We checked into our guesthouse, and went to look for some food. We ended up at a tourist restaurant overlooking the Mekong river. We ordered a bunch of dishes, and they were all solid, but not overwhelmingly awesome. Afterwards, we went back to the guesthouse to plot our next day, in which we hoped to overnight up north. Walking around town, we found out that the 100 Waterfalls tour was not only a ripoff, but took up way too much time, so we quashed that idea quickly. However a new idea surfaced, and you'll hear about that idea in the next entry. After we booked some transportation for the next day, we went to the main wat, in order to watch the sunset over the Mekong. Despite being overrun by tourists, we were treated to a magnificent sunset, and a fantastic view of Luang Prabang town. From here, we could see the "rest of the town"; that is, the part which wasn't all touristy. We vowed to explore it later.
From here, it became dinner time. We were all in agreement that we wanted to stay off the main drag, so we walked. We made a few turns. And then walked a few blocks. And then a few more. And it became less touristy, and more local. But we weren't finding anything. We were about to turn back, when all of a sudden we came across what appeared to be a hot pot restaurant on a swamp. Bingo! We figured this was it, so we sat down and ordered a huge heaping plate of meat. It wasn't traditional hot pot; rather, you put a cube of pork fat on the grill in the center, and then put broth around the side of the grill. You cooked veggies and noodles in the broth, and grilled meat on the grill.
This meal also marked the first liters of the Lao national pastime of drinking Beerlao. And I have to say, it wasn't all that bad. Now once I was made aware that the cmpany actually sanitizes and reuses empty Beerlao bottles, I was a bit sketched out, but beer is beer, and Laos is a communist country, so your options are limited. Jesse and I took down a bunch of Beerlao which led to superior picture taking skills like, and Gabe became the grill master.
So we finish this gigantic plate of food, and then Gabe wondered if we should get some more. Long story short, before an incredulous Jesse's eyes, Gabe and I proceeded to order a second gigantic plate of meats...and we devoured it.
It was definitely one of the besr meals of the trip because it was just one of those moments (er two hours) where everything was just in perfect harmony - at a local joint on a swamp on some random street in Northern Laos.
Afterwards, after inadvertantly getting ripped off by a tuktuk driver due to the launggae barrier for a grand total of like 25 cents, we walked through the market, basking in the glow of our surprising dinner success. I picked up a Beerlao t-shirt, and then we headed back to retire for the night. We were all exhausted (Jesse and I were still recovering from Causeway), and the next morning was to be an early one as we journeyed off still more north into the depths of what we would soon find to be a breathtakingly beautiful country.
I don't like buzzed pictures of myself much, so this mid tuk-tuk ride picture was actually a totally fine effort on my part.
And the next morning, we were picked up by a minibus already full of people going to our transfer point (Nong Khiaw), as well as Phonsavan, our future destination a few days down the road. And then more people got in. And then our baggage was moved to the roof because MORE PEOPLE GOT IN. And we couldn't figure out why we all were in the same minibus if we had different destinations...and then, an hour after getting into the minibus a mere three miles away, we showed up at the bus station. The journey hadn't even begun. Welcome to transportation in a country with almost no infrastructure...to be continued.
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