Travel – Page 108

Vientiane: Nang Kham Bang Restaurant

December 2, 2008 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Laos, Travel, Vientiane

The Missus was craving some Larb for lunch. This sounded like a mission for our own guardian angel in Vientiane, Ai from the Lao Orchid Hotel. Just as with previous queries, Ai grabbed a few of her cronies in a semi-huddle, made a couple of calls, and came up with the result; Nang Kham Bang Restaurant, which just happened to be 2 blocks away. After walking right past it twice, we stopped, and actually read a sign for a change……. you just know I wasn't going to ask for directions…..

The interior is kind of odd. It is divided in half by glass; one part of the restaurant is air-conditioned, the other half is not.

The menu, itself was a conglomeration of interesting dishes like stuffed frog legs. The clientele, was all Lao. We learned how to identify a "real" Lao (as in places where Lao folks actually eat), by this:

Why the sink? Well, if you think about it, the required item for meals is:

Sticky rice. And the most important eating instrument is….well…your hand. So washing your hands right outside of the doorway makes complete sense.

The first thing to arrive was a plate of greens, veggies, and herbs:

We were to find that it was typical to find a plate of green beans, and other items provided to accompany your meal. The most interesting item on the plate were these little eggplants.

We started with some Stir Fried Morning Glory:

This was not as good, as the version we had eaten the previous night. These were rather tough, and strangely, on the bland side.

Next up, Beef Laap(Laap Sin):

This had a nice balance of sour and spicy flavors, with a mild nuttiness brought on by the roasted rice powder. Not much in the way of beefy flavor, and as we found throughout our travels in SEA, the beef was on the chewy side.

We also ordered the Papaya Salad (Tam Mak Hung):

Nice and balanced sweet and sour flavors, I have a feeling they went easy on us in the spicy department. Crisp and refreshing, this was probably in the top three with regards to Papaya Salads on this trip.

Of course, it wouldn't be a meal without some comic relief from the mmm-bozo! When the veggies arrived, the Young Man serving us pointed at some chilies, and warned us by saying "ka-boom", and miming a mushroom cloud rising from what would be his now shattered cranium with his hands. No need for the ol' skull-and-crossbones sign here, we understood….

You know of course, we paid no heed to the young man's warning. The Missus and I both sampled a pepper. "KA-BOOM" is an understatement. Lucky for me, having had some experience with chilies, I didn't let my lips get involved, so you wouldn't find me lying face down in a pool of cerebral spinal fluid, nor would I be picking pieces of cranium and grey matter out of my papaya salad, but this stuff was pretty potent. The Missus turned several colours, red, sweaty grey, then pale white, as She told me She could feel the pepper burning a trail down Her esophagus, and into Her stomach. God only knew what tomorrow was going to bring. I think we've had our share of spicy food…but man this was hot!!!

Later when asked about this place, Ai told me that the local folks with "money"…. i.e. who can afford to, eat here. It did turn out to be a nice refreshing meal for under $10/US. And knowing not what the Missus had planned for later that day (after my little midafternoon nap, of course), I'd probably end up needing some "refreshing"……

Nang Kham Bang Restaurant

Khoun Boulum St.

Vientiane, Lao PDR

Laos – Morning in Vientiane and Khou Din Market

November 24, 2008 mmm-yoso Laos, Travel, Vientiane

After a restful night of BiaLao induced sleep, we both awoke, refreshed. Walking out to the small balcony, we viewed the serene, early morning Mekong, rolling along.

The view was tranquil, but the air was acrid…..

We were soon to find out why:

The infrastructure in Vientiane is not quite up to Western standards, and though I saw what could very loosely called "garbage collection" we also witnessed a lot of trash being burned. Not so bad if it were only leaves, but plastics, and other items were being torched as well. Much of it happens early in the morning, creating a distinctive stench.

The streets of Vientiane seemed still at this early hour. To say that Vientiane is sleepy is an understatement.

Even the very busy Setthathirath Road is quiet at 630am.

We walked to the very highly recommended JoMa Bakery and Cafe.

Very popular with European tourists and Ex-pats. JoMa is clean and bright, and though the various offerings did not look particularly inspiring to us, I had my Coke Light, and the Missus a Latte, while we sat and contemplated the day.

It was a nice quiet place at this time of the morning.

We strolled back slowly to our hotel……we were now operating at "Vientiane speed". A wonderfully laid-back pace…..

