Luscious Laos

We spent two fantastic weeks in this beautiful, luscious and green country. 

Here are the fantastic food and boozy beverage highlights:

• Tubing in Vang Vieng; one of the most unique drinking experiences in the world.

Tubing down the river

The fantastic setting

Bar one

This is a must do when visiting Laos and a hilarious way to spend an afternoon. Basically you float in a tractor inner tube 3km down the river but there is a slight twist! There are a number of bars strewn along the river offering cheap beer, volleyball, table tennis and a complimentary shot of rice wine on arrival. As you’re floating effortlessly downstream, the bar workers stand there with their make-shift fishing rods waiting for their catch. As you float past them, they chuck the fishing rods into the river, which you dutifully grab and then you are reeled into land.  From here, you walk into the bar and order your drink. The river is a bit dirty, discoloured and quite fast flowing so you never feel 100% safe but the scenery is spectacular and once you have visited the first bar you can’t wait to get back in the river to float down to the next. It is a really fun way to spend an afternoon. 

• Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a beautiful French colonial town with a really relaxed pace of life that Laos is famous for.  At sunrise, to start the day, it is quite an event to see the alms giving ceremony. Here, the Buddhist Monks walk en masse down the main street and members of the public donate different items of food. With a staple diet of bananas and biscuits, a nutritionist might argue that this isn't exactly the best diet. However, these donations are what the monks live off for the whole day, so at least they're not going hungry. Some of the monks were rather porky so they don’t do too badly.

The monks getting their daily food

Following the alms giving ceremony, you can go and grab yourself a delicious fresh fruit smoothie and crepe for breakfast from one of the many food stalls in town. 

Our daily visit for breakfast at the market

Once you’ve enjoyed your delicious banana and nutella Crepe, it is time to get into what Laos people do best- chill out!

Getting used to Laos living

Read a book and try the mouthwatering local specialty Laap in one of the many lovely restaurants.

Delicious!

Laap is basically a Laos mince meat salad, it sounds quite bizarre but it is actually really tasty. It is most often made with chicken, beef, duck, fish, pork or mushrooms, flavored with fish sauce, lime juice, padaek, roasted ground rice, chili and fresh herbs (coriander and mint). It is a really fresh zesty dish with a little kick behind it. As often the case with dishes in Lao Laap usually comes served with sticky rice and raw vegetables. I can’t say I am too much of a fan of sticky rice! It is a special type of rice, which is very sticky when cooked, but in a sort of dry and over-cooked way. Laos people use the rice as a carrier for their food so they can eat with their hands. On this one occasion, I would rather eat the British way with steamed jasmine rice and cooked vegetables and eat with a knife and fork. However, the bamboo pots which the sticky rice is served in make the rice look impressive. Sticky rice and raw vegetables aside, laap itself is delicious and a must try if you’re visiting Laos.


Due to the strong Buddist influence on Luang Prabang, when the clock strikes 11pm the town shuts down and it’s time for bed. If you don’t feel ready to call it a night, the only thing left to do is grab a taxi and head to the out of town bowling ally to continue your night - a very bizarre experience! 

• The Gibbon Experience

Before we left Laos there was one thing we had to do- ‘The gibbon experience’. This consisted of two days zip wiring across 200m valleys through the jungle at heights amassing over 200m. It truly was as if we were gibbons. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience! We stayed the night 60m high in the middle of the jungle in a beautiful tree house. Our food was delivered to us via a zip wire by the local villagers. This has got to be the best view I have ever had whist dining!

Preparing for take off

Zip wiring through the jungle

View from our treehouse

The most perfect setting for dinner

After two fantastic weeks in Laos, it is time to explore Northern Thailand and from there, teach English in Khao Lak; an area hit by the Tsunami in South Thailand.

Also read about our teaching experiences on: http://teachingaroundtheplanet.blogspot.com/