Bamboo, qeej, waterfalls, and more bamboo

Phillip and I had a great time yesterday here in Luang Prabang, Laos. Phillip found, and I booked, the "Bamboo Experience and Kuang Si Falls" all-day tour. Our guide, Sai, is the owner of Wander Laos, a tour company focusing on Lao culture. He had been a Buddhist monk for a while and worked in the tourism industry for many years before starting on his own with the Bamboo Experience. Sai picked us up from our hotel and took us to his house where he had built an entire two-story building and outdoor kitchen for his endeavor. He shared the importance of bamboo to the local people and demonstrated some of the many bamboo tools that are used. We were especially amazed by the various fish basket designs.

There are over 50 varieties of bamboo, some used for weaving and some, the bigger, harder bamboo, like the one Sai is holding, is used in construction.

Since we were also cooking lunch with Sai and his wife, we jumped over to the topic of sticky rice and Sai let us pound the husks off the rice kernels.

Phillip did a great job tossing the rice to get the lighter husks and broken rice out of the pounded rice. 

Sticky rice is soaked and rinsed before steaming. Sai's wife showed me how she uses her hands, not a colander, to transfer the rice to the bamboo (of course!) steamer basket. 

While the sticky rice was steaming, we went back to bamboo. An older gentleman, Ti (not sure of the spelling), demonstrated how to process raw bamboo for weaving. We did some of the peeling with him, but not the knife-work. 

Our next project was weaving bamboo. Ti showed us how and then helped us. He would tell us "two over, one under, two over" or whatever the pattern was. As he is not used to handcrafts, Phillip had some difficulty and Ti laughed with Phillip as he struggled to get the pattern correct. 

We did both complete our coasters in a herringbone pattern. Ti then provided us with a shot of banana whiskey and bamboo rings to celebrate our successful project. He also gave me a bamboo bird and horse that he had made. We then moved over to lunch preparation with Sai and his wife. We chopped, pounded, and stuffed for our lunch. A mortar and pestle combine the spices for almost all our dishes. We prepared fish with herbs in banana leaves, pork-stuffed bamboo shoots, and several condiments to go with the sticky rice. Sai's wife also prepared a vegetable soup and a noodle dish that included bamboo shoots. 

After lunch, Sai arranged for a Hmong musician to give a performance of the qeej. The qeej is a traditional instrument, made from bamboo, that produces a sound like a bagpipe, but much cleaner and more pleasant. It doesn't rely on a bellows, but on the in-and-out breaths of the musician. The musician also dances as he plays. So interesting and enjoyable.

Our next activity was the trip to Kuang Si Falls. Sai drove us, about 45 minutes away, to the Falls. During the drive, he described the countryside, noting for instance, when we passed the water buffalo dairy. We had seen very few cows but many water buffalo, so I guess it only makes sense that milk can come from the buffalos. We didn't stop at the dairy as it is a commercial operation, not a tourist spot. The Falls, however, are a popular tourist spot. Phillip and I didn't swim there, although swimming is allowed and others were in the water. 

We walked the trail to two of the three levels. It was a beautiful series of cascading falls into turquoise pools.

The trail wound thru the forest, so it was almost comfortable going uphill in the heat.

The second level had the tallest of the waterfalls, 50 meters, and a bridge across the pool of water so that people could see both sides of this waterfall.

We didn't go to the third level as it was a steep scamper without handrails up rocks and I don't do scamper. We walked back down, briefly stopping at a bear rescue spot, but the bears were sleeping in the heat of the day. Sai took us back to town and dropped us off at our hotel. It was a delightful day for us, one of our best tours ever. We hope that Sai's Wander Laos tour company does well as tourism returns to Laos. 

Today, Phillip and I walked to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center, a small museum of clothing and musical instruments of the four ethnic groups who live in Laos. One of the four groups is the Hmong, so we saw the qeej in the museum and read of its history and uses. The center also had hands-on projects, so Phillip tried again to weave bamboo.

After the center, we walked thru the morning market, buying roasted cashews and fried bamboo shoots for our evening snacks.

From the market, we walked again down the tree-shaded road next to the Mekong River. No bridges here so crossings are made by ferry. 

We returned to our room for me to make this post, but we will venture back out for dinner. It rained quite a bit yesterday evening and it is clouding up again now, so I'll have our umbrellas with us this evening. And, after dinner, I'll have my bamboo shoot snacks. 

River view, green parks, and a Tuesday Buddha in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is the opposite of Vientiane, fortunately. We arrived at Luang Prabang's little airport yesterday after an uneventful flight (the best kind, right?) on a propellor plane. It's been quite a while since our flight was not on a jet! I read to expect to pay 100,000 kip for a ride to town from the airport. It was only 80,000 kip ($4.60). Our hotel is delightful, run by a young couple who speak some English. And, they charged us $18 less than the amount I had reserved the 5 nights for. Balcony room, without the air conditioner compressor on our balcony:

Overlooking the river, the Nam Khan, a tributary of the Mekong. 

