Nong Khai, Thailand

Thailand: Nong Khai – Strange Fruit, Kai Yaang, and other stuff…..

November 13, 2008 mmm-yoso Nong Khai, Thailand, Thailand, Travel

We awoke from a much needed nap, and decided to explore Nong Khai a bit more. This time, we strayed from the normal tourist path of the riverside walkway, Rimkong, and Meechai, and took a stroll down Prajak(Prachak) Sillapakhom. Prajak is Nong Khai's main business strip, with everything from the Esso Gas Station to a Honda Dealership lining the double wide (by Nong Khai standards) roadway.

This is by far the busiest street in Nong Khai, and the speed of the motorbikes and cars made crossing interesting….especially since driving is done on the left side of street in Thailand. One has got to break that rule we learned in the first grade, "when crossing the street, always look left, than right." It's amazing how ingrained those rules become.

Since the streets were wider, it made one's field of vision larger. And we started "looking up", and taking note of the French influenced architecture. Looking at the businesses from street level, you'd never have noticed…..

And this being Thailand, food was only steps away.

While aimlessly wandering down Prajak, we came across a fruit stand, and the Missus was smitten by this fruit.

We had never seen anything like it. The fruit had a threatening…and frankly, a bit of a dangerous look, in the "you wouldn't want to drop it on your foot" kind of way. In fact, I don't think it would look out of place being swung on the end of a chain in battle. The exterior of the fruit looked to have almost an exoskeletan, like that of a crab or a similar crustacean. So of course, the Missus purchased a Kilo, and started peeling as soon as we walked away from the fruit stand.

As threatening as the fruit looked fully dressed in it's armor……once peeled it looked quite harmless, almost silly, and kinda resmebled an….well, you can figure that one out yourself.

This was our first encounter with the Salacca, the fruit of a species of palm. I'm not a big fruit guy, but I enjoyed this; tangy and acidic, with a mild sweetness, it was right up my alley.

Returning from our "little" walk, the Missus decided that She "needed a break" from street food, and desired a proper restaurant, with a real table, real seats, and most of all "real ice, with some real water, in a real glass." We homed in on a large restaurant right off the street.

Food was almost an after thought here, as the Missus savored Her iced water, sipping it as if it was nectar of the Gods. After looking through the huge and exhaustive menu of Chinese and Thai dishes we ordered a few items.

Thai Fermented Sausage (Nam Sohd):

I found the flavor of the sausage to be only mildy sour, and over powered when eaten with the potent raw garlic. The chilies were positively searing hot….the Missus thought the flavor was a bit too "funky" for Her, but scarfed up all the peanuts.

Yum Nuea (Beef Salad):

I thought this version to be nice and beefy in flavor, but much too sweet. The Missus really enjoyed it. The mint added a nice flavor, and the onions were nice and sweet as well.

The main thing we really enjoyed was just sitting back and watching the world go by.

Of course, you know that I couldn't ignore the Kai Yaang (Rotisserie Chicken):

This stand was doing some major business….you could smell the chicken "fumes" from several blocks away. I recall reading that Kai Yaang, Khao Niaw(sticky rice), and Som Tam (papaya salad), make up the "trinity" of classic Issan foods. So you can be sure that we bought a bird, and a bag of sticky rice.

I thought the dark meat and the skin of the chicken was fabulous, a combination of sweet(a nice complex sweet – probably from palm sugar), salty, and savory. The breast was on the dry side. The Missus found the chicken a bit too salty for Her taste. I thought the sticky rice was the best I ate during the whole trip…..perfect and consistent in texture.

We walked back to our room, grabbed a bottle of Chang Beer from the reception area, and than walked out to one of the pavillions overlooking the deceptively languid appearing Mekong river, and watched the sun go down. After several days in which we seemed to be always on the go, it finally set in….we were really in Thailand! Things sometimes take a while to sink in……

Later we settled into our room. Since we're on the subject, a word about Mut Mee Guest House. Mut Mee, is without a doubt, the most well known, and popular Guest House in Nong Khai. And there's some charm to the place. It is very laid back, and has an interesting policy of not blocking out rooms. Folks can stay as long as they wish, so you can't be sure of which rooms are available on any given day. Thus, bookings can never be done for specific rooms. If you read this page on Mut Mee's site, you'll notice the sentence, "You can even stay in our house!" Which is what we did….

