March 15th - Luang Prabang, Villages and Drunken Leaders
Our last morning in Vientianne. We hit the famous morning market after another round of European baked goods and coffee. The morning market, and all Lao markets, are an important part of daily life. Rural folks either ship their goods or truck them in to the nearest metropolis for sale to tourists and more often to Thai merchants. The Thais then resell them at a mark-up back home. Bargaining is commonplace but it feels funny to haggle someone down from $1.50 to $1.25 if you're not buying wholesale. Plus, I was a sucker for those cheery Lao grins.
In the afternoon, the group headed to the airport for our flight to Luang Prabang. Lao Airways was nice enough to provide water, a wet nap and some tamarind chews for the flight. Unfortunately, they chose these luxuries in favor of air conditioning, but it was only 95 degrees outside. Maybe 110 on the plane. Regardless, we safely landed in Luang Prabang. The former capital of Laos, it's a picturesque city located in the mountains along the Mekong (btw, it's may-kong) river.
After arriving in town and checking in to another lovely guest house we piled in the tuk-tuk for a trip to some local villages.
Various crafts and necessities are still made by the surrounding villages who employ a socialist/communist mentality to their work. In the blacksmith village, 80% of the families work the trade, and a percentage of all goods sold go into a community fund.
This eventually pays for events such as weddings, funerals or illness. With the gradual opening of the countries borders the youth are increasingly exposed to technology and opportunity. It's inevitable that the traditional village life will disappear in time. For now, however, we got to see some great stuff. Blacksmithing over a hot fire in 90 degree heat. Silk weaving, complete with silk worms slithering in a basket and paper making from pulp to product. We even witnessed the cycle of life with some newly hatched chicks puttering around next to a grill of freshly bbq'd hen feet. Mmm delish!
It was a long and tiring day so Karen and I treated ourselves to the fanciest joint in town for dinner. L'Elephant is a French restaurant where a three course dinner with wine and beer only runs you $30. Robbery in most parts of Luang Prabang but a needed respite for us.
We returned home to find our fearless leader, Bom, obliterated. He made the guest house attendant run out and grab a bunch of Beerlao while he regaled us with jokes, stories and famous quotes from classic films such as Con Air. "Put... the bunny... back... in... the box!"
In the afternoon, the group headed to the airport for our flight to Luang Prabang. Lao Airways was nice enough to provide water, a wet nap and some tamarind chews for the flight. Unfortunately, they chose these luxuries in favor of air conditioning, but it was only 95 degrees outside. Maybe 110 on the plane. Regardless, we safely landed in Luang Prabang. The former capital of Laos, it's a picturesque city located in the mountains along the Mekong (btw, it's may-kong) river.
After arriving in town and checking in to another lovely guest house we piled in the tuk-tuk for a trip to some local villages.
Various crafts and necessities are still made by the surrounding villages who employ a socialist/communist mentality to their work. In the blacksmith village, 80% of the families work the trade, and a percentage of all goods sold go into a community fund.
This eventually pays for events such as weddings, funerals or illness. With the gradual opening of the countries borders the youth are increasingly exposed to technology and opportunity. It's inevitable that the traditional village life will disappear in time. For now, however, we got to see some great stuff. Blacksmithing over a hot fire in 90 degree heat. Silk weaving, complete with silk worms slithering in a basket and paper making from pulp to product. We even witnessed the cycle of life with some newly hatched chicks puttering around next to a grill of freshly bbq'd hen feet. Mmm delish! 
It was a long and tiring day so Karen and I treated ourselves to the fanciest joint in town for dinner. L'Elephant is a French restaurant where a three course dinner with wine and beer only runs you $30. Robbery in most parts of Luang Prabang but a needed respite for us.
We returned home to find our fearless leader, Bom, obliterated. He made the guest house attendant run out and grab a bunch of Beerlao while he regaled us with jokes, stories and famous quotes from classic films such as Con Air. "Put... the bunny... back... in... the box!"
posted by Tim | 8:52 AM
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