This trip was important to LY and me, and momentous for several reasons:
1) It would be her last ‘ItchyNut’ holiday as a single woman.
2) It could be our last ‘ItchyNut’ holiday for awhile. There will be a major geographic change for me and D soon – but that’s another story.
We’ve been going somewhere together every year since 2000, when we started making our own money. We started with short and cheap long-weekend holidays to Pangkor Island. When we could finally afford it, we went on our first overseas holiday to Bali in 2004. Followed by our annual pilgrimage to Bangkok.
I suppose our biggest splurge was our trip to Harbin early last year where we froze our butts off before vegging out at my Shanghai apartment for a week. She’s not only my BFF. She’s the best travel buddy ever. I’m gonna miss her. Uhuk.
DAY 1: LUANG PRABANG, LAOS
After an overnight transit in Bangkok , we arrived in Luang Prabang late Saturday morning via Bangkok Airways. What a tiny, tiny airport. A waiting van took us to our little hotel right in the heart of Luang Prabang town. The ride didn’t take very long, and we were surrounded by lots of green hills, dirt roads, people on bicycles… very quaint and kampung-like.
Luang Prabang town is on a small peninsula shaped like a thumb, flanked by the Mekong on the left and the Nam Khan on the right. There are many outdoor activities just outside of this town (jungle trekking, elephant riding, Buddha caves, Kuangsi waterfalls and other typical tourist tours), but we decided to take it easy this holiday. The memory of LY breaking her ankle while jungle trekking in Chiangmai (2007) was still vivid in our minds. And yes, we were lazy.
After checking in, we took a walk around town. Contrary to the gloomy forecast we were expecting, we had sunny weather, and the clouds crept in only when we stopped by Joma Bakery. There were rave reviews about this place but we found it overrated (and overpriced).
We had a late afternoon beer at Utopia with kai pen (local river weed… no, not THAT type of weed) and jiaobong (a local sambal made from garlic and chillies). It took us a while to find it, weaving around local neighbourhoods, dodging chickens and motorbikes. The beer served could’ve been colder, and we were disappointed that the mugs weren’t frosted. The kai pen was tasty, and this being our first time trying it, albeit oily from the deep fryer. The dips were really yummy though. I guess the novelty of this place was the bamboo deck built over the NamKhan riverbank. But I wouldn’t say it was worth the effort seeking it out.
We sat on dirty-looking mattresses thin long cushions that could double up as a day bed.
I planted my butt gingerly on them to make sure there was no skin contact (I was wearing shorts, eeeek). They kinda gave me the heebie jeebies , but some Caucasian tourists were happily sleeping under the influence.
We soon realised that we arrived just in time for the boat races happening the next day. There was a festival atmosphere as banners and flags were put up, and hotels down the NamKhan riverside were setting up tents and tables right by the riverbank. It’s an annual event where teams from different villages around Luang Prabang come to compete.
We had dinner at Coconut Garden on Phousi Road, the main artery of the peninsular. A simple meal of amazing garlic pork, and aww lahm, an eggplant soupy dish with rice. The garlic pork was ridiculously addictive. A scoop of tamarind sorbet was a refreshing end to our meal.
The night market on this same road was not unlike other markets in this part of the world, selling cheap t-shirts, ethnic bags and bric-a-brac. Everything was priced in US dollars (USD1 = 8000 kip) so we weren’t quite in the shopping mood. We were about to make our way back to the hotel when there was a blackout in our part of town. We found out later it’s not uncommon here.
DAY 2: LUANG PRABANG
After a simple breakfast at the hotel, we felt like trying some French pastries in this former French colony and stopped by at Croissant D’Or, also on Phousi Road. The croissant I had was pretty buttery and flaky, while LY loved their refreshing fruit shake.
When we got to the NamKhan riverside, it was obvious the party was rocking. Long, beautifully carved boats glided gracefully on the water, each powered by about 40 men, paddling furiously. People were drinking Lao beer in little disposable cups, cheering for their favourite teams.
Children ran down the streets chasing vendors with colourful balloons, and people crowded around game booths set up along the road. There was even a little concert going on. Lots of interesting street food too, including a ‘fruit rojak’ vendor. It looked similiar to ours, but with fresh tamarind, local quince and fresh olives.
A note we saw at the boat crossing area said this, “It is the boat racing festival and the staff wants to go drink…” LOL!
It was almost lunch time, so we walked towards the quieter Mekong side of town to eat at NamKhong Restaurant. The reviews were pretty good and we were glad to find it under some shady trees. We ordered cold beer (which wasn’t very cold), a Lao pork salad and their famous Lao sausage. Yummy. It had a good view of the river and monks would randomly appear on little boats, climb up the steps from the restaurant to the main road and disappear.
A solo Thai middle-aged man walked to our table and spoke to us in Thai, probably thinking we were Thai tourists like himself. Realising his mistake, he went on to tell us in English that he just finished a meeting in Vientiane and decided to pop into Luang Prabang for the day. A regular visitor, he said the locals and tourists were friendlier here, and generally more ‘clever’ (in his words). Funny man. He went on to recommend a few places in Luang Prabang and some small towns we should check out in Thailand as well.
We said our goodbyes but bumped into him later that day at Cafe Ban Vat Sen. He had befriended a group of interesting tourists. A bunch of Americans (some graduates fresh out of law school and a professional photographer). An elegant Swiss lady professor working in Japan. An English gentleman who lives in KL. And a young Israeli boy on his leap year. We had an animated conversation about travel and politics. And oh, the coffee was so good. Their Lao-grown coffee had a distinct, smooth and robust brew. I had TWO espressos. Black.
For dinner, we made our way to the Tamarind Restaurant by the NamKhan for their ‘Adventure Set Meal’. It offered wild ferns from the forest, strange veges, mashed tamarind or eggplant dips, roasted wild olives, horned beetles, paddy frogs, river crabs, pork innards satay, buffalo skin, and other funky stuff. Not something we would rush to have again but it was pretty interesting. And sticky rice… yum! *heart*
NEXT: ItchyNut@LaoSamui – Day 3-4: Luang Prabang
