Luang Prabang, day 1

February 5, 2014. 

After a second harrowing night in Bangkok (which included my first Thai massage!), Kaley and I arrived safely at the Luang Prabang International (and tiny) Airport in Laos. Since Kaley was only going to be there for a few days, we went strolling about as soon as we got our hostel situation figured out. We were in the touristy area, congested with temples and cute little alleys and surrounded on three sides by the Mekong River and the smaller but no less gorgeous Nam Khan River.

Basically two types of buildings: old and rustic and whatnot (above), and temples (see below).

I have much better pictures of temples, but figured I should at least throw one up here for now.

Laotian doors. Or Laos doors, if you prefer. The left was taken on a temple complex and I really liked the colors and all of the stuff.

I like ceilings, you know?

The monks in Luang Prabang all wear robes in this orange color.

Cats! We found this guy hanging out with the laundry outside the temple pictured above. There was also a batch o' kittens that we played with for a few minutes before moving on.

We watched the sunset at a small strecth of beach where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong. There are two wooden pedestrian bridges that cross the Nam Khan near this merger that allow access to some smaller artisany areas of Luang Prabang. We didn't cross on our first night there, despite the slightly better view of the sunset, but decided to sit on the beach and people watch a bit. There were several small boats anchored onto the beach, but each of them left soon after to offer sunset boat trips. A handful of kids were tubing between the rocks, splashing/flailing, and being generally kid-like.

The Nam Khan River.

Where the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers meet. You can see some of the kids with their tubes on the left, and on the right, that little hut just under the trees is a little restaurant/patio place that people flock to for sunset.

Kaley in her Myanmar hat, enjoying the last light of the day. And the sand.

After reading so much about the infamous night market of Luang Prabang, we figured we should probably check it out, and it turned out to be really hard to avoid anyway since it takes up so much of that area of the city. Tents, tents, and more tents. And stuff. Lots of that, too. There was plenty of squeezing past people, and maybe a little gawking at the shirts, blankets, scarves, silverware, woodwork, and the overwhelming amount of garish touristy pants for sale. For dinner, we made our way down some food alley, where buffets were set up for a dollar a plate. We had read about that, and apparently about a million other people had read about it, as well. After squeezing in amongst the other foreigners, we dug in, and discovered...you know...buffet food. Not really overwhelmingly delicious, but great for a dollar. The dessert options at the bakery at the night market end of the alley were much more scrumptious.

One plate, one dollar.

So good!

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you again soonish.

Food. Glorious Food.

We're going to take a short break from scheduled programming so that I can't present to you three of my favorite Korean foods. I would showcase them in order of awesomeness, but to be honest, they're all awesome in completely different ways.

First up, we've got samgak kimbap (삼각김밥), sometimes referred to as triangle kimbap. The setup: tuna and mayo (my favorite filling/flavor/thing!) surrounded by rice, and wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed, all in a triangle shape. They're kind of a pain to unwrap sometimes, often resulting in ripped seaweed, and you invariably wind up with greasy hands, dropping chunks of rice everywhere, but oh my are they worth it. 

In the middle, we've got tuna mayonnaise, and it's flanked by two tuna kimchi rice variations.

I learned to appreciate this "snack" on a week-long trip to Jeju Island last winter. My girlfriend and I were staying the night near Sunrise Peak (blog post coming eventually!) and needed some dinner. The small town we were in wasn't exactly overflowing with restaurants, so we just went to a convenience store (I'm kind of cheap). I had had triangle kimbap before, but it wasn't until that across-the-street journey that I began to love it more than standard kimbap. After buying a couple (one usually costs about 90 cents),  I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds apiece. We settled down to eat and I fell in love utterly and traingle-y. I went on to purchase at least 10 more throughout that trip and now it's my go-to snack.

Heated and unwrapped: a triangle kimbap tale.

Next up, we've got sundae (순대). Before you go rolling your eyes, you should know that I'm not talking about the ice cream you can get on the cheap at your local McDonalds. I'm talking about pig intestines. Delicious pig intestines. The name is pronounced "soon-day." The setup: pig intestines, and more pig intestines. Usually stuffed with cellophane noodles and often coming with a few different parts, including liver and lungs.

