We are tucked into the busy downtown area on the Mekong River in this dusty capital. So far we are underwhelmed and a bit sorry we have booked to stay here 5 nights. However, so far we've found countless super French pastry shops, the Banneton which we loved in LP, and where we holed up in the AC this afternoon with iced teas and tarte aux abricot...
We walked through the dustry, traffic clogged sreets to the Presidential Palace - view from the gates only, not public, used only on state ceremonial occasions. The Mekong has a recaimed land park all along the river, the other bank is Thailand and you could walk across the Friendship Bridge without presenting any papers!
Last night we also went throug the Evening market along that road, but it's ony Chinee knockoffs and cheap goods for the locals, or the backpackers who are here in droves.
It seems many Europeans have gone native here, dreadlocks, etc. We sat in a lovely French cafe today and 3 of them (age about 25) performed. One joined the others with what looked like a bag of french fries from outside, and proceeded to eat them under the table. The other two seemed to be sharing a cup of coffee and glasses of water.. One girl sniffed the other's armpits, pulled out the deodorant and proceeded to apply it. Ugh....I think they are Dutch from the language, or maybe mid-European.
One other Brit at our hotel commented at the total ignorance of almost naked people touring the temples, where you are supposed to cover shoulders and lower legs. In LP, the main temple rented wraps and one young man's shorts were considered too short - so he had to wrap too.
Had dinner last night at a restaurant that employs young peoople from poor backgrounds. Unfortuately nobody spoke English when we arrived so my order for no chili didn't make it to the plate.
A starter of their version of crudities (boiled soggy cold cabbage, green beans and some sort of river weed veggie) was served with a dip of baby bamboo shoots, ginger and chili (even though on the menu it indicated no chili!) Ted loved it. They had tied the green beans in little bows and boiled them quite sweet. I wonder if they tied them after they were cooked, I expect so or they would have broken...
I odered crispy shrimp salad with a chili lime dressing. Tried to get the dressing on the side. The dish came with more chili than I could handle chopped into the salad. On the side a bowl of lime juice! OK....Even Ted found it hot! He was mopping down all evening. The redeeming part of my dish was tempura bass leaves - could that have been basil?? Delicious, along with the tomatoes and cucumber which had not been in the chili too much. The fresh vegetables here are wonderful, but when they cook them, that's another story. The head waiter explained that all Lao food is hot despite what the menu says...that is not the case in LP where it was usually on the side.
Ted's pumpkin curry was good but full of tofu which had not appeared as an ingredient in the menu. Oh well...It was stinking hot in the restaurant, but we had missed the 6pm deadline to get a table outside, or book in advance. It is pretty quiet here now, but restuarants seem to get busy all the same.
Lots of French people here I guess owing to its history as a French country. As we left I asked the table next to us in my best French if there were any good patisseries nearby, and got some directions, but the guy then said in English, "Are you Canadian? We're from Montreal" Hahaha
We walked through the dustry, traffic clogged sreets to the Presidential Palace - view from the gates only, not public, used only on state ceremonial occasions. The Mekong has a recaimed land park all along the river, the other bank is Thailand and you could walk across the Friendship Bridge without presenting any papers!
Last night we also went throug the Evening market along that road, but it's ony Chinee knockoffs and cheap goods for the locals, or the backpackers who are here in droves.
It seems many Europeans have gone native here, dreadlocks, etc. We sat in a lovely French cafe today and 3 of them (age about 25) performed. One joined the others with what looked like a bag of french fries from outside, and proceeded to eat them under the table. The other two seemed to be sharing a cup of coffee and glasses of water.. One girl sniffed the other's armpits, pulled out the deodorant and proceeded to apply it. Ugh....I think they are Dutch from the language, or maybe mid-European.
One other Brit at our hotel commented at the total ignorance of almost naked people touring the temples, where you are supposed to cover shoulders and lower legs. In LP, the main temple rented wraps and one young man's shorts were considered too short - so he had to wrap too.
Had dinner last night at a restaurant that employs young peoople from poor backgrounds. Unfortuately nobody spoke English when we arrived so my order for no chili didn't make it to the plate.
A starter of their version of crudities (boiled soggy cold cabbage, green beans and some sort of river weed veggie) was served with a dip of baby bamboo shoots, ginger and chili (even though on the menu it indicated no chili!) Ted loved it. They had tied the green beans in little bows and boiled them quite sweet. I wonder if they tied them after they were cooked, I expect so or they would have broken...
I odered crispy shrimp salad with a chili lime dressing. Tried to get the dressing on the side. The dish came with more chili than I could handle chopped into the salad. On the side a bowl of lime juice! OK....Even Ted found it hot! He was mopping down all evening. The redeeming part of my dish was tempura bass leaves - could that have been basil?? Delicious, along with the tomatoes and cucumber which had not been in the chili too much. The fresh vegetables here are wonderful, but when they cook them, that's another story. The head waiter explained that all Lao food is hot despite what the menu says...that is not the case in LP where it was usually on the side.
Ted's pumpkin curry was good but full of tofu which had not appeared as an ingredient in the menu. Oh well...It was stinking hot in the restaurant, but we had missed the 6pm deadline to get a table outside, or book in advance. It is pretty quiet here now, but restuarants seem to get busy all the same.
Lots of French people here I guess owing to its history as a French country. As we left I asked the table next to us in my best French if there were any good patisseries nearby, and got some directions, but the guy then said in English, "Are you Canadian? We're from Montreal" Hahaha
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