Just like Nong Khai, we had a Wat next door; in this case right across the street. Walking through the Wat on the way back, the Missus ran into an inquisitive Monk….. which resulted in a nice diversion. Well, maybe not for the Monk, who was suddenly subjected to a number of questions.

Arriving back at the hotel, we noticed Ai was working yet again. Among the subjects we chatted about was how was the lack of fresh fruits and such at Talat Sao. Ai laughed, and told us that the "Fresh Market" was on the block in back of Talat Sao, next to the bus station. So after a quick shower, guess where we were headed?

We decided to take the route up Chou Anou, than down some side streets and Samsenthai. This area is Vientiane's unofficial Chinatown.

We passed this Peking Duck Restaurant, and the Missus slipped in to check it out. Complete 3 course Peking Duck Dinner just 100,000 Kip (about $12/US)!

Kind of made us wish there were more people with us.

We saw these young men making Mantou.

And walked pass the huge Lao National Culture Hall.

Right across from the Lao National Museum. I wish we had a bit more time, but never had a chance to visit. Next time perhaps.

Further down the avenue, the Vietnamese shops appeared, including a few Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich) shops.

Crossing still not so busy Lane Xang, we soon found ourselves in the back of Talat Sao.

Past the bus station, and the line-up of tuk-tuks.

And into Khou Din Market. Just photos…..

After the Missus picked up some Dragonfruit, we headed back the way we came. Back on Chou Anou, we noticed what looked to be a former movie theatre.

Was now a busy and packed noodle stand.

The street was starting to come to life, and we noticed that this young man had a special passenger!

Cracked us up…..but where's the pooch's helmet?

As we approached the hotel, and the always busy "ping" (grill) stall.

We noticed the bike riding pooch in the fenced off empty lot next door!

And realized we had seen the same dog the day before! I guess this is Vientiane's version of doggy daycare?

About this time, the drum at Inpeng Temple around the corner was going off.

It was lunch time!

To be continued……

Laos: Vientiane – Laos Orchid Hotel and Dinner on the Shores of the Mekong

November 20, 2008 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Laos, Memorable Meals, Travel, Vientiane

Our little haven during our all too short stay in Vientiane was the Lao Orchid Hotel. Located a half block from the Mekong, the Lao Orchid is situated on the quiet side of Chou Anou street. As I mentioned earlier, we walked in and got a suite, which was quite large and comfortable. There was just so much, "space", something we had been without for a few days.

After doing the "Guest house thing" for the last 3 nights, the Missus was really craving some Western amenities (wow, television!!)….I guess we are just "soft Americans" after all! We were really impressed at how clean this place was….totally spotless, and possibly the cleanest floors (to this point) I've ever seen in a hotel. In fact, in keeping with the standard, we saw the housekeeping staff, and even the front desk folks walking barefoot. And we had no qualms about doing the same at all…..

Our view from the balcony wasn't outstanding, though we could make out the Mekong:

What really stood out here was the service …..especially from one young lady named "Ai". Ai spoke good English, and was very eager to be of help, a common trait among many of the Lao people we met. Ai went beyond the call for us, and displayed a great sense of humor. She found much amusement in my interest in Lao Food. A typical scenario would be an inquiry about, say "Naem", Ai would call the staff into an impromptu "huddle" and a short discussion would take place. After which, a concensus would be reached. In this case, "Inter-City makes the best Naem". Hmmm, Inter-City was the restaurant for a hotel next door….I wasn't too keen on hotel food. Funny thing was, Inter-City was recommended later on by several other folks in Vientiane (by "A", and the Young Lady at Lao Airways). This recommendation would prove to be ironic a bit later on. Ai's most outstanding favor, was a touching act of kindness; the Missus hadn't heard from Her parents since we left for our trip. On all of our vacations, the Missus's parents would always stay in close email contact; but this time our emails went unanswered…..the Missus began to worry. We tried making several international calls, but always ran into problems with connectivity. Ai, seeing how worried we were, told us to wait for just one minute……she than pulled out her own personal cellphone, and made the call for us, which got through. It is because of Ai that I quickly learned my second word in Lao (the first being Sa-bai-dee), kopchai (Thank you). And than to add to it, kopchai-lai-lai (thank you very much)…..which I used constantly in Laos.

