This is Laos

After crossing the Mekong into Laos, I was immediately aware how poor Laos is compared to neighboring Thailand. I shared a tuk-tuk with a family transporting huge sacks of food. A small girl with a disheveled ponytail wore a baggy, dirt-covered sweatshirt with the words "i love you" written all over it. Boils covered her tiny hands. A five hour bus ride (see A word on Lao buses) took me to the provincial capital of Luang Nam Tha. Don't let the word "capital" fool you. Aside from a couple of paved roads, and a string of guesthouses and restaurants, this village is just like any other. Dusty red-dirt roads lead to stupas on hills and roosters provide alarm clocks (once they even started before I fell asleep at midnight). It was a wonderful introduction to Laos. I ate curry noodle soup at the night market, climbed up a hill to a stupa overlooking the area (where the sweetest temple man smiled and took a blurry picture)...
... and rode a cruiser bicycle with a basket along dirt/rock roads to a waterfall. The ride took me through rice fields, bamboo shack villages with naked kids and baby pigs running around, and winding mountain views.

The waterfall itself was nothing much, but a peaceful place to hike and enjoy the quiet woods. I'm surprised that I didn't get a flat tire (or whiplash) from the extraordinarily bumpy ride, but I enjoyed it all the same. My room was modern and comfortable with hot water and HBO. I sniffed out the herbal steam sauna and treated myself to a massage. The sauna smelled strongly of lemongrass.

Next stop was a small village called Nong Khiaw set on the banks of the Nam Ou River. I settled into a riverfront bungalow and marveled at the limestone peaks jutting up in all directions.

I took a bike to nearby caves that used to serve as a bank during the US secret war. I met an American there who was kind enough to share his torch. We weaved through narrow passageways and laughed when we saw the sign for the financial office, tucked down a small "hallway" with a low ceiling and walls we could only enter sideways. Some girls joined me in one of the caves and had fun taking blurry pictures with my camera (notice a theme here?).



At my guesthouse, a woman was weaving a shawl. She said each piece takes her about 4 days to make. Here she is at work- I really admire her patience.
A supposed one-hour boat ride north of Nong Khiaw takes you to an even more remote village called Muang Noi. The journey took closer to 2 1/2 hours, partly because we had to get out and walk at least a mile of the way due to strong rapids. It was a proper hike through forests and sandy banks. Again, I cursed my flip-flops as I tripped on roots and almost lost one when my leg sank down into the mud. Muang Noi is also perched on the river, and guesthouses boast fantastic views. I stayed at Banana's bungalows, run by an eccentric woman who goes by "Mama." I got the last of three bungalows and enjoyed Mama's home-cooking on my porch while admiring the scenery.
We only had electricity from 6-9:30pm each night (generator run). As the sun set, I could see locals bathing and doing laundry in the river below. During the day, they conduct business on wooden canoes, using a bamboo pole to push them along. The people work really hard; often I see children carrying heavy loads on their backs, holding the strap with their forehead. Women seem to do more manual labor than men.
I walked through a fairy-like forest to a couple of caves, and continued on through rice fields and tiny villages. Butterflies and dragonflies flitted around me the entire way.

I was pleased to find an herbal sauna with a hot bucket shower. The villages around this area supply cold river water for bucket showers. Although the days get hot, mornings and evenings are chilly, so hot showers are most welcome.

Lao cuisine
Although you can sometimes find Thai standards, Lao cuisine is distinctly different from Thai food. Most dishes are served with a wicker basket of sticky rice. It's eaten with the hands by grabbing a chunk, forming it into a ball and dipping it in the food. It is ever-so addictive! Noodle soup is another mainstay and is seasoned by pouring in your own cocktail of soy sauce, fish sauce, chilies and sugar. Kao Soi is a clear broth with fermented soy or pork paste, mixed in with dark greens such as morning glory, onions, sprouts and noodles. Another popular dish consists of fish or meat ground into a paste with herbs and steamed in a banana leaf. A restaurant in Muang Noi concocted falang (foreigner) rolls, which although not authentic Lao food, pleased me all the same. Like a sushi roll, it's sticky rice wrapped around banana, honey and peanut butter topped with sesame seeds. Like in Thailand, Lao people eat with a large spoon, pushing the food onto it with a fork. Chopsticks are used for noodle soup.
After a week in small villages, I was ready for a taste of city life. I took a bus to Luang Prabang, an Unesco World Heritage site and home to plenty of temples and French architecture. More to come...