It's the room called "JPS" – "Julian and Pao's Suite", and is where Pao's Mum stays when she visits, an enclosed room attached to their home. Please be aware that this is still a Guest House. The windows and doors are a bit warped, so it's a wrestling match to close…you'll have to make sure to use the mosquito netting if you are prone to bites. The floor is also a bit off kilter, which can cause you to sway a bit drunkenly while walking over some of the floorboards…to us, this was just part of the charm. Plus, for $20 a night….what did you expect? The only thing that ever bothered me was when the water seemed to be shut off in the middle of my shower. The bathroom is down some stairs, and looks like it was enclosed just a few years ago…… You can watch the Mekong roll on by from your porch, or walk the mere 10 yards out the gate and sit on one of the pavilions like we did for dinner. When you check in, you are shown a book that is kept out front with your room number on it, you can grab beer and water from the frig, and just log them into the book. This is all done by the honor system, and everything is tallied up when you leave. An added bonus to everything is that since you're attached to his house, you'll undoubtedly meet Julian. We did, and had a nice conversation about Thailand, Issan, Laos, politics, and many other subjects…..

Out your side window, you can see the back of Wat Haisoke:

Which posed no problems as we rose early in the morning.

As we did on the morning of our departure from Nong Khai. We took our usual morning walk, and found the streets to be as still as the Mekong at this hour.

We had not had time the previous day to check out the very large Thasadej Market, which runs parallel to the Mekong for several blocks. So we decided to pop in for a look. At this time of the day, the aisles are mostly dark and silent…

Every so often you hit an open food court area.

Nong Khai may be very laid back, but it is still a border town, and the melting pot of nationalities will always show itself. While walking through the market, the Missus over heard a conversation….."I believe they are from Yunnan, by the accent."

One of the most succesful businesses in town is Daeng Namnuang, you can't miss their signs which seem to posted everywhere.

You can't miss the huge restaurant and large and clean production area which faces the Mekong. We watched in awe, as one car after another stopped in front of the restaurant early in the morning; folks running in to the shop, only to exit with cardboard cartons minutes later.

What does this place sell? They specialize in Namnuang…..Vietnamese Spring Rolls! So popular that folks grab boxes of it when leaving town.

For our breakfast before taking leave of Nong Khai, I selected a little hole-in-the-wall right at the edge of Thasadej…….a dark, cluttered, little place that looked almost like a warehouse with tables.

The Missus selected the Issan Sausage and Rice:

She thought the sausage too hard, gamey, and "porky". I thought it to be fine. The sticky rice was much too hard.

I ordered the Pad See Ew:

I didn't care much for this, the noodles were much to gelatinous and gooey for my tastes…almost like overcooked rice cake. The Missus, on the other hand, loved the egg, and enjoyed the dish. So after trading off our dishes, we each ended up with a decent breakfast!

We returned to our room, picked up our bags, wrestled the front door close, and padlocked it….went to the front desk and checked out. We headed up the path to the street…the one that had been shrouded in darkness when we arrived. It sure looked much more welcoming in day light.

As we hit the main road, we found our Tuk-Tuk Driver who had taken us to Sala Kaew Ku the day before. And we were on our way…the next leg of our trip was coming up fast.

You know which way we turned at this sign, don't you???

Thailand: Nong Khai – Sala Kaew Ku, and a ride on the “Yellow Bus” to Tha Bo

November 9, 2008 mmm-yoso Nong Khai, Thailand, Thailand, Travel

Early in the morning of what was our third day in Thailand, we took a quite stroll down the well paved and maintained promenade that lines the shore of the Mekong River. The contrast to "go till you drop" Bangkok was quite evident.

At this early hour, it was quite tranquil….

Even the chairs and tables for the Naga Festival were nicely folded up….and the pavement was swept clean.