Deciding to pass on Inter-City, we walked on over to the banks of the Mekong, which are lined with food stalls of all shapes and sizes.

Some of the stalls have elaborate platforms build stretching out over the Mekong, with proper dining tables and chairs. All of them specialize in mainly one thing; what they call "Ping", grilled items, mainly "Ping Pa"(grilled fish) and "Ping Kai"(grilled chicken).

After one quick pass down the Mekong, we settled on the first stall we had seen. It was a pretty modestly equipped stall, you could just say it was a big table. But the woman running the stand had the warmest smile, and though she didn't speak hardly any English, we appreciated one thing:

Everything served here was fresh, there would be no reheated, pregrilled fish served to us. All her fish were live and kickin'. There were only a few fish in the bucket, perhaps five, probably just enough for one evening's worth of service. The Missus had Her eye on one of the larger specimens, and the Woman let Her pick out whichever one She wanted.

We also got 2 huge live prawns that were thrown on the charcoal grill for us.

We ordered a few other items from the young person of slightly indeterminate gender who spoke fairly good English. When it came to the Naem, we were sadly told that they don't make Naem. That was fine with us, the fish looked great, and we'd be happy with whatever we got.

We walked down the hill from the now busy cooking area.

And had the seat on the cushion set upon a platform overlooking the Mekong. We were charmed by the setting…….

The eating area looked quite modest compared to some of the more elaborate stands and dining areas, but for us, it just "felt right". Like we were in Laos, having dinner on the banks of the Mekong.

This is also where I had my first taste of Beerlao, which was named by Time Magazine as Asia's best beer. And thus began my love affair with Beerlao, and apparently I'm not the only one . The beer is crisp and clean, with a mild sweet finish. According to the Beer Lao website , the hops and yeast are imported from Germany, and jasmine rice is used in the process(that explains it!). I must've had this every night except one while in Laos, and was desperately looking for it (to no avail) in Thailand. Even the Missus, who hates beer, loved this. There is nothing quite like sipping some Beerlao (called the Dom Perignon of Asian beers by the Bangkok Post) while watching the Mekong rolling by.

Meanwhile, our food started arriving. First up, was the Stir Fried Morning Glory:

This was the best stir fried vegetable we ate during the whole trip. Perfectly "wokk'd", crisp, with a nice crunch, great fish sauce flavor, and a nice garlic and chili kick. Excellent!

Of course some sticky rice:

And then a very big surprise:

It was the Naem!!! Where did this come from? I've been known to rave, along with Ed from Yuma, about the Naem Khao Thawt from Asia Cafe, but this was in a whole 'nother league! It was very good, a symphony of various crunchy textures, the crisp rice, the peanuts, pork skin, and the scallions. Nice heat from the essense of the chilies, along with the sweet saltiness of the sausage. The item that really got our attention was the addition of coconut milk, which gave this a nice sweet richness, and when wrapped with herbs in cabbage…this was beyond excellent.

The Missus, who was totally blown away by this, quickly ran up the banks to the stall and asked to see how they made this wonderful dish. "Oh no, we no make Naem….it's from Iiin-ter-Citeee!" Was the reply, along with lots of giggles. Now how's that for service? The folks at the stall had not wanted to disappoint us, so they ran on over to Inter-City, and got us some Naem! So in the end, we got our dish…and it was from Inter-City to boot!

Next up were the grilled prawns:

As we have often found, bigger is not necessarily better. These were tough, and had very little flavor. I opened one, and gave the Missus a taste, "eh…." While I was finishing mine up, a young boy walked over and tried to sell us some kind of trinket. The Missus, inspired by the moment (and uninspired by the prawns), offered it to the boy, who instantly, without hesitation, grabbed it, and made a beeline down the shoreline.

The last to arrive was our fish. It was gutted, stuffed with lemongrass and other herbs, crusted with salt and grilled. Served with a tangy-sweet-spicy sauce, it was somewhat of an anti-climax after the Naem. I really enjoyed the skin, mmmm-fish bacon! The meat was on the dense side, and though moist, really lacked any flavor. It was good, but not great. I did finish every inch of skin from that fish, though……

Along with 3 large Beerlaos, the meal cost us approximately $14 US. And that includes the Naem from Inter-City. Fourteen bucks for a meal we consider priceless…..fourteen bucks for such thoughtful and considerate service, and this view, sunset from the shores of the Mekong:

Priceless indeed…….