Here is the standard sundae found on streetsides throughout Korea: pig intestine stuffed with cellophane noodles and blood.

I'm not always the most adventurous when it comes to food, but when my good friend Luke had a hankering for some street food in Seoul and told me what he wanted, I figured, why not? The nice lady served it up with a decent helping of salt, and it didn't take more than my first bite for love to settle right on in. It's partially the salt-lover in me, but that mix of chewy, greasy goodness just does it for me. The liver is drier and not chewy, and the lungs are greasier and almost mushy, but it's like the three together were just meant to be together. See what I did there?

This is Byeongcheon sundae, which owes its name to a small city next to mine. They do something different with the noodles, but other than that I think it involves veggies somehow, I don't have the slightest idea what exactly is different. I just know it's delicious and very, very filling. You can see some liver and lung bits on the left.

I'll finish this off as each meal should be finished, with dessert. Toss out your waffles, your ice cream, and your delicate little chocolates, and check out some patbingsu (팥빙수). It's usually translated on menus as "ice flakes," but that's just nonsense. 

Strawberry patbingsu from Seolbing, a chain that easily bests the patbingsus offered by most of the chain cafes I've been to around Korea. So. So. Good. Do you see those ricecakes?! Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

There are ice flakes, yes, but it's not like there's a guy in the back chipping off tiny slivers from an ice block, unless you're at a Caffe Bene or a Paris Baguette. If you go to one of those standard cafe setups, what you'll probably get is a liberal helping of chunks - not flakes - of ice and a sugary dose of whatever topping you choose, typically berries, oreo, or green tea ice cream. Basically, if the bottom of the bowl looks like it's been filled with tiny ice cubes, I'd rather pass. That's the grape juice of patbingsu. 

Oreo patbingsu from a place in Cheonan called Dalbingko. Not the best I've had, but not bad.

The proper setup: a bowl full of pure white flakes - actual flakes - that don't distract from the delicious toppings with jarring crunchiness. If the flakes are right, some strawberries or oreos are definitely more than allowed, but when I want a real patbingsu experience, I just find a place that puts some pat (red bean) and rice cakes on there. The red bean might look like oversauced baked beans, but trust me, it's delicious. It doesn't look fancy, but it's a truly splendid experience. I start out with the flake test, then mix things up a bit. Once the mixture is about right, I go in for the ricecake pieces. Oh, how truly blessed we are.

This is the traditional version of patbingsu. Milk ice flakes topped with red bean and a ricecake. While I drink green tea relatively often, I am not a fan of green tea patbingsu (on the right, if you couldn't guess), although if the milk bingsu was any indication, I'm sure it was top-notch.

I'll be heading back home in a couple of months, and as excited as I am to get some chili or a Five Guy's burger, I am really going to miss Korean food, be it a convenience store snack or a tried and true patbingsu experience.

Phuket, day 2

January 22, 2014.

So it's been a while. Sue me. I left you with a bit of Myanmar, and now I'm going to backtrack to Thailand again. And I guess I'll start with some protesting on Koh Lanta!

Most of the news that I read covered the protesting in Bangkok, and although we were in Bangkok for two days, we only saw protesting on Koh Lanta, the biggish island a decent way away from Bangkok. It amounted to a bunch of friendly, smiling Thai people waving flags and slowing down traffic.

After we arrived on the island, we settled into our hostel and then walked the few minutes down to the beach, where we swam and generally just hung out. Or rather, my friends swam and I very slowly got up to my waist in water while they all laughed at me and called me a baby. For some reason, I can jump right into a pool and get over the shock in a few seconds, but it's so much harder in the ocean.

This is the "Freedom Bar."

Fun with hermit crabs (left) and one of many signs along the beach for the Freedom Bar (right).

Jason, Ashley, and a very excited Kaley!

We made our way down the beach and stopped at the "Chocolate Bar" for dinner, drinks, and sunset. It was a decent intro to the beaches of Thailand and a great start to our trip.

Jason and Ashley being cute. Or weird. Or whatever.

Me and Kaley say hello!