Curious Laotian menu items

Beloved --
Besides #7 above, we had bamboo worms, whole frog, water buffalo skin, sticky rice cooked in bamboo, fish amok and others that I'm having a hard time remembering. Hmmmmm?
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

Highlights from Lao/Cambodia trip

Beloved --
Hello from Chennai, India (again):

A few images from the time in Thailand, Lao and Cambodia. The crucified Ronald McDonald was on several lamposts in Chiang Mai. The moonrise and sunrise shots are across the Mekong from Thailand into Lao (near the Golden Triangle). The family picture is our Laotian guide--Somchit--and his auntie. And the parade of monks was during their early morning rounds in Luang Prabang.

I was invited into a drop in game of petanque in Luang Namtha with some of the locals and thanks to too much time playing bolle at home. But I did our side proud! And enjoyed the lao lao (rice moonshine).

We had a great hike in the Nam Ha Conservation Area of Lao, the highlight of which was a picnic on the ridgeline with banana leaf plates and freshly cut bamboo chopsticks. The meal featured sticky rice and something like babaganoush! We encountered Black Tai, Lanten, & Khmu tribespeople during the hike.

Luang Prabang (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is home to 4,000+ monks some of whom you see above on the early morning alms & food collection rounds. We each bought 4 kilos of oranges to distribute one-by-one to the monks in the early morning light.

Kayaking on the Nam Song river near Veng Vieng is more like a S. Florida Spring Break party with beer swilling European youth and blaring Bob Marely--very unexpected in this karsk rich part of Lao.

We had a short stay in Vientiane where the mighty Mekong appeared more like an un-navigable stream looking across the flats towards Thailand.

Phnom Penh: The Killing Fields, the S.21 prison, and a real roadside fight and probable murder that we all witnessed from the bus made it hard to sleep that night. There seems to be an underlayment of violence in this part of Cambodia.

Siem Reap/Angkor Wat (more pictures to follow, I promise): Sunrise visit for my 1st view of the temple complex. 5:30am tuk-tuk ride. Angkor Wat was built in the early 1100s. It was first Hindu and then Buddhist (like the ancient Khmer kingdom) and is considered the largest religious building in the world, having been photographed from space by early NASA astronauts.

We finished this tour with a trip to Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater body in SE Asia and a highly productive fishery--smelled like it, too. The floating villages of Tonle Sap are 30% Vietnamese and 70% Cambodia.

More details and pictures later. . . .

I love you and miss you all,

Jim

A hectic week in Chiang Mai

Beloved --
On the suggestion of one of my fellow travelers in northern Thailand, I hurriedly booked another travel adventure through REI for two weeks in Laos and Cambodia.
That we were able to get the forms filled out and .pdf-ed back in a timely fashion is due to some very sharp Thai teenagers in a little internet cafe in Chiang Mai. They rallied behind my "cause" and stuck with it until everything--nine pages of signed documents--was "receipt acknowledged" at headquarters.
I did have time to explore more of Chiang Mai while waiting for the Lao/Cambodia trip to start. I moved to a Thai guest house to save a few bucks and spent time with some Theravada Buddhist monks who have daily "monk chats" to work on their (mostly) English language skills and explain Buddhism and Thai culture to anyone who spends time with them. Lots of people seem to be afraid to engage them, but I found them quite pleasant and informative. And the chat wasn't all "Where do you live?" Why did you become a monk?" "Why don't monks eat dinner?"
I asked them a lot about their practice of meditation--right meditation being part of the Eightfold Path. Their was much agreement that it was hard to eliminate "monkey mind" and come to a place off quietude and inner resources. The monks practice twice a day for an hour and a half each time. Their suggestion to us "farang" was not to imitate any uncomfortable physical position like the cross-legged posture--"You Europeans (sic) didn't grow up doing that." Rather find a place that is comfortable, so that the monkey mind doesn't grab onto fighting pain--"There is enough else to do," the monk assured me.
I'll get the Lao/Cambodia experience caught up soon. Both of those countries were beautiful, hot, and with troubled recent histories. But both are people by some charming characters.
I love you and miss you,
Jim

More choices

Beloved --
On Sunday February 1st, we were again given a choice of activities--either a very challenging bike ride or a Thai cooking class. We all--Lonny, Angela, Rene, J.J., and I--opted to help prepare lunch. . . .Thai green currey, spring rolls, phad see ieu, featured prominently. There was also a special dessert prepared by Aan (our assistant guide) consisting of coconut cream and bananas. We all had a good time chopping and stir frying. The results were tasty if not perfectly presented.
After lunch we hoped into our mini-van (sadly) for the ride back to Chiang Mai. We stopped at a silk factory and the "World's Largest Jewelry Store" on the way. Silk spinning and weaving, silver and gold smiths and gem cutters, all working very hard and openly for the public. Needless to say, both the silk factory and jewelry mart had shops associated with them. In both cases there were beautiful finished goods and only moderate sales hype. Quite a contrast to the simple hill-tribe crafts and people.
Our last meal together was at a riverfront restaurant that is famous and popular with both Thais and "farang." Again the food was wonderful and the company delightful. Mr. Pan played host and our cycling master and driver, Som, also joined us.
After dinner we made a quick visit to the Night Market where we bargained hard for some last minute souveniers just for the fun and camaraderie. I now have a cloth shoulder bag and leather bracelet. Lonny has a Dr. Seuss hat that he promises to wear at least once "back home." (Watch out, Denver!)
On Monday morning my trekking buddies left early for the sand and sun of Phuket. I opted to stay in Chiang Mai and put together a plan for the rest of my time in SE Asia. My ticket back to India is on February 24th, so I have a little, but certainly not enough time to even begin exploring.
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

