Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is an old French colonial style town reminiscent of the pre WW2 days when all of Laos was French Indochina. A town with a quiet charm, good food, good shopping and an opportunity to learn more about Lao life.
After eating at Tamarind restaurant we decided to take one of their cooking classes run by a young local named Joy. This started with an early morning visit to the market to see where all the ingredients come from, and while we have been to many markets, going with a local sheds new light on the experience. For example he was able to explain that the bucket of brown sludge this lady was stirring was actually home made fish sauce. A concoction of water, sticky rice powder, salt and dried fish that is left to ferment, (perhaps fester) until the flies stop buzzing around it, usually 6 to 12 months, before it’s ready to use. And the tasty congealed blood used to feed young children because it is easy to gum through and rich in nutrients. He was also able to explain how the markets sell meat without any refrigeration. It seems that the Lao people think the flies covering the meat add flavour and they don’t lay maggots until the afternoon heat arrives, so as long as you shop before lunch, everything’s fine.
Joy took us back to his house where his sister had setup the cute outdoor kitchen, surrounded by banana and bamboo trees and a view overlooking the river. There we spent the next few hours preparing our lunch of tasty treats like fish cooked in spices and wrapped in Banana leaves, sticky rice, Lemongrass stuffed with chicken and various traditional spicy dips of eggplant, tomatoes and (too many) chillies.
The next day was my birthday, so we took a drive to see the spectacular Tat Kuang Si waterfalls for a vigorous hike and refreshing swim in the turquoise waters of the limestone pools. Later in the day we strolled through the night market perusing the local merchandise followed by a special birthday dinner at a French restaurant for some good wine and cheese.