Perhaps folks were still sleeping off the effects of several nights of partying…the Naga Festival runs for a week….

Transversing Nong Khai is not very difficult, there are only a few main streets going from East to West…..on the street called Meechai, full of guest houses, a few bars, and other pieces of the tourist infrastructure, we passed by this.

Yes, a Bus Station…..but the Missus spied something that got Her attention.

And so the Missus had found the first piece of our breakfast puzzle. These wonderful, orbs of coconut goodness was crisp on the exterior, but contains molten coconutty goodness inside. It is well worth risking, and often sacrificing several layers of skin….and even your lips for a great version of Kanom Krok…they need to be consumed hot. So if you run into lipless people in Thailand, chances are they've run into an irresistible serving of these coconut-rice snacks.

The Missus declared this the second best we had on our trip. The nice kernels of sweet corn placed in the center of the Kanom Krok was a nice touch.

While doing a bit of research, I found this interesting article noting the Scandinavian tie in with regards to Kanom Krok.

Leaving the compound, this platform caught my attention.

What was it? An impromptu nap area perhaps? After looking at the charts on the walls, it became clear; this was a Thai Massage station. What could be better than a good massage after a long bus ride? Looking over the poster of the various Masseuse on staff gave me pause…they looked pretty tough…like they could rip my arm off. The photos were very unflattering, and the women looked more like inmates than Masseuses.

Making our way back to the area of our Guest House, part 2 of our breakfast puzzle was solved.

There must be tens(hundreds?) of thousands of "food courts", of all sizes and shapes across Thailand. And this was one of them. There was something interesting about this food court in particular, which I'll go in to later. There was only one station open at the time we walked passed…..but once we saw what was being served, breakfast part 2 was solved.

Simmered Pork Shank over Rice (30 Baht – about $1/US):

The broth provided was fairly salty, the pork was quite tender and mild in flavor. It seems that many of the sauces provided for these type of dishes is of the "must use" category.

We tried to avoid the tuk-tuk "feeding frenzy" in the area, and walked over to a side street where an older gentleman was minding a grill stand. There was a tuk-tuk parked in front of it. He asked us, "you want tuk-tuk", and we said yes….we settled on a price, and was shocked when he abandoned the stand! Starting up the vehicle he made a turn down a side street 2 blocks over, and called to a lady, who we found manning the stand when we returned. They've got quite a system working…..

Our destination? In all of the guidebooks we read; the one must see destination in Nong Khai is Sala Kaew Ku.

Sala Kaew Ku was the work of Shaman-Mystic-Priest-Yogi, Luang Puu Bunleua Surirat. This park is a collection of sculptures, some over 80 feet tall, representing various Hindu and Buddhist deities and stories. As the story goes, when Luang Puu was a child he fell into a hole. At the bottom he subsequently met a acetic named Kaewkoo who taught Luang Puu all the mysteries and secrets of the underworld. Surirat was born and raised in Laos, and in fact, created a version of Sala Kaew Ku on the banks of the Lao side of the Mekong. After the Communist takeover in the mid-seventies, Luang Puu fled to Thailand.

Luang Puu developed a devoted group of followers, all of whom he claimed were untrained in the creation of sculpture, but were powered by a divine source that enabled them to create these massive idols. As for Luang Puu, he died in 1996, but his mummified body can still be found on the third floor of the main building on the grounds. His followers say that Luang Puu's hair still grows, and needs to be trimmed from time to time!

For me, this was a strange side excursion…..the park is a sometimes bizarre collection of sculptures that range from the nightmarish:

To the fascinating:

The most popular piece on the grounds is the wheel of life, which is entered by passing through a giant mouth, and through a passageway that has been described to me as being reborn through a womb…..

Whether a mystical "Walley World" or a site of sacred significance, it's up to you. It was an interesting, and sometimes strange little side trip.

Upon returning to our starting point, the Missus determined that She wanted to "ride a bus"…….and had selected the Market Town of Tha Bo as our destination.

All hail the "Yellow Bus"…..