Perhaps it was the Beerlao at work, but it was at that very moment that I fell under the spell of Laos. And while the stress melted away, and my blood pressure dropped to levels not seen in decades…… I decided, we'd stay another day in Vientiane.

Laos: Vientiane- Across the Friendship Bridge, a Death March around Vientiane, and all this for a Banh Mi?

November 18, 2008 mmm-yoso Laos, Travel, Vientiane

Caution: Long post ahead, with minimal food!

I had been staring at the Thai – Lao Friendship Bridge every chance I had during our stay in Nong Khai. It didn't help that a view of the bridge was in clear view, after just a few steps from our room.

The process of crossing the bridge was quite simple; clear Thailand Immigration and catch the shuttle bus across the three-quarter of a mile bridge (15 Baht):

In a rather interesting "turn" of events; traffic in Thailand drives on the left, while vehicles in Laos drive on the right. Traffic lights on the Laos end of the bridge manage the change. Upon arrival at Laos Immigration, you need to fill in the application for Visa on Arrival. The price is $35 each for US Citizens…there is a sliding scale of prices based on Country of origin. For some reason Canadians pay the highest prices $45, while predictably, citizens of fellow Communist Countries pay the least – Cuba and PR China, $20/US.

You'll need to fill in a destination in Laos on your immigration form; just pick out something from Lonely Planet or another guide. The taxi and tuk-tuk mob once you clear customs is pretty crazed….this was the only time we faced such a "feeding frenzy" in Laos. $10 got us to Vientiane about 40km away. After checking out a Guest House, we kinda decided that we had enough of Guest Houses for now….we ended up at the Lao Orchid Hotel, and got a top floor suite for $65 a night. Super clean, great A/C…and most of all....something we hadn't experienced in a few days….television! The service was also amazingly good, especially a young lady named "Ai". More on Lao Orchid in a future post. In an interesting coincidence, we filled in Lao Orchid as our destination on our immigration form….

After checking in, and a quick shower (yes, it was very humid), the Missus had decided that we "just" had to do the Walking Tour outlined by the Lonely Planet Guide. As I looked over the guide, it said the "tour" was over 6 kilometers! Yikes, shades of the Matra – Taphin death march. And of course, just to one up the folks at Lonely Planet we'd start a few more kilometers out at Pha Tuat Luang. The Missus was obviously channeling Her inner Clark Griswald.

"perhaps you don't want to see the second largest ball of twine on the face of the earth, which is only four short hours away? "

Luckily, the one little tidbit the Missus followed, was to take the trip out via tuk-tuk, which dropped us at the gates of Pha Tuat Luang.

Pha Tuat Luang is considered the most important national monument in Laos. According to legend Ashokan missionaries from India erected a Stupa here in the third century containing a piece of Buddha's breastbone. The history of Pha Tuat Luang is as tumultuous as the history of Laos, and Southeast Asia itself, suffering through several assaults, and finally sacked by the Siamese in the early 19th century.

In fact, when the French arrived in 1867, they found the city totally abandoned. Even good intentions have not always worked out well for Pha Tuat Luang. When first restored by the French, the main entrance was restored facing South, instead of East!

The grounds were fairly busy….with a large group of Chiang Mai University student teachers, the one's in pink are Kindergarden Teachers, in Blue, Elementary School Teachers.

After about 2 kilometers, That Luang Road turns meets the main drag, Tha Lan Xang, at this large monument:

It's Laos' version of the Arc de Triumphe, called the Patuxai. Though the resemblance lessens as you approach…and the motifs on the upper level is unmistakeably Lao. I found a little tidbit of history of the Patuxai to be amusing. In the 1960's, the US purchased, and donated cement that was to be used for building a new airport….but Laos used it to build the Patuxai instead!

The Missus was fascinated, and charmed by the Patuxai:

I, on the other hand, agreed with this, honest to goodness…well, honest sign posted.

Does the Vientiane Tourist Board know about this sign?

Tha Lane Xang, with it's Government and NGO offices is by far the busiest street in Vientiane. Still, check out the traffic:

What makes the situation dangerous, is that what traffic there is goes at a pretty fast clip. And all the cars come in waves. And while walking down Lane Xang we came upon a sudden glut of cars…….it seems like the very large school on the boulevard was out for the day. We needed to cross the street…what to do?

He-he-he….just use the crossing guard! This young lady meant business!

