Chill-out day

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A day for chilling out, and soaking up Lao, its food and activities. It started out with a tuk tuk ride to Thongbay Guest house - a traditional Lao style home. This is where the one of the cooking courses was on offer.

'licious Lao lunch

There were three of us in the class, a couple from the UK and me. We started out by choosing the menu: spring rolls, Laap chicken, and chicken curry. Then to the market we went. (have photos - will show in other entry need - to burn to CD etc).

It was a morning market and at 10 am we were after the rush, so it was easy to pass through the aisles of food. Stalls specialising in bananas, or curry paste and other condiments, meat stalls (like you would NEVER see in Australia!), vegetables, spices, mushrooms and other sorts of funghi ... And the aroma - strongly addressing the nose was that smell characteristic of Asian markets - or at least I know it from Footscray ... it's sharp, and a bit like a barnyard floor ... A feast for the senses ...

Back to the cooking and this was done open air, with cooking done on a webber look-alike stove ... an improvisation using a stainless steel bucket, concrete and a clay pot! Spring rolls we made with pork mince, vegetables - shredded in true Lao style, and various flavourings - fish sauce, pepper, salt, sugar. Chicken Laap was next. Made with chicken dry fried and then seasoned, this is served garnished with lots of mint and some lime juice. The kick comes from other seasonings that include chilli, and ground, dry-fried sticky rice. Hmmm ... one to try out for any one interested in coming to dinner? Chicken curry was pretty straightforward - although a variation on how I would start a curry - with coconut milk in the pan first, then curry paste etc. Vegetables added included potato, carrots and ... chokoe! We then sat down and ate the fruits of our labours which was the best bet!

I wandered from here back to town then took another tuk tuk and headed out to a temple in the forest for traditional herb sauna and massage. This all took place in a tradiational hut, nestled amongst the trees. This means palm leaf type roof, open on all sides and a basic timber construction within.

We were each given a sarong to wear, and ushered ushered into a small enclosed room from which steam was escaping from the gaps above the door etc. The staem was powered by a fire burning on the ground below, and was channelled up through the floor of the room. There were six of us huddled in there at one stage. Although there were other tourists, it was a destination of locals too.

Massages were given in a part of the hut that was very open. There were six beds and six masseurs working at one time. They massaged through the sarong (for those who were wondering) and it was one of those pressure point type ones rather than a "relaxation" massage. So I felt relaxed afterwards, but there was some (good) pain in there first!

The rest of the day fell into its usual pattern - a beer by the Mekong, then somewhere to eat. Chilling is great! Off to Luang Prabang Thursday, via Lao Airlines.

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Comments

[Helen]

Where is mine?
Mary, please beam us down dinner