The ride to Tha Bo takes about an hour, and costs 20 Baht a person. The bus travels along the road, making stops as it is waved down…the seats are not very wide…..a second person can fit sitting "half cheek" style. The diesel fumes soon overtake much of the bus. If you want a short "rural Thailand" experience, this may be it!

The most interesting thing about these buses is the front dashboard area…..which has been decorated with various knick-knacks….some of which date back to who knows when???

In just over an hour we arrived in Tha Bo. The market is just across the street from the end of the line for the Yellow Bus.

Because it rather late in the morning I did not expect to see much at the market…..so I was rather surprised to see it quite crowded.

Tha Bo itself is quite small, with a population of about 16,000, making Nong Khai with it's population of 62,000 seem a metropolis. One of the interesting facts about Tha Bo is that the citizenship of the city is 80% Vietnamese. The largest church in the area is not a Buddhist temple, but a church called Wat Satsana Krit – the Christian Temple, indicative of the religion of the Vietnamese refugees who settled in the area.

One of the largest industries in the area is tobacco.

And besides the presence of a good amount of "Bun" (Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli Noodles), the market is like many we've seen throughout Southeast Asia.

There was also a fruit we had not seen before. You gotta love the vendor, who instead of standing, just sat on top of her counter!

At first, the Missus thought this was Longan, but I thought they were a bit too large to be Longan. It turned out to be Langsat (Longkong). When the Missus peeled the skin off, the flesh of the fruit was divided into 5-6 segments. The flesh was firm, and had a taste vaguely similar to longan, except sweeter. Delici-yoso!!!

As we left the market, we could see smoke drifting down one of the streets…along with the unmistakable smell of "charred animal flesh"…..

Ah yes, a plethora of pork sizzling away.

It even wore down the Missus, a noted Pork-o-phob……

2 sausages, and a bag of sticky rice – 30 baht (less than a buck).

These sausages had more pork than filler, and was only slighly sour. The grilling had created a nice crust. The sticky rice, was decently prepared. All in all, a nice snack to tide us over until we got back to Nong Khai. You could tell by the look on the Missus's face during the long, crowded, and hot trip back to Nong Khai, that all of the novelty of a "bus ride just like the locals", had worn off!

We arrived back in Nong Khai, and found ourselves right back where we started….in the food court. Check out some of the details in the photo; it gives a hint as to the location of the food court.

The Missus went for a Papaya Salad from one of the stalls.

This was a pretty strange version…..it was mildy spicy, and very, very, pungent and fishy. But the oddest thing were the rice vermicelli noodles at the bottom of the salad.

I was mesmerized by the smells coming out of this stall:

This lady had some major wok moves……

I ended up ordering a chicken dish. At first I thought it was chicken with basil, but the herb used to flavor this dish had a very earthy flavor….

The fried egg was a winner, though. And the cucumbers in Thailand and Laos always taste good. Not bad for 30 baht (less than $1/US). Of course you also need the ubiquitous fish sauce-chili condiment!

Any idea of where this food court was located? Here's another clue, check out where the utensils are stored…though these type of containers are not used much anymore, it should look familiar.

Yep, they are old surgical instrument sterilization containers!

And the food court is located right across from:

NongKhai Hospital…..it's the Hospital Food Court! It was also just a block away from where we were staying.

We walked back to our room, badly in need of a nap……

And dozed off, dreaming of what possible food was in store for dinner……

Thailand: One Night in Bangkok Part 2, and the Naga Festival in Nong Khai

November 6, 2008 mmm-yoso Bangkok, Nong Khai, Thailand, Thai Restaurants, Thailand, Travel

After wandering around Banglamphu for a while, we returned to our room, caught a short nap, woke, showered, and went downstairsto check-out. Lamphu House gladly stowed our backpacks, and we decided to do some sightseeing. Road traffic in Bangkok has earned some notoriety, and rightfully so, the city seems to caught in the grip of an eternal traffic jam. Luckily, there are several excellent mass transit options in the city. One of which is by boat. We were within easy walking distance of Phra Athit, and it was just a short boat ride to our destination Tha Chang.

The experience was an interesting one. The most amazing thing to me was how the young lady kept track of who had gotten on the ferry at each stop.