A day made for cycling

Beloved --
Saturday January 31st was meant for cycling--fresh and cool. We headed off through villages and farms, some rice and surprisingly some corn. We ended up for lunch at a country outdoor picnic/dining spot that seemed to be a favorite of the local police and other government officials. They arrived in their sparkling clean pickups and are warmly and jovially greeted by the staff.
After lunch--I would have enjoyed a nap, we seem always to hike, kayak, or cycle in the heat of the day--I hydrate and press on. After an hour or so of cycling, we are given a choice. It's either an easy road to our next guest house or a more challenging route--a "technical" trail for about 10kms, very rutted and impassible in the rainy season. The technical trail, you guessed, was the route I picked, along with one other cyclist and our Thai mountain biking master, Som. It was a challenge, but we all survived.
After calming down and cooling off from the technical descent, we visited a betel nut chewing village about a kilometer beyond our encampment. These villagers were hard bargainers, but offered some good deals on their geegaws, especially goofy hats and wall hangings, if one should want either of those.
One particularly attractive women followed me through the village shouting, "Buy me, buy me!" which I'm sure was messed up in the translation and not what she meant at all. It was an idea worth considering (he jokes) until she exposed her blood-red, betel nut juice stained teeth. Our guides said that the villagers found the color attractive.
The guest house/facility is used by different trekking/hiking/scouting/student retreat groups. On this particular Saturday night several groups, including ours, gathered round a campfire for a full-tilt, chaotic, multi-lingual hootenany. The campfire was still smouldering at dawn, when I got up to greet the dawn (and survey the remnants). There had also been a wedding party in the village that night, so no one for kilometers around, got a sound sleep for all the singing and village fireworks. What a hoot!
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

The ride back

Beloved --
A nice ride through villages and rice paddies back to the resort and the chilly pool after our visit to the coffin maker. We enjoyed yet another spectacular Thai dinner with our head guide, Mr. Pan, joining us this time.
It was not always Mr. Pan's habit to eat with us. In the hill-tribe villages he ate with the host families and assistant guides. I can quite understand his eating separately from us--it's hard work to enjoy yourself in table conversation in something other than your native language. Pan is a great guy and does his best--and the conversation becomes more animated after a couple of Singha beers.
I should mention that REI Adventure tours does its best not to exploit the usual tourist attractions and environmentally damaging trekking practices. We did not go to Karen villages where the women's necks were stretched over their lifetimes. That is a much touted "cultural/eco-tour" in the store fronts in Chiang Mai. The elephant sancturary we visited--despite a pretty kitchy show--works to rehabilitate/care for elephants that have been used to clear land mines in Laos. Our hiking was all in national parks and forest preserves. The money for the homestays in the hill-tribe villages goes to the villagers and are intentionally not tourist traps. (After a few days now in Chiang Mia seeing what is being flogged to the tourists as trekking adventures, I'm very happy with the REI Thailand Multisport trip. By way of full disclosure, I do not work for REI or any of its affiliates. I do have a very low--read 5 digit--membership number, which used to get me a free beer amongst the Northwest expat community in Greece whenever we would play "low coop number poker." Wonder if that still works?)
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

Biking and kayaking for a change

Beloved --
After lunch on the 29th, we drove for about 45 minutes to a pretty plush resort to recover after several nights of "roughing it." (The rooms actually had flushing western style toilets!) Spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool and chatting with my companions about our time with the "hill-tribes."
On Friday morning (1/30) we rode our mountain bikes through villages and by rice paddies along an irrigation ditch to a man-made lake--part of the flood control program protecting Chiang Mai and nearby villages. A one-hour paddle up lake to a floating restaurant. This getaway would be a great place to spend more time. There are guest rooms associated with the restaurant and the water was inviting, despite the algae bloom. The scenery looked like the San Juans with the waterfront trees in full color--for lack of rain we were told.
After a leisurely lunch (will I ever tire of Thai food?), we paddled back down lake to our bikes for the ride back to the resort. Along the way we stopped at the shop/factory of a "coffin maker." He provides elaborately decorated, colorful, and huge structures--with full scale elephants and crocodile motifs--which are paraded through the streets as part of funeral processions and then burned along with the deceased. The ashes are then encrypted in the stupa of choice. The current work was especially oppulent since it was to be used for the funeral of a much beloved and famous monk.
I miss you all and love you,
Jim

