane is prevalent, it is also slow and spotty. I managed to upload these shots and I will try for some more later.


The Mekong River winds its way through Southeast Asia from Tibet down through Cambodia and, of course, directly through Laos. It is a source of food, transportation and power for the region and contributes to some of Vientiane's tourist "mystique." At Vientiane, it separates Laos from Thailand so one can literally Thailand from one's backyard (Sarah Palin reference, anyone?). We are just now entering rainy season so the river is low. The air is hazy (and hot and humid, as you would guess) so it lends a mysterious quality to the river.

Patuxai means Victory Gate and it is a looming monument in Vientiane center built in the 1960s and is quite reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Interestingly, tt is dedicated to those who lost their lives struggling for independence from the French. The surrounding park is a popular place for jogging and relaxing.

L(a)ost!

Arrived safely in Vientiane after about 30 hours of travel. My coworker, Mr. Joy, picked me up and took me to the office and then to my apartment. My apartment is right across the street from the office and has all the amenities a girl could want- air conditioning, a tv playing ESPN (including all the baseball games I try to avoid in the US), a pool and a lovely lady who does my laundry daily, washes my dishes and even changes the toilet paper roll each day so that there is always a fresh one. Work seems great so far- there are finger scanners to get into each door; very James Bond! I took a little walk around the city center on Wednesday but other than that I have mostly been sleeping. I imagine I will get out and about this weekend and will certainly post some photos when I can.

Dad's Retirement Party

I write this post from the Bangkok airport, my home for the next several hours as I wait for my flight to Vientiane. I bit the bullet and purchased some internet so it seems the perfect opportunity to post some photos of the lovely retirement party that my Dad had on Sunday. My Dad has worked at CorpCare, an occupational health center in Connecticut for 15 years and this year he retired. We had a wonderful party on Sunday and many of his coworkers and colleagues came out to celebrate him, his work and his retirement. Congratulations, Dad!
Group Photo
People had some lovely things to say about my Dad and some funny stories to share as well!
Matt and Me
Me and Dad
My Dad and some of his lovely coworkers and friends
My handsome date for the evening
Dad and Cindy and Cindy's wonderful and thoughtful flower arrangements