She would march up and down the boat, shaking her fare container, automatically stopping at every new customer.

Two stops later we had arrived at our destination. And wouldn't you know it, we stepped off the dock…into a rather large and busy "food court". And the fragrances made us realize it was time for breakfast.

From this shop…..

I ordered the Roast Duck Red Curry (35 Baht – about $1):

The curry was mildly spicy, and as seasoned well. The duck was pretty tender, and the flavor was on the "wild" side, which kinda freaked the Missus out. The Missus loves gamey flavors in most meats, but is of the opinion that all duck must taste of 5 spice. Needless to say, I enjoyed it much more than She did.

The Missus ordered Her "breakfast" from this booth:

It was a very tasty plate of deep fried fish with basil (40 baht):

The crosscut slices of fish had been, as the Missus put it, "fried to death, in a good way" and had the texture of a salty-peppery-savory jerky.

As a little bonus, the Missus had been curious about another dish. When She inquired about it, She was told it was "minced bird", and was given a little sample.

It was quite spicy, and on the chewy side, but very good nonetheless. All in all, a very nice breakfast.

We arrived at the gates of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace a bit early. And saw this procession of soldiers walking across the street.

The Missus, always the curious one, actually followed the soldiers across the street. As they sat down to breakfast……She started with the questions, as only the Missus can. Stuff like, "what are you here for, is there a parade?" I finally pulled Her away when, poking at their guns, She asked, "is this real?" It's amazing what She can get away with….had I gone down the same road, I'd probably be singing my own version of "One Night in Bangkok".

While we sat and waited for the venue to open, a very well dressed gentleman walked up to us, and informed us that the Grand Palace was closed for a Holiday, but never fear, he'd arrange to have us taken on a "special" tuk-tuk tour of some little known Wats. We almost felt honored to have been selected for the classic "Grand Palace is closed" scam! Of course the Grand Palace wasn't closed, and we saw students in school uniforms, so it obviously wasn't a holiday!

After paying the almost $10 entrance fee, we made our way into Wat Phra Kaew. I really loved the outline of the Stupa and various Temples against the Bangkok sky.

After walking along the grounds of the Wat for a while it struck me……Wat Phra Kaew was Bangkok in microcosm. Things seemed to be really packed in, a bit cramped, and crowded, but colorful and vibrant…full of life. The famed Emerald Buddha is quite tiny, and sits on a stand that is quite high, and so somewhat hard to see.

The Grand Palace itself seemed a bit anti-climatic.

We left, skirting the Palace walls, and made our way to Wat Pho(Temple of the Reclining Buddha). After paying the 50 Baht admission, we entered the main building. Prepared to be underwhelmed, I turned to the Missus and said, "ok, where's the reclining Buddha?" To which the Missus replied, "just turn around stupid….." I turned, and my jaw hit the floor….

It was a pretty impressive sight……..150 feet long, and 50 feet high.

The grounds of Wat Pho is less cluttered, and much more relaxing than Wat Phra Kaew. It is also the oldest Wat in Bangkok.

After wandering the grounds of Wat Pho for a while, we noticed it was getting a bit late, and we went on our way.

On our way back to Tha Chang, the Missus and I detected a scent that rose above the usual cooking smells of Bangkok. Curious, we ventured down an alleyway.

And our noses led us to this:

A quantity of seafood in various levels of fermentation, and barrels of dried shrimp, fish, and squid.

Quite an impressive array……

A few minutes later we were on our back to the Guest House to pick up our gear.

And headed back off to the Airport. As fate would have it, we found out our flight had been delayed, "for maybe 2 hours…." OK, so what to do at Suvarnabhumi Airport? We found that seating is rather scarce, and the Airport crowded, and the best option to find someplace to sit was at one of the fast-foodish restaurants. And there was one that I found a bit intriguing.

It is called 'R Burger', and is a Roppongi based Japanese-style "burger joint". If you are used to American burgers……the term burger is used in a rather loose context here. "Chicken burger garnished with Shiso and Ume dressing" anyone? How about a salad "stick"…..basically a Japanese riff on a Vietnamese spring roll. The burgers were pork, chicken, maguro….and announcing the newest addition to the R Burger line-up…the novel concept of a beef burger! (Looks like they are made from one-eyed cows, huh?)

