Some of us are working

27 November

I thought I'd add a few pix on the theme of work - just in appreciation of the workers, like these three guys who are installing electricity cables along the road. 

And this one who mended my sandals for me.

And the family who run the local fruit stall and who also make and sell these devotional offerings made of marigolds and banana leaves.

Meanwhile, when the villa upstairs is empty we get to enjoy using their terrace for a change of scenery. It's a fabulous view.

And here's Trevann beside the Mekong.

Just a night-time scene along the road that took my fancy.

There's been the usual dearth of wildlife in town although we saw some swallows over the river and a white-throated kingfisher one day. Otherwise it's just the omnipresent taylorbirds and a few sparrows. And we found this fine fellow sitting on our doorstep one evening.

Oh yes, it took us two weeks to realise that our neighbour over the road wasn't selling sausages!

Daily life

14th November 2022

People often ask us what we “do” while we’re away in South-East Asia for 4 months. I always answer “very little”! Partly because for me it’s more about “being”, living simply, and getting away from the hectic pace of life we seem to think is normal in the west.

The reality, of course, is that much of our time is taken in dealing with practicalities - food, drink, washing, exercise etc. In the morning we walk for about 20 minutes over the bridge to buy two breakfast baguettes. We sometimes call in to collect essentials from the local shop - soap, anti-mozzie lotion and butter today, for example. Then it’s four eggs from the egg lady on our street and we walk home to make breakfast - although by this time it’s often more like lunchtime! Afternoons are spent reading, writing, or playing music (Trevann). At the moment in mid November it gets rather hot by mid-afternoon (34 degrees) so we wait until 4 ish and then go for a walk before sunset.

In the evening we decide on a cafe/restaurant. Local food or western? In general, we pay about 150,000 kip for a meal with a beer for two. That’s about £7 but with the inflation rate running at over 35% at the moment it may well change. Life is tough for Laotian folk. We notice that rice is 16,000 kip per kilo - that’s double the price it was last time we were here. It’s not so bad for us because we get 20,000 kip to the pound when it used to be 11,000. Swings and roundabouts.

Then usually along to the RedBul Bar for a couple of beers (30,000 kip/£1.50 for 660ml)), perhaps to watch some football or play a game of pool in a mixed crowd of locals, expats and backpackers. Then home across the bridge to bed.

So now you know!

A few pictures

If our afternoon walk takes us that way, we'll stop for a beer at one of the wooden platforms on the banks of the Mekong and watch as the sun dips behind the mountains and the slow boats drifting down from Thailand swing round in the river before tying up for the night. Beautiful.

There are said to be 34 temples in Luang Prabang. I would've said there are more if you count the ones in outlying villages.

Not a lot of wildlife so far. Just the usual geckos and a pretty skink in the garden wall

Lovely flowers of course.

This (below) is our "garden". It's a bit overgrown but I like it.

Our next door neighbours have tidied theirs up:

I was excited to see a cloud of bats yesterday evening at the local wat. Sadly, my camera can't capture them so you'll have to use your imagination and take my word for it!

Once in a while we go "self-catering" and prepare our own evening meal. Tonight it was chicken salad with potatoes, having bought the chicken from a roadside BBQ stall. 

After a brief intermission - back again

 

8th November 2022

It takes a couple of days to slow down. After a journey dominated by compulsive clock-watching to ensure that we’re in the right place at the right time with the right documention I need to chill out and remember that I’m now in the right place.

I’d been feeling stressed in the lead-up to this trip. It felt important to not be complacent about arrangements and expect everything to be as it was when we left 2 years ago. The world has changed since March 2020.

In hindsight, however, the journey was relatively uneventful. On Tuesday afternoon the coach arrived to collect us from Ashley Road on time, we got through check-in at Heathrow, and the plane for Bangkok left at 9.30. Eleven or so hours later we landed at Suvarnabhumi airport and caught a shuttle bus to our hotel. All good so far.

The next morning it went a bit pear-shaped when we arrived at the airport for our 90-minute flight to Luang Prabang and were told that it had been cancelled! Maybe tomorrow!? After some hanging around someone came up with an alternative - there was a plane leaving from Don Muang Airport on the other side of Bangkok that afternoon. A 1-hour taxi ride, some creative ticketing and a quick message to Toui about the delay and we were back on track. Arrived at Luang Prabang’s lovely little airport at 3.20 on Thursday and Toui was there waiting for us. Ten minutes later we were “home”.

Since then, we’ve been settling in at the Greenhouse Studio and, as I say, slowing down to a more sensible pace of life.

There’s no doubt that Laos has suffered during the 2 years of the pandemic. Luang Prabang relies heavily on tourism - both high-end 5 star holidaymakers and budget backbackers - and losing that income completely has been devastating to businesses.

But the Laotian people are resilient. Some bar staff, cooks and waiters went back to their villages and worked in the fields to grow food. Families look after each other.

For us, there are some gaps. Sad to find that some of our favourite cafes have gone for good. But delighted to find the Red Bul Bar has re-opened, with owner and staff all happy to see us. BeerLao - the best beer in the world - doesn’t change!

This is our home from home for the next month - the Greenhouse Studio. Just one room, a bathroom and a terrace. What more do you need?

We're about 15 minutes' walk from the centre of Luang Prabang on the other side of the Nam Khan River, which we cross either via a temporary bamboo bridge or the old French bridge - which is nerve wracking the first time but gets easier! It's a long drop to the river below!

Lovely views from both bridges:

Phousi Mountain above with its temple on top. That's the centre of the city. You can see how green it is. Luang Prabang has many temples and classic French architecture

Being fairly near the Equator, dusk falls early every night at around 6. The sunsets are stunning. We love to sit on the banks of the Mekong and watch the sun go behind the mountains.

In the mornnigs we walk to buy our morning baguettes from the stall on the corner - "sawn kottee khop jai"

This is one of my favourite views from the local temple. It's the point where the Nam Khan River flows into the Mekong in the distance.

Tonight it's a full moon - which means a festival. People decorate houses and businesses - and cars - with these "dok mai" made of marigolds and bamboo leaves. These ones are on the pavement outside the local moto repair shop.

The streets of Luang Prabang are quiet at the moment but the tourists are starting to come back. The night market is open again.

The RedBul Bar (above) and our local supermarket (below)

From Ashley Road to Phan Luang. Phew!