Laos – After over two months in Southeast Asia, I’ve spent most of my time in more developed areas and though I’ve taken in the mountains and jungles, my feet barely touched the soil. Now it was time to trade the flip-flops, which had replaced heels when I left New York, for sneakers. Here in [...]
Laos - On the tail end of a two-day trek near Luang Prabang, we stopped for lunch in a little town near the Namtha river. After a bowl of rice noodle soup, we were served a pile of gorgeous papaya pieces under trees full of the unripe fruit. I’ve always found papaya a little too funky, [...]
Luang Prabang, Laos – If there’s one thing I learned here it’s that the markets are where it’s at in Southeast Asia. In Luang Prabang, the morning market gets going early with locals shoppng for all sorts of produce, butchered meats, rice and dry, packaged goods, or sitting down for a breakfast of stew and [...]
Khao Pek at Namphou Cafe in Vientiane Laos - In the U.S., you might add a dash of salt and pepper or a squeeze of ketchup, but the making of your dish is pretty much finished by the time it arrives at your table. Not so in Laos (or most of Southeast Asia), particularly when it [...]
Laos Coffee, Black Vientiane, Laos - No, I’m not referring to the stuff tuk tuk drivers try to sell you late at night on the streets of Vientiane. I’m talking about coffee beans. About 5-10 years ago, I’m told, Laos imported its coffee from Thailand and other places. Even though the French introduced coffee plants in [...]
Fresh Spring Rolls at Vientiane’s Night Market Vientiane, Laos - The sun is beating down on Vientiane’s concrete sidewalks and when it’s hot like this I like small meals with fresh flavors. Lao food delivers. Fruit shakes, pork balls with lots of greenery, and spring rolls, fresh or fried, can be found around town. The fresh [...]
Vientiane, Laos - I was given strict advice before heading to Vientiane: have a Beerlao by the Mekong at sunset. Given that Laos’ national brew is pretty tasty, heads above its neighboring counterparts, that wasn’t a problem. For more pictures, click here.
Khao Jii Pate on Th Samenthai Vientiane, Laos - Around Thailand and Laos backpacker-oriented stores carry shirts with the words “Same Same” on the front and “But Different” on the back, a reference to the oft-used Thai saying, for which there is no English word, that two things are similar with slight differences. When I asked [...]
Croissant & Cappuccino at Benoni’s Cafe, Phimpone Market Vientiane, Laos – In Laos’ laid-back capital, Vientiane, you can find its French colonial past in the architecture, the streets (here they’re called rues), and, of course, the food. Cafes and bistros are interspersed between Laos, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants and stalls and crusty baguettes are everywhere. [...]
Transit Kit Chiang Mai, Thailand – Tonight I’m taking an overnight bus, another bus and some tuk tuks to reach Vientiane, Laos for an extended visa run. It pays to be prepared on these trips. Transit Kit for hunger: sweet sesame peanuts and taro sticks for thirst: bottled water for clean hands: wet wipes for [...]