And most importantly…..you just can't go without that special added ingredient….collagen ?!!!??!

It seems that the buns at R Burger are processed with Marine Collagen….I guess they inject their buns…to smooth out our "buns". In fact, you see the words "collagen", "healthy" and "smooth" strategically placed throughout the restaurant. Personally, I find that "Hot Dog", "Fried Potato Wedges", "collagen", and "healthy" a bit confusing. What was even more confusing was the "Avocado Salad Dog"…..which has no "Dog" and was basically a bun (don't forget the collagen), served with "hydroponic vegetable"…..to put it in overly blunt American terms…this was avocado, tomato, and lettuce, in a bun. All slathered with that most healthy of toppings; wasabi mayo…..hey, if the collagen doesn't smooth you out, the mayo surely will, right?

I purchased an R Dog "combo" which came with potato wedges and a drink. I chose a Green Tea drink…..which in a direct contradiction to everything else on the menu was exactly that, cold green tea…..nothing else.

The potato wedges were fried nicely, and if you're used to American portions, you'll be in for a shock…there were 7 wedges, served in a rather large paper sack.

Soon enough my 'R Dog' arrived.

It was a pretty large dog, long and thin, with a natural casing, but very little flavor….add to that the fact that I still can't get behind the idea of ketchup on a Hot Dog…though the Missus likes Her dog that way. What I really enjoyed was the bun….it was light, the crust was crisp, the bread a bit sweeter, but not too sweet….must be that collagen magic at work! And since we all know that collagen is the "glue which holds our body together" I had the added satisfaction of knowing that none of my limbs, or other body parts for that matter, would suddenly decided to take leave…my mind on the other hand, well, that's another story.

Finally, after what seemed forever…….our flight left for Udon Thani. One quick note on AirAsia, the flights are cheap, but as with any budget carrier, they will try to squeeze every Baht they possibly can from you…from charging for water (10 Baht), to charging for checking luggage. Luckily, the Missus and I were traveling light…..only carry on for us. The original plan was to arrive in Udon Thani at arround 4pm; catch a Tuk Tuk to the Bus Depot, and catch the bus to Nong Khai, which resides on the Thailand – Laos border. This way we'd make it into Nong Khai before dark. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed, and night falls like a dark, black curtain in this part of the world. We arrived to darkness, and the Missus was feeling a tad uncomfortable…..after a brief discussion I made an executive decision; we'd catch the shuttle from the airport to Nong Khai, and take our chances. Most of the folks getting on the shuttle were headed straight for the Friendship Bridge…the Lao border. We decided to get a good night's sleep…..in need of a destination, I muttered the only Guest House I knew of in Nong Khai….they very popular Mut Mee. We arrived to a driveway in almost pitch black darkness….but the really nice driver pointed down the pitch-black driveway, and smilingly said, "Mut Mee…down there". And, yes it was. We could hear the muttering of voices as well approached the end of the drive way….we made a turn, and arrived at a little desk fronting a kitchen area. A fellow with a British accent (Harps) greeted us with, "you are pretty late..…" And went one about the scarcity of rooms…..call it good timing if you will, but we arrived during the Bun Fai Phaya Naga, the Naga Fireball Festival. During the full moon of the 11th month, a mysterious event occurs in Nong Khai….mysterious fireballs arise out of the Mekong River…legend has it that mythical serpents create the fireballs. So, would we be able to get a room? Harps looked at us and apologetically said: "I'm sorry..…but it has been very busy….thousands of people. Even one of the Princesses visited! So the only thing we have is Julian and Pao's suite…and it is rather expensive…660 Baht a night." Are you kidding me? Less than 20 bucks a night…sold! Harps guided us over to the "suite"….and we freshened up…..(more on Mut Mee in a future post). Harps had also mentioned the festival, telling us it was about a 20 minute walk along the Mekong…and we could hear music playing. And soon enough we saw this from our front window:

Which only served the purpose of making us hurry even more…..plus we were pretty darn hungry. The banks of the Mekong in this area is paved, and well served with a walkway….which made things quite easy for us. Most of the restaurants alongside the Mekong were closed, the bars were of course open! And many of the businesses were releasing lanterns into the air:

This one had the unlucky fate of landing on the balcony of an abandoned building…starting a small fire…..it was handled with much good natured giggling……

As we approached the festival it slowly got more and more crowded…..and the every present fragrance of food was as intense as the music was loud. As we found throughout Thailand and Laos, everyone is up for a good time!