After checking in, we walked on a well-maintained sidewalk along the river to where Nam Khan joined with the Mekong River.

Continuing on the road next to the Mekong River, we were so happy to see cool parks, with trees, plantings, and benches.

As we've been doing in other cities, we walk back in our hotel room by 2 pm to avoid the afternoon heat. It may be prettier here, but it is still hot. From our balcony, Phillip watches construction at buildings between us and the river. Keeps him occupied while I read or plan which restaurant we will walk to for dinner. A worker was tiling the roof this morning. No nails or screws, just overlapping tiles with a concrete roof ridge to secure the top run of tile.

This morning, we tackled Mount Phousi, the south side of which is just across the main road from our hotel. I chose to walk further, to the less steep ascent, but it was still a chore.

First set of stairs

Uneven brick and concrete steps, but with reasonable rise in each tread (not like those Angkor steps!) to flat areas.

Mount Phousi is covered with Buddhas. I wore long pants because it is considered a holy site.  People were putting flowers and lighted incense at some of the accessible Buddha statues. Some statues were identified because the images were created with Buddha in a specific position. This one, Tuesday Buddha, does not show Buddha at rest. The image represents Buddha making himself bigger than the evil Asura Rahu in a reclining position to lower the pride of Rahu. 

The bulk of the Buddha statues were midway up the mountain. We continued on up the stairs to the top. This is a set of more steps after I climbed them to yet another landing.

From the top, we had views of the city, the Nam Khan River, and the Mekong. 

Across the Mekong River from top of Mount Phousi

Phillip had to venture off the top viewing platform to get a better view. I did not follow him. 

For the walk down, I chose the steeper route. No pictures during that walk as I kept one hand on Phillip's shoulder as I was quite anxious, aware of the height more this time. After Mount Phousi, we walked another few kilometers around town and returned to our hotel just as it began raining! Tomorrow: cooking class and the waterfalls. 

Vientiane, Laos

Phillip and I have spent the past four days in Vientianne, the capitol city of Laos. We are here because we want to experience at least two cities in each country we visit. If we visit just one city, I might choose poorly and end up with an inaccurate perception of the country. We are hopeful that our next Laotian city, Luang Prabang, will improve our impression of Laos.

We did have a pleasant cooking class during our first day here. Madame Phasouk, a highly educated, English-speaking lady, operates a cooking class in her home, about 2.4 km from our hotel. We made, and enjoyed, papaya salad, chicken laab, and a Laotian pork vegetable soup that was flavored with lemon grass. Laotian laab, although similar to Thai larb, is seasoned with roasted, ground rice instead of peanuts. I liked that, alot. Madame Phasouk also showed us how to shred the green papaya with just a knife, that's what I'm doing in the picture.

Back to the city itself, for a capitol city, it appears that insufficient money is spent on infrastructure and maintenance in Vientianne. 

One of the major streets, the boulevard that runs from the presidential palace to Patuxai has those same littered, uneven sidewalks and very few trash cans. It was too hot yesterday (heat index: 113 degrees) to walk all the way to Patuxai, but we were close enough for a picture. Patuxai is a war monument, dedicated in 1968, to the Laotian independence from France. It was patterned after the Arc d'Triumphe in Paris. 

I booked our hotel close to the Mekong River. During the rainy season, the river is probably close to the hotel; however, this is near the end of the dry season. In the distance, about 300 yards across the undeveloped dry grassland, is the Mekong. The land on the other side of the river is Thailand. Because the Mekong here is a national border, no pleasure boats operate. 

Unfortunately, Laos can claim the title of the per capita most bombed country in the world. Between 1964 and 1973, over 2 million tons of ordnance was dropped on Laos. The US bombed Laos because the North Vietnamese were traveling thru Laos, the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, to attack US troops from the west who were south of the DMZ. It is estimated that 30% of those bombs did not detonate, leaving 80 million cluster bombs, referred to as UXO, still in the Laotian countryside. This unexploded ordnance is a serious problem, even 50 years later, as it can still explode when farmers till their soil or children find the "bombies" (tennis ball-sized individual bombs that make up a cluster bomb). We visited the COPE visitor's center. COPE is a non-profit organization supported by the US, Norway, Australia, and many more countries which provides prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation for Laotians injured by UXOs. 

I mentioned the unbearable heat index, that is a constant. Until today, when a front came thru and it's only expected to be 96 degrees, the temperature has been 106-107. As dry as the vegetation is, it seems amazing that the humidity is so oppressive here, reflected in that 113-115 degree heat index. At least this hotel, which was formerly a Best Western, has a swimming pool. Not as nice or a well landscaped as the one in Siem Reap, but the water is just as wet and welcome after walking in the heat.

