More time in Laos

view Nam Khan River from a lunch spot

Laos has been such a pleasant surprise.  Much of our time was just spent wandering the streets of Luang Prabang looking at the architecture and studying the people.  We ate by the river several times- the cool breezes felt great after boiling in the hot, humid air all day.  One night we went to Tamarind, a restaurant that promises traditional Laotian food.  We split an appetizer of five different dishes- pork sausage, water buffalo jerky, a chicken with coriander (cilantro), and two things wrapped in banana leaves.  I loved everything but the cilantro-laced one (bleh).  Then I had "young pumpkin" which I'd call squash, but it was drenched in coconut milk and ginger.  Delicious!  My favorite thing, though, were the frozen coffees, a Coolata-like beverage that cut the heat day or night.

Upper Cave

After the waterfall day, it rained.  A lot.  We'd planned to go to the caves with discarded Buddhas up the river, and once the raid let up a bit, we started out to find a boat.  It was harder than expected, but we finally found a guy with a pretty dilapidated longboat, and off we went.  The ride was delightful- cool
breeze, not sweating, and the lull of the engine.  I admit to falling asleep.  The caves were pretty disappointing.  It was wet, and I thought that the Buddha statues would be bigger.  Most of them were pretty small.  We stopped at a Whiskey village the way back, where the community tried to sell handicrafts and  liquor.  It wasn't my favorite, but our captain really enjoyed the whiskey and sticky rice.  He put headphones in and sang to himself all the way back home.

That afternoon we crossed the river on the local ferry.  Seeing the little kids heading home from school was adorable.  I wasn't into anything else on the other side of the river.  It was peoples' homes, their private lives.  I felt like an intruder.  So I know all the guidebooks say you should go there, but really, I'd recommend staying away.  Let people leave the tourists behind when they go home from work at the end of the day.

Mama and Baby Maxi

We spent a day at the elephant village, which was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.  We heard a lot of talk about how terrible these elephant preserves could be, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  The animals were well cared for, with no prods anywhere in sight, and there were strict limits on the amount of time they spent with visitors.  We did the one-day mahout training, which meant more time with the elephants.  We learned how to ride them, then did a ride in a seat, then after lunch rode the elephants into the water.  My elephant was pretty playful, and you could see the bond she had with the mahout who rode along with me.  It was pretty awesome. 

Streetside fruit stand

Our last day was dedicated to souvenir shopping and taking photos of the local scene.   I was sad to be leaving such a tranquil place, especially since the forecast for Hanoi wasn't any cooler.