Next stop on the tour…Talat Sao, the huge sprawling market. A seemingly endless maze of stalls, selling everything from textiles to household appliances.

On the second floor was a huge collection of jewelry shops. A simply mind-numbing number of shops and stalls ….

And suddenly we were in a modern, air conditioned mall.

Not quite what we signed up for…..but air conditioning was nice….very nice!

Next stop? That Dam (it's That Dam, not that Dam)…okay, another Stupa. Off on a side street lies the "Black Stupa" that supposedly houses a seven-headed dragon that came alive in 1828 during the Lao – Siamese War and protected the local population. This Stupa, according to legend, was once covered in gold, which was removed by the Siamese during the same War. I guess the dragon was too busy protecting the people? Right now it looks pretty…well unimpressive. One of the more interesting things about this walk was that we passed the American Embassy along the way.

Walking to the end of Lane Xang (yay!) is the Presidential Palace:

Luckily for me, the Presidential Palace is not open to visitors (whew!).

No such luck with Wat Sisaket, the oldest surviving temple in Vientiane.

All kidding aside, the Temple grounds are quite beautiful.

Wat Sisaket is also known to have an inner building holding over 2000 Buddha's. Unfortunately (wink-wink, nod-nod), we found that all these places close during lunch. And my parched throat, and my growling stomach was telling me it was time for a break.

We skipped our next stop, and the Missus led me to a building on the banks of the Mekong called PVO. Why PVO? Well, skipping our next destination, it was the "lunch stop" in the Lonely Planet Guide.

PVO is known for their version of the Vietnamese Sandwich, Banh Mi. I didn't quite know what to think of a Vietnamese Restaurant and Motorcycle Rental. But the ice was, well, ice, the water, was, well, wet, and the Coke Light was saccharide goodness.

The Sandwich, though big enough for the both of us, was not very good.

Instead of being crusty, the baguette was hard, dry, and scaberous. There was an entire scallion thrown in the length of the sandwich. And it was totally saturated in mayo. This was probably the second worst meal on the vacation, and I've never let the Missus forget it….take that Lonely Planet!

Riding the wave of rapid hydration I took a shot at talking the Missus out of finishing the "walking tour". No dice, She was not to be denied. To put it into the words of Mr Griswold:

"I'll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun."

So we back-tracked to Wat Haw Pha Kaeo. The grounds housed an impressive temple, which was originally built to house the Emerald Buddha. We again ran into the education students from Chiang Mai University. A large collection of Buddahs reside inside the Sim. But for us, the various Buddhas lining the outside of the Sim was more impressive.

The Lao-style Buddha's are posed in various positions, including, Offering Protection (hands are out front, with palms facing front), Contemplating Enlightenment (hands out front, crossed at the wrist), and Calling for Rain (photo to the right).

There was also a huge jar from the Plain of Jars located on temple grounds. I actually enjoyed this! Hey maybe the Vientiane Death March wasn't too bad after all….

The Missus continuing with the single minded goal of accomplishing this walking tour in record time, marched off out of temple grounds, and headed left on Sitthathirath Road. We managed to squeeze in a stop at Wat Mixay, before heading back to our hotel on Chou Anou….and a much needed shower (I sure smelled past my due date by this time).

If you're ever in Vientiane, or Luang Prabang for that matter, you should pick up one of the excellent maps provided by Hobo Maps. We found the maps to be priceless. You can follow our walk on this map of Central Vientiane. After a short break, and having replaced the 4 gallons of fluid I lost during our walk, and ignoring the "snap, crackle, and pop" of my joints (apparently my synovial fluid was drained during this walk as well), I was looking forward to this:

The Missus had also moved on….She was already spending time with Her new constant companion, the Lonely Planet Guide, circling places of interest for tomorrows "walk". I could already see our Griswold-ian future:

"Tomorrow you'll probably kill the desk clerk, hold up a McDonalds, and drive us 1000 miles out of the way to see the world's largest pile of mud!"

But of course that's a whole 'nother post!

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!

