Luang Prabang, land of bread

 After our tiring trek in Luang Nam Tha, Danna and I headed to Luang Prabang where the game plan was to chill out, eat and get real massages. Laos doesn't have the best transport options for the area we were coming from, so in order to get to Luang Prabang, we spent 9 1/2 hours cramped into the back of a hot, stuffy mini van with limited air flow. However, getting to Luang Prabang was well worth the effort. It is an adorable little town with an old French quarter filled with bakeries, cafes, and shops offering all sorts of tours. I have to admit that after two solid months of rice and very limited amounts of plain white bread, I was looking forward to the French influence and spending my mornings eating a croissant and reading a book.

My favorite man in the night market!

One of the many stalls serving tons of Lao food. 

We landed in Luang Prabang for 4 nights and 3 full days which is the longest we've stayed anywhere in about three weeks. It was really nice to unpack the bag and let it breath for a bit as things were starting to get a little smelly! :)  Because the mini van journey thwarted our plans of spending the afternoon wandering around the city with the extra two hours it took, Danna and I dumped our things and headed straight for the night market and street food. We were starving as the food from the roadside stand at lunch combined with the crazy mountain potholes and curves, did not sound appealing. The food at the night market was delicious as most street food seems to be and the market was huge! We spent over an hour perusing the stalls and seeing what all there was offered.

I have to admit that I was very lazy during my time in Luang Prabang and did not make much of an effort to go see or do anything. I used the time to relax, recharge, read and journal. I spent a lot of time wandering up and down the French quarter, eating pastries and finishing an awesome book.

Piah demonstrating a dish for us.

The most strenuous activity I did in the city was join a cooking class for an afternoon which as always, was a delight! There was only one other 'student' in the class with us, an Australian man so it made the class feel like it was catered to our needs. Our instructor's name was Piah and he demonstrated four dishes. We got to sample all of them and choose two we would like to make. They were all simple dishes yet full of interesting flavors! Danna and I chose to make a chicken/ pork curry-like dish and a pork salad. The pork salad wasn't a salad with the traditional lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Instead, it contained, banana flower, lemongrass, spring onions, cilantro and few other leafy greens whose names I cannot recall.

Our food turned out delicious and we were given sticky rice to eat with it. I don't understand how this rice turns out so differently from normal white and brown rice but it really is very sticky! The locals eat it with their fingers and it sticks to everything it touches! One of the other dishes Piah demonstrated was a chili paste that sounded brutally hot but actually was fairly mild. The recipe calls for 50 dried chilies, countless garlic cloves and a variety of other spices. The garlic helps counter some of the spice of the chilies and makes for a lovely vegetable dip as I discovered.

Danna and I with our finished products.

Sticky rice being cooked.

I believe I fell a little bit in love with Luang Prabang and the laid back feeling it had. I also felt like we started to meet some genuinely friendly people. During our time in Muang Sing and Luang Nam Tha I was a little disheartened by the lack of friendliness we had received from the locals but it seems that the further south we go the friendlier the people are getting. I am definitely enjoying my time in Laos more than what I was during the first week. I never realized what a difference a smile would make in making me feel welcomed in a foreign place!