Masterchef Lao style

Inspired by possibly the best street food we have ever had - a vegetarian buffet - that cost us less than £1 each - we signed up for a Lao cookery class which was fantastic. After being taken around the market and being told about the local ingredients we went to the class and cooked a five course lunch - see results below. Lots and lots of fresh herbs, chillies to taste, buffalo bile, tripe and beautiful fish, sticky rice and some amazing fruit all cooked over an open charcoal stove - a great experience! We were given a cook book as well so expect some unusual grub in Bickley!

Waterfalls

Yesterday we had a long drive day to get us to Luang Pradang, where we end the first leg of the trip. We left at 7 and arrived at 4, so to refresh ourselves we stopped for a couple of hours at a waterfall outside town for a dip - good times. On the evening we had the most fantastic veggie buffet on the street - pics to follow! The other pic below us some of the scenery enroute - this is a stunning part of the world

Lagoons and lightning

We continue on our way north towards the Chinese / Laos border, climbing up through some spectacular mountain scenery, heading for the town of Vieng Vang, which turns out to be a bit of backpack heaven or hell, depending on your point of view - full of tacky bars and restaurants. Anyway enroute we looked at a dried fish market, and then we had a lovely swim in the "Blue Lagoon" a natural pool up on the hills - then lounged about playing cards and sun bathing.The next morning we were awoken by the most spectacular thunder and lightning plus torrential rain, so the day had to be spent sampling the delights of town :-( I did manage to spot a cockfight though - pretty gruesome I must say.

Country three

Our tour of SE Asia continues apace, another hard days drive takes us to Vientiane in Laos - on the banks of the mighty Mekong again. Very laid back town, with strong signs of the years where the French ran the place, from the food to the buildings. Only had one free day here, so zoomed round the main temples and the museum - very interesting view of the whole American imperialist vs local heroes situation. Out for a great meal of coconut curry decorated with a chilli flower which I was daft enough to eat. Moving on again tomorrow up onto the mountains, China is getting nearer!

Camping it up in Thailand

Enroute to Laos , we had our first camping experience of the trip, in a sugar cane field near the border. Out came the supplies, the campfire was lit and the crew set up a cocktail bar before barbecuing ribs and chicken, with Chinese salad and mashed potato. This is not normal Dragoman crew behaviour and they assure us that next time we will be doing all the cooking - we did all help a bit here as well. With then silly games around the fire it was a great night, Maggie enjoyed it despite being nibbled all night by critters and not sleeping much - plus the al fresco toilet was a joy :-)

Next report from Vientiane in Laos where we now are.

Angkor again

Day two of our visit to this amazing place, full day round the main temples and palaces, culminating with sunset - writing this sitting in the bar absolutely knackered - it's been scorchio today.

The sheer scale and variety is what got us, plus the great amount of reliefs with lots of different actions - the gods, the humans, the animals - fantastic. Anyway, a few samples attached, full slide show will be prepared upon our return.

We leave Cambodia tomorrow after too brief a visit, the people seem very friendly, the rip offs not too bad, the food lovely, the culture very interesting and it's l blooming hot - what's not to like? Perhaps litter situation - not good!

Temples and Toast

First visit to Angkor Wat - up at 4am to catch tuk-tuk to get there before sunrise. Fully lived up to expectations - beautiful views despite sharing with several hundred tourists!

We then toured around all the outlying temples - it's nearly 30 hectares - which are varied examples of the Angkor building skills - almost 1000 years old and just amazing example of human tenacity used in a good way - the perfect antidote to the past few days. Took far too many photos of course so just a few examples attached.

We return tomorrow for a full day touring the two main temples - Angkor and Thom Wat - so after about 5 hours today our group retreated out of the high 30s temperature to an air con brunch complete with bed loungers and couches - bliss! More temples to follow - it's Angkor time!

Tarantula, cricket and stuffed frog

The culinary treats just keep on coming! The two likely lads pictured here were among the sellers at the food market we stopped at today - amongst the offerings were these crickets, deep fried tarantula, baby chicken and stuffed frog. If you zoom in you can see the spider legs which was all I managed of that lot, if but I did chomp a whole frog ( well its a sort if fish isn't it?) which was delicious stuffed with all sorts of lovely herbs. Next stop Angkor Wat or the local hospital :-) needless to say Maggie did not try the spider - wimp I say!

Phnom Penh

Leaving here this morning, bound for Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, really looking forward to that. This has been a great city to visit, beautiful palaces and temples, very lovely streets, great smells and a happy hour that never ends :-)

Our visit to the Killing Field and prison S21 was sobering, but well worth it, it must not be forgotten. So onward l

The Lotus eaters

En route to Phnom Penh stopped for a snack as you do - birds nest juice and lotus seeds on offer. We had the seeds - scrummy 😎

Swim and massage Cambodia style

After yet another temple, which was inundated with hopefully the last of the new year celebrations - this time with two full water cannons soaking the crowd - we found a local swimming pool then had a Cambodian style massage - excruciating - bent my body in ways I did not think possible - which was carried out by blind masseuse - a great if painful experience. See picture for the after look 😀 Big drive tomorrow to Phnom Penh, next post from there probably.

Buddha and Cambodia veggie breakfast

Just had delicious Cambodian vegetarian breakfast - special "meats" tofu, sweet chilli sauce and pickles. Great to look at as well, followed by yet another temple! Now chilling in room as its a bit hot outside, 38C at least. Hoping for a massage by blind people later.