Tomorrow, we fly to Luang Prabang, a 45-minute flight. We are flying because no other reasonable option is available to get there. That pesky infrastructure issue! I expect that, because Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it will be more welcoming to tourists. Perhaps the food vendors won't ignore us and the shopkeepers won't charge us double price for a bottle of water, our experience here in Vientiane. Phillip and I have had good food here, not all vendors won't interact with foreigners. We enjoyed these meat skewers and the mango with sticky rice, even if the lady tried to overcharge us. Unlike most vendors, she had her prices posted so I gave her what this totaled to, not what she said. She accepted the correct amount. 

On to Luang Prabang: a mountain to climb, a cooking class to attend, a waterfall to visit, and maybe a closer river to see await us! 

Phnom Penh: SEA Games, sights, Killing Fields

Phillip and I have been in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for five of our seven scheduled days now. Although hot, it does not seem as hot as Siem Reap. More traffic, but not as much as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. We have been averaging about 5 miles a day walking, although today we hired a tuk-tuk as our adventures took us out of town. 

We see this sign all over the city. My friend Google tells me that Cambodia is hosting the Southeast Asia Games for the first time in the history of the games. These SEA Games are a regional (11 countries) biennial sporting competition. 581 events will be held in Cambodia from May 5-17, kinda like a smaller version of the Olympics. While walking along the river on our second night here, we got to see the parade of Cambodian athletes. 

As 90% of its citizens are Buddhist, there are many wats, some more elaborate than others. We are wearing shorts, so we are not going inside any of them as the dress code requires the knees and shoulders to be covered. 

Even though the riverfront walk is about a mile away from our hotel, we've walked along it several times. The riverwalk itself is 3.5 km (2.1 miles), but it's the biggest green space anywhere near us. 

During the evening, party boats go out for short cruises on the Mekong River. This spot is where the Tonle Sap River joins into the Mekong. The boats seem too loud and crowded to us, so we won't be having that adventure.

One evening, we were on the riverwalk and decided to eat at the Night Market. For US $2.50 each, we had plates of stir-fried pork and vegetables (me) and pork and noodles (Phillip). As Westerners, we did sit at a table, not at the other food court seating area shown below!

In addition to many wats, we also come across numerous statues and monuments during our walks.  

The Independence Monument was interesting to see. Designed by a Cambodian architect, it commemorates Cambodia's independence from France in the 1950s. It was a much larger version of the above statue. Zooming in, naga (five-hooded cobras), cover the monument, reflecting the Buddhism of the country. (A naga protected Buddha from a terrible storm while he was meditating by wrapping around him and opening its five hoods to cover him.)

Because of the heat, we have only been eating two meals a day, breakfast at the hotel and dinner out. Well, that and a fruit smoothie (mango, coconut, or avocado for $1.50-$2.50) during our morning walk. Our favorite meal here was lok lak at a nearby restaurant yesterday evening. Chicken this time. We will return to that restaurant again before we leave. I'm glad I got the lok lak recipe during the Siem Reap cooking class to make it when we return home.

One of the main reasons that we chose Phnom Penh for a visit was to explore the history of the Killing Fields and the genocide of the Pol Pot regime. We are firm believers in the George Santayna quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Here in Phnom Penh, we went to Tuol Sleng, S-21. 

Tuol Sleng was a high school until 1975 when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge forced over a million people out of the city and turned this school into the main political prison and torture center of the area. Of the 12,273 people (the administrators kept records that did not get destroyed) who were prisoners here, only 7 survived. The others died during torture or were sent to Choeung Ek.  

I only took one picture inside before I saw the sign that read "no pictures, please." The classrooms of two buildings were divided into many cells where teachers, monks, and other educated people were chained before being tortured or killed in classrooms of a third building.

This morning, we took the above tuk-tuk for the 17 km drive to Cheoung Ek. Cheoung Ek was an orchard when the Khmer Rouge set it up as an execution center. 17,000 people were murdered here and buried in 129 communal graves between 1975-1979. Each of those depressions you can see in the below picture contained 100 to 500 bodies when the Vietnamese finally put an end to the genocide in 1979.

Cheoung Ek is not the only killing field. According to the United Nations, over 2 million Cambodians, 25% of Cambodia's population, were executed, starved to death, or died because of torture during those years. This location is the national memorial for all the deaths. 43 of the communal graves here are not being disturbed. A Buddhist stupa containing the skulls unearthed from this former orchard was very haunting and unforgettable.

Phillip and I rewatched the Angelina Jolie movie, "First They Killed My Father," a few days ago. The historical narratives by survivors that we heard today on our audioguides at Cheoung Ek matched the story told in that movie. 

In two days, we travel to Laos where food, waterfalls, and more food will be the subject of my posts.