Thailand trek (continued)

Beloved --
This second hill-tribe village has electricity and road access to the towns north of Chiang Mai. As a consequence the village is loosing its young people. . .only about 120 villagers remain.
I got up early to watch the sunrise and was accompanied to the village gate by a very friendly dog. A young monk walked into the village about half an hour after sunrise and "set up shop" in the small building that serves as the town center. Several families brought offerings of food to the monk and received his blessing for their kindness. One of those offering food prepared by her family was a small girl of 4 or 5. She had difficulty negotiating the steps up to the monk while balancing here family's offering. The monk and the little girl beamed smiles at each other.
After receiving the offerings from the villagers, the monk departed with his bounty in a very neat looking saffron colored stash pot. I was told by our guide--Mr. Pan--that he and his fellow monks will have nothing more to eat save what the villagers provide on a daily basis. It must be enough. (Like the orthodox priests I remember from my ex-pat years in Greece, I have yet to see a skinny monk here in Thailand.)
Our third day of hiking (January 29th) involved a steep 3 hour descent. In order to preserve my knees for the upcoming days of mountain biking, I opted to ride down through the beautiful countryside with our baggage in our four-wheel drive support truck. Wise decision, I was told by my fellow trekkers who hiked down. . . .all of whom are good companions, fun to be with, and half my age (whine, whine!) :>} I had forgotten the luxury of being with friends who share a common language. What a treat after my time in India, except for my time with Anna.
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

Thailand Trek

Beloved --
The first sound in the Karen village--after the dogs and roosters--was the steady thumping of a human powered rice mill. The rice is placed in a hollowed out wooden round (a little bigger than we would have when splitting firewood) and a see-saw with another piece of wood is repeatedly pumped up and down by the operator. The woman we met doing this was at it for over and hour, stopping periodically to empty out the wooden "mortar" into a winnowing basket. For all her hard work, she wound up with about 10 pounds of useable grain. We saw several of these machines throughout the village and some of my companions helped pump the see-saw for a bit, discovering that it was hard work. (They also helped unload a pickup filled with firewood.) Coffee, we were told by our guide, has recently been introduced as the cash crop in this mountainous area--replacing opium.
The young boys in the village played a curious game with wooden tops about the size of baseballs. The objective seemed to be to knock the spinning top of the previous player as far into the woods as possible with your own top and then giggle. (But then again, try to explain baseball.)
We departed the Karen village around 9:00am for what would be our longest day of hiking. The highest pass was around six thousand feet with vistas across the tea and coffee plantations towards Chaing Mai city. To the west were the mountain passes leading to Myanmar and to the northeast Laos and peek-a-boo sightings of the mountains of southern China. We encountered several Hmong tribal members heading up trail toward their villages. We finally arrived at our second hill-tribe village at dusk on January 28th.
I love you and miss you all,
Jim

Chiang Mai Sunday (and beyond)

Beloved --
Early Sunday morning runners. . .the main street is blocked off and the runners went by for at least an hour. The breakfast buffet here at the Amari Rincome Hotel is outa this world--Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and if you must American. (To answer Mr. James T.'s question, the food here is wonderful and it just keeps coming.)
The REI group made a trip up the mountain west of Chiang Mai to visit the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple--it's the place where legend has it a white elephant was left to wander with a pagoda on it's back and expired high up the mountain. The temple and the view are worth the trip--both the elephant's and mine!
Our group made a visit to the Sunday market in the old city, the market having been established as a weekly show place for local arts and crafts. Lots of cool stuff and not near as much a hastle as the daily night market just east of the old city.
On Monday we started up the foothills of the Himalayan mountains after stopping for a couple of hours at an elephant compound--mahouts, trained elephants and an hour's ride through the compound. These are the elephants that are famous for their "art work." It actually was cool watching them paint some pretty realistic representational original(?) artwork. I think they were having fun.
About an hour into our climb I noticed several Thais following us with some very long rifles slung over their shoulders. A bit alarming at first, but we stopped and chatted with them. They were hunters, using black powder and going for the wild boar that inhabit these hills--also civet cat, porcupine, and squirrel. They were a jolly nice bunch, but didn't have anything to show for their efforts.
The first village we spent the night was Karen--think the National Geo picture of the lady with the stretched neck with the gold necklaces. There was no electricity in the village. The government had installed solar panels for each home, but the panels were so covered with dust that the efficiency must have been down by 50%--enough to keep the few florescent lights going until about 8:00pm.
The mini-bar at the guest house was a tub with cool river water and some Chang beers and cokes. Quite hospitable, I thought. After a long hike the beer tasted good, even if it wasn't ice cold. The little things, you know.
It dropped down into the lower 40's overnight and I was happy for my sleeping bag liner and the extra blankets provided by our Karen hostess--"grandma." Lights out everywhere in the village by 8:00pm and then the roosters and dogs started in at about 4:00am. We were at 4,500 ft. And I love it, despite the smoke of the in-house wood fires and the squatter/bomber toilets.
I miss you all and love you,
Jim