Along with the entertainment on a stage at one end of the festival:

Was this affair on another stage…..

Some kind of couples pageant….don't ask me to explain, I haven't a clue. I can say, that there was a speaking portion….but it looked like all the good looking young pairs from the area were involved….

Regardless, the Missus found this to be "really cute and charming" and stayed to watch for a while.

But eventually hunger trumped any desire to see who won the contest, and we walked pass all the food booths. As would be expected for a city along the banks of the Mekong; seafood was in abundant display.

Alongside the usual "meat on a stick", sweets, there were several Oyster Omelete booths.

And what Festival would be complete without a insect booth?

In the end, the Missus and I settled for some pretty basic stuff.

I went with some Pad Thai from this Father and Son team.

Kind of greasy, and lacking in tamarind tanginess, but serviceable.

The Missus went with a Papaya Salad from the smiling young man to the right. Quite pungent, with a bunch of fermented fish paste, it met the expectations of fair food. Nothing outstanding, but it quelled our hunger.

For dessert, I had some fried duck:

Tough, but with decent flavor……

The Missus went for a frozen popsicle like treat.

We hadn't seen any fireballs rising out of the Mekong….but had a fun time anyway. We walked back to our room, grabbed a beer and some water from the fridge at reception (Mut Mee works on a "honor system"….you grab stuff from the fridge, write down what you took in a book up front, and pay for it a check-out….I love it)., sat on the porch overlooking the Mekong, and along with counting the geckos on the ceiling, we counted our blessings as well…….hard to believe we'd only been in Thailand for a bit over 48 hours.

I know this has been a long post……but I thought you might enjoy it! Thanks for hanging in there!

We’re Back……..

November 1, 2008 mmm-yoso Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Laos, Luang Prabang, Nong Khai, Thailand, Thailand, Travel, Vientiane

Yep, we're back…..the Missus and I have just returned…tired, and yet exhilarated at the same time. So excuse me while I noodle around with our photos for a while. The wonderful noodles to the right was from a stand in Luang Prabang, where we stopped and ate breakfast every morning….along with a wonderful cup of Lao Coffee….after the first morning, we would just have a seat, and the Owner who smile at us, and ask "same-same"? And we'd nod yes….so we ended up calling the place (no English sign) "Same-Same". We did so much, ate so much, that I really am not sure how I'm going to do this yet.

But let me just give you a recap anyway.

We started in Bangkok, just an overnight stay…we had an idea, and just went with the flow. Of course, there's an unending supply of street food in Bangkok.

You really can't go wrong.

We also managed to catch some of the sights.

That afternoon it was off to the border town of Nong Khai. And much to our surprise, we arrived during the Naga Fireball Festival.

No mysterious orbs rising out of the Mekong, but lots of street food. We managed to snag a room in a Guest House overlooking the Mekong River.

We also had some interesting meals in Nong Khai. Have you ever had anything like this from a Hospital Food Court?

Or maybe Kanom Krok in a bus station?

One thing for sure….I'd never had this before.

It was delicious. As was the Kai Yaang (Roasted Chicken), and sticky rice we had.

In spite of all the interesting food and venues…the strangest thing we did in Nong Khai was visit Sala Keo Ku, a somewhat bizarre-nightmarish park of sculptures by mystic Boun Leua Surirat. Sculptures, some towering up to 80 feet tall, are a mixture of various Hindu and Buddhist deities that seem to come from some HR Giger-ish dreamworld.