Thailand: One Night in Bangkok – Part 1

November 4, 2008 mmm-yoso Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

I've been waiting to use that line for almost 25 years! Not that I'm a fan of the song……

If you want to keep track of our various modes of transportation for this trip, you can start with a train. We decided to take Amtrak to Union Station, and skip the gas prices (still way over $3/gallon at the time) and stress. For $29 each we made it to Union Station, and caught the FlyAway Bus to LAX for $4 a piece. It was easy, no traffic, no increased blood pressure, no road rage. And being your typical Asian, we provisioned ourselves well(you never know when hunger may strike!!!)……we had a package of several bentos….just enough to keep our strength up for a arduous trip ahead.

We again flew EVA, and spent a bit extra for Elite Class, the leg room, and the mere tantalizing possibility of sleep on a 14 hour flight is justification enough. And so we start with a weird photo of airline food:

What made this interesting was that the chicken actually had peppers in it! Never thought I'd see the day that hot peppers would be used in standard airline food. It did have some zip! What do I do with the standard issue roll?

EVA does a good job of keeping you fed, but for some, it's just not enough….

It's always amusing to see an animated representation of your trip……..

Having ample time to discuss our plans for the next few days on the 14 hour flight to Taiwan, and the 3 1/2 hour leg to Bangkok, we decided that our best move would be to fly to Udon Thani. So we bought tickets on Air Asia at their booth in Suvarnabhumi Airport. Air Asia has some really low fares, the flight to Udon Thani cost only $30 a piece……taxes, however were about equal to the cost of the airfare, thus doubling the price!

Taxi note for Bangkok. You'll get mobbed by various "Limo Drivers" at baggage claim…bypass them and go to the taxi stand (50 Baht fee) streetside. Oh, and it doesn't end when you get into the taxi either. Insist that the driver use the meter. We were quoted a "real cheap" price of 800 Baht, "meter no good, going to cost you 900 Baht", which is totally bogus. The price via meter 280 Baht, going via the "highway all the way" (i.e. toll booths), another 70 Baht, plus, you'll get to your destination faster because the driver can't wait to get rid of you. Airport fee 50 Baht.

Not being familiar with Bangkok, I decided to stay in the Banglamphu area. It is pretty close to the sites we wanted to check out, and we'd only be staying overnight. The Guest House selected? One called Lamphu House. It is located off of Soi Rambutri, down an alleyway, and is relatively quiet, if a bit run down and no frills.

Of course, for 680 Baht (a tad over $20) it would do. The sheets were clean, the A/C worked well, and we had our own bathroom, even if the water was more cold than hot.

Add to that the fact we were totally bushed, and I had no qualms about staying here. Plus, the staff was very nice, they let us store our bags the next day after check-out, while we went to visit a few sights around Bangkok. Pretty easy going folks.

One thing is for certain….you'll never go hungry in Bangkok…never. The entire city smells of food!

All shapes and sizes….

One thing we noticed in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, was the amount of what I can only loosely call "sushi". This stuff was everywhere.

And also, a preoccupation with anything that resembled a sausage.

We were starting to get overwhelmed by the crowds and the pollution, so we ducked down a side alley in the Banglamphu Market area, and found a little food stall doing great business.

You basically ordered one of the 2 curry like noodle soups, and helped yourself to herbs and veggies. The Missus loved the pickled greens, and I found the bittermelon to be quite good. This was a nice little snack, and we felt refreshed enough to head back out onto the street.

And ran smack dab into the "TFC" stand…..that would be Thai Fried Chicken. It smelled heavenly! I have never been known to possess an iron will in the face of fried chicken, and this was no exception. Except, in this case, my compromise existed of only having this:

In an show of uncustomary restraint, I "only" got a bag of fried chicken skin. (10 Baht) Fried to crisp perfection, mildy spicy, with a hint of sweetness, these were wonderful. For some strange reason, I felt stuffed after finishing off the chicken skin.

And just for the heck of it, we took a stroll down that special area, the backpacker hell called Khao Son.

Noisy, crowded, with cheap Guest Houses lining the road, it was sensory overload……man did I ever need a shower…..

After that shower, and a short nap, we hit the streets again, just to get our bearings. And even though we weren't very hungry, we decided to stop by Roti-Mataba, a very well known Roti/Curry stop that gets mentioned by Lonely Planet, and other publications.

The first floor of Roti Mataba is stifling hot, and grease has splattered everywhere. But there's an upper level, that is powerfully air conditioned….I swear there was frost on the windows. We tried a few of the curries:

One beef, one chicken. I recall the Missus enjoying this much more than I. We both thought the Roti was much too sweet.

And on the way back to our room, the Missus spied something She could not resist.

