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| When walking
through Hmong villages your invariably going to come
across women (from very young to very old) sewing paj ntaub. |
When we walked up to Pa(g)s
house up this
muddy path these three young girls gazed down giggling at
us. |
We stopped
at one little Hmong village along the road between the Liu village
of Ban Khon Kham and Luang Prabang. We had two girls leading
us around for awhile eventually taking us to one of their homes
(see photos in the second Luang Prabang Photo Gallery). When
I took some polaroids some mothers and their children magically
appeared wanting their photos taken too. Along with the polaroids
I took some for myself, such as this one. |
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| This is in
the road market by the Phusi Hotel. I liked the way
this girl was working hard on her homework. I miss
the pineapple. Southeast Asian pineapple is so delicious! |
Yes, this is
the boatman's daughter in the photo to the right. I took a boat
across the Mekong to Wat Long Khun and this little girl was such
a hard worker for her father. After walking up to the old temple
and then down to the monastery buildings I found her waiting
for me. |
Here the boatman's
daughter is bailing away as we cross the Mekong. She was the
perfect helper for her dad and I really enjoyed observing how
they worked so well together. |
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| My favorite
coffee shop and my favorite coffee shop owners. Their coffee
shop is just a short straight walk down to the Mekong from the
Phusi Hotel and just a 'skip' down on your left. I discovered
the shop on my first trip and became a regular last summer and
continued my daily morning visits this trip. Here they are proudly
posing with one of their grandchildren. |
I was lucky
this morning, as after I had ordered two coffees, this large
group of Thai tourists arrived in three
tuk tuks. They were very friendly and I learned their guide,
who has a guesthouse in Luang Prabang, always brings his groups
here. This morning when they left they paid for my coffee too!
I met a lot of interesting people here, and can't wait until
I return. |
We're all
kon Lao enjoying our coffee. Which one is the falang, I wonder? |
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| If you head
up the road from the Phusi Hotel past the Talat Dala there is
a little Vietnamese restaurant that serves excellent spring rolls.
You can see that I ran into a little rain during the dry season,
but I came several times to order the spring rolls she's cooking
here. They are delicious, especially with the dipping sauce and
a Beer Lao. |
One of my regrets is that I
don't have a good photo of my favorite 'fer' lady and her daughter
that have a stall in the Talat That Luang. It's hard to go both
to my favorite coffee shop and to my favorite 'fer' shop which
are about a mile apart. But their 'fer' is delicious and as it's
tucked in the back of the market, it's true Lao. |
If you
go to Laos for the first time you might be surprised to see French
bread being sold everywhere. Remember, Laos used to be a part
of French Indochina, and French bread has become a Lao staple.
Here you see a woman making "khao jii pa te", a kind
of baguette sandwich. The ingredients vary depending where you
are in Laos. Here this woman addes slices of processed meat,
cucumber, other vegetables, chili paste, and other ingredients
I'm not aware of. They make great bus food, and there are many
vendors around the bus station in Vientiane. |
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| This was taken
in Luang Prabang in the early morning by my favorite coffee shop
along the Mekong River. This young girl is stocking the French
bread for her mother's stand. |
I met these
two men at my favorite coffee shop and later met them again up
the road paralleling the Mekong and asked if I could take their
photo. They are "retired" and enjoy spending time with
each other. |
Lao food as art. Doesn't it
look good? In the bottom photo I discovered this little 'restaurant'
inside the Talat Dala in Luang Prabang. Great curries and
laap. |
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| This photo
was taken from Long Khun of Phusi Hill with a Lao Aviation plane
coming in for a landing. |
This little market is in Luang
Prabang between the Phusi Hotel and the Mekong River. In the
early evening it's a great place to get some barbecued chicken
and assorted dishes. |
I like this shot of this little
boy tying his sash with his mother close by arranging her produce
for sale. I wonder what ethnic group they are? |
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