Food, glorious Laos food

Check out this wonderful post by Jill, about food and meals in Laos. Wonderfully written, and some great photography of the mouth-water delights she encountered.

Jill's Scene

There’s a small, unassuming restaurant along Kounxoau Road in Luang Prabang that’s my favourite place to eat in Laos. We discovered it one cold, wet evening after a day out and about in the rain. John had been biking. Ben and I’d been less adventorous, some might say soft by comparison. We sheltered in the Guest House until the rain eased to showers before venturing out, even so coats and brollies were required.

Rain on the Mekong

We all wanted something warming and homely for dinner that night and this small family run restaurant met the bill. Sadly, I don’t know it’s name. There was no sign. That large white sign to the right in the photo is for real-estate. I hope this restaurant isn’t for sale because for us it represents everything good about Lao food.

My favourite restaurant in Luang Prabang and all of Laos

The service here…

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Pak Beng gets a second chance

Join Jill on the start of a nightmare bus journey which soon gets forgotten about when she arrives at one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Jill's Scene

Pak Beng, a small town on the banks of the Mekong, in Northern Western Laos, did not make a good first impression. We traveled there from Luang Namtha, via Oudamxay, to catch the slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. It marked the beginning of our return home.

In the back of the tuk tuk, on our way from the bus station to our guest house, I looked across at John. His face was still very pale. What on earth are we doing here, I wondered to myself.

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Luang Namtha

More from Jill on her trip in Northern Laos. You’ll be amazed by what hangs from the rails on the bus!

Jill's Scene

When I stepped onto the local bus from Oudamxay to Luang Namtha in Northern Laos it looked full. I gesticulated my question and several of my fellow passengers smiled back at me and pointed out the last two empty seats.

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Oudamxay

Join Jill in Oudamxay, Northern Laos where she takes a fascinating look into Laos city life.

Jill's Scene

Oudamxay, in Northern Laos, was never on my must visit list when it came to planning our trip. And that’s most probably the case for a lot of travellers. But at only three hours by local bus from Muang Khua it was a convenient place to stop and for me to rest up before continuing on to Luang Namtha. The lack of tourists, and all the infra-structure that goes with tourism, provided a fascinating insight into Laos city life.

Oudamxay

Oudamxay is mainly a trade centre. It’s close to the Chinese border and it shows. Many of the signs are in Chinese as well as Laos script. (I’m showing my ignorance here – I don’t know which particular Chinese language.) According to the Lonely Planet 25% of the population is Chinese.  And we wondered if the towns on the other side of the border might in fact be very similar.

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