Few things beat fried egg goodness………………the chicken with basil and chilies was quite good (salty and spicy) as well. Even though She was still full, the Missus somehow found room for this. (35 Baht – $1) It was a nice way to end the evening.

We crashed, only to arise wide awake at 4am. What to do? The Missus and I decided to reprise what we did at 430 am in Hanoi, and we headed out to see what we could find.

And wouldn't you know it, on one of the side streets there was some activity. Stands selling rice porridge.

And vendors making their way down the street, setting up for the morning trade.

Various stands were selling fruits and vegetables.

And than the Missus saw it….

The Kanom Krok vendor. Lovely, molten, tongue scorching discs of coconut goodness.

10 Baht for ten of these Kanom Krok, nice and crisp on the outside, with a searing pudding like center. The Missus considered these the third best She had on this trip.

The lady making these confections was very nice. She demonstrated how to make them, and let the Missus turn over the Kanom Krok. It's always a good time for a snack in Bangkok.

As we returned to our room, sans several layers of derma from our tongues, I noticed that the bars on Soi Rambutri were still open! I guess there's no last call in Banglamphu?

I also noticed a young man, a tall young man……when we arrived he was passed out on the sidewalk in front of the 7-11. In the afternoon he shuffled past us, blood shot eyes, smelling of the "cash crop". During our evening stroll, I spied him staggering down the avenue, playing bumper cars with the Pad Thai carts and taxis parked along the street. Here he was, 5am in the morning, having beers with a group of girls at one of the tables in the bar, the cycle starting all over again. What is this strange hold that Bangkok has on a person? I guess those lyrics from that familiar song never rang so true.

"One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the Devil walking next to me"

One Night in Bangkok (1984 – Murray Head)

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.

I'm still wrestling with how, and what to post…..

With tons of photos of various Wats (Temples) in every city….

I wish I had a cold Beer Lao to help me figure things out right about now…..since I don't, any suggestions anyone?

Meanwhile, hang in there….I'll be right back!!

How (not) to plan a vacation the mmm-yoso way….And yet another update on the (former) Vien Dong III Supermarket

October 12, 2008 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Travel, yoso-silly

One day after we returned from our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, the Missus was after me to start planning our next vacation. Our first idea was:

We both thought this would be a great idea……I’d get to eat my fill in Merida, and other towns, and the Missus has always wanted to visit Chichen Itza and Uxmal, and perhaps even get some beach time in at Tulum. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, something happened, and we thought that maybe we should do this some other time.

So up next was another bright idea:

Tikal is another site on the Missus’s list, and the areas we planned to visit were away from the paths of most hurricanes. As a plus, I thought we’d bus our way into El Salvador. But what stopped us this time, were the ticket prices….they started in the mid $300 range…and slowly approached $800!

About the time I was contemplating just calling it a year, some civil unrest took place in another country. Now the Missus knows not to trifle with Mother Nature, but a little civil unrest, in a Country that is known as "The Land of Smiles", and that we’ve always heard fantastic things about? The only thing that the Missus, a classic opportunist, thought was "lower ticket prices!" And so it came about, by the time I purchased our airline tickets, the Prime Minister of Thailand was forced to resign for taking payments for appearing on a cooking show.(!) There’s got to be some irony there somehow…..so maybe this is the trip that was meant to be.

We’ll soon find out. As many of you are reading this, we’re on the way to LAX. This may be a bit different than other trips. Other than making our first nights hotel reservations, we’ll be "winging it", with just a basic outline, and no real plans. I only know when we’ll be arriving in Bangkok, and when we leave, everything else is wide open. The basic outline is to spend a day or two in Bangkok, than head North, past Nong Khai into Laos, and Vientiane, and eventually Luang Prabang, before heading back to Thailand. I think I’m a bit old to be traveling by the seat of my pants, but what the heck…..

And even though I now have the largest collection of Lonely Planet guides in San Diego, at least we know where we are headed, sort of……

So I’ll now turn you over to Cathy, who I can’t thank enough for keeping our blog’s heart beating. I’ll try to check in every now and then, but other than that, we’ll see you in a few weeks!

One last update:

As mentioned by "Sam" in a previous post. Vien Dong Market is now going to be a location of Thuan Phat Supermarket.

I know there’s a Thuan Phat Supermarket in Westminster, so I’m wondering if they are affiliated?