We also took the "yellow bus" to Tha Bo, a market town…..I'll say this for sure….the "Yellow Bus" sure has a bunch of character! Tha Bo was also interesting since the population is 70-80% Vietnamese.

The next morning we crossed the Friendship Bridge into Laos, and a cab into the capital city of Vientiane. In contrast to crazed Bangkok, Vientiane is a sleepy city of 230,000.

We also met some of the nicest, kindest, and most gracious folks we've ever encountered. Depending on who you talk to, experienced travelers to Laos will tell you that Laos is what Thailand was like 20-30 years ago(or maybe more…depending who you're asking).

Our most memorable meal in Vientiane was from one of the many stalls lining the Mekong River.

There are few things better than having a cold Beer Lao, some freshly grilled seafood, all wrapped up in a sunset on the banks of the Mekong River.

There's more to the story of this dinner, but I'll save that for later. For now you'll just have to admire our salt crusted, lemongrass stuffed fish, that was swimming around a few minutes before.

We had planned on staying overnight, but stayed 2 nights in Vientiane. To save time we ended up flying to Luang Prabang.

Beautiful, scenic, Luang Prabang was by far our most favorite stop on this trip….or perhaps on any trip. If you think Vientiane is laid back, and do Luang Prabang right, your blood pressure is sure to drop several notches……There were times when I thought Luang Prabang was an island floating over the Mekong River….

We intended on 2 nights, and stayed 5….if I didn't need to work…I'd still be there.

Early every morning, the streets of Luang Prabang becomes a river of flowing orange as the Monks come to collect their Alms.

There's something about this time honored tradition that attracted the Missus and I, enough so, that we watched the procession every morning.

Silence….except for the padding of bare feet on the asphalt. The Missus and I felt honored to be able to give alms….

We stayed in a Hotel next to one of the Wats, and away from the main tourist drag, where this procession turns from a respectful, time honored tradition, into a depressing paparazzi moment.

What about the food you may ask? The Missus and I were able to sample many of the Luang Prabang specialties, such as Khai Pene, a dried, then fried river moss from the Mekong:

Like very good Nori, flavored with tomato, shallots, and garlic, and always served with Jaew Bong, a garlicky, mildly spicy, sweet, and savory "dip", studded with buffalo skin, considered a classic Luang Prabang dish.

Heaven on Earth with a cold Beer Lao…..

I had pretty much dismissed the Fresh Market right off the tourist track in Luang Prabang, as being too touristy…until we visited. Man was I wrong. Along with the usual suspects:

Were some quite unusual items……

And I was to find out that the "forest" and "mountain" people come here to sell their wares. And also noticed that the customers were almost all local early in the morning.

Fascinated with the cuisine(and staying in one place for more than a few days for the first time), I took a cooking class from Joy Ngueamboupha, Co-Owner of Tamarind Restaurant in Luang Prabang. Please read Joy's interesting short bio, here. The class and market tour were fantastic, and it did much to fill in the blanks regarding Lao food. There was no gas or electric stoves, we cooked over charcoal…I was surprised that my stuff actually turned out ok(pretty good actually).

We also had the chance to taste some items that are considered pretty exotic by US standards. Boy have I been missing out all these years……forget about french fries, where can I get my hands on more of this?

At the time I scheduled the cooking class, I also attempted to make reservations for the "Adventurous Lao Gourmet" dinner. The nice Young Lady hesitated and asked that I wait until after the cooking course to schedule. After the course was over, I walked back to the restaurant, and tried to schedule the dinner again. The young lady called Joy on his cell….and he gave us the green light……

The degustation menu was an amazing eye-opening experience…..

With items we've never experienced before, like Sa Thao, another classic Luang Prabang dish made with river algae.

And other items which really challenged the Missus and I. You'll just have to stay tuned……

We were sad to leave Luang Prabang behind, but Chiang Mai was calling to us. We enjoyed historic Chiang Mai, and the Sunday Market is not to be missed (though we'll pass on the Night Bazaar):

And along with street food, we enjoyed a few sit down dinners as well.

Time got away from us in the end, and we managed only one last night in Bangkok before returning home…..but the Missus still got in some "parting shots", in the city that smells of food.