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Cuba - More than old cars
We started the morning at 5am when we all went out to see the Monks, about 300 passed us, walk through the town collecting alms predominantly consisting of sticky rice but there was also other food. It is basically what people can afford on the day. Once they get back to their home wat someone prepares their breakfast. Whatever is left over goes towards lunch; they do not eat in the evening.
Back to the hotel for showers and breakfast then off to the morning market which is primarily a food market – fish, meat, spices, vegetables, fruit etc. You could purchase the fish live, uncooked or cooked and the meat raw or cooked. Some of the more unusual things were live frogs in plastic bags and a woman plucking the fur from a (dead) squirrel with tweezers; perhaps practicing to improve her eyebrow plucking. We purchased some mangosteen while others purchased different fruit. We then moved on to the Arts and Ethnology Centre.
At the Centre we learned about the 4 major ethnicities which make up the Lao people and the 100 odd subgroups. There was information on the formal dress, pottery, weapons etc. We then watched some movies on Buffalo sacrifices, weddings, interviews with tribal elders etc. It was not a large museum but very informative and worth the visit.
Back into the van and off to the Kuangsi Waterfall Park and Tat Kuangsi Bear Rescue Centre. The Bear Rescue Centre was established by a woman from Perth to rescue and care for bears that have been captured for their bile production. We saw about 15 bears. They are unlikely to be able to be released back into the wild as they are so traumatised and would have difficulty foraging for food although the rescue centre does hide their food before feeding time to get them in the habit of foraging should an opportunity arise to release them into a suitable environment and location.
From there we walked up to see the 4 level of the Kuangsi Falls. Our guide showed us pictures on his phone of the falls during the rainy season. They were impressive enough at the moment let alone in the rainy season. The boys and one of the girls went for a swim. Sitting in the pool was interesting as they were full of little fish that chewed away at the dead skin on your toes. Two of the guys had scrapes that had scabs on them and the fish really took a liking to that particular area of their legs so they had to cover the wounds with their hands. Bruce and one of the guys could not resist jumping off an overhanging tree like the other KIDS! The water was not particularly warm.
Back to the hotel where we had a few hours to ourselves before being picked up to go to our Lao cooking class. We walked around some more to find the bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan river and have a small bite to eat and a drink. The bridge is only there during the dry season and is taken down when the rainy season starts as the river rises too high to enable the bridge to remain in place.
Two Tuk Tuks picked us up at 4.45pm to go to the Tamarind Restaurant and Cooking School some 15 minutes out of town. The Tuk Tuk Bruce was in broke down twice with engine problems but eventually arrived about 10 minutes after Anne's one. Bruce’s Tuk Tuk went very fast to try to catch up and the last 3 kms of the ride was on very bumpy unsealed roads which made for some excitement. The cooking class was excellent and the food was great which was just as well as we had to eat it. We are not going to tell you what we had but we now have the recipes so watch out next time you are over for dinner. This was effectively our farewell dinner as this is our last night in Luang Prabang. We had a less dramatic return trip to town where we went to the night market for one last shopping spree before returning to the hotel.
Back to the hotel for showers and breakfast then off to the morning market which is primarily a food market – fish, meat, spices, vegetables, fruit etc. You could purchase the fish live, uncooked or cooked and the meat raw or cooked. Some of the more unusual things were live frogs in plastic bags and a woman plucking the fur from a (dead) squirrel with tweezers; perhaps practicing to improve her eyebrow plucking. We purchased some mangosteen while others purchased different fruit. We then moved on to the Arts and Ethnology Centre.
At the Centre we learned about the 4 major ethnicities which make up the Lao people and the 100 odd subgroups. There was information on the formal dress, pottery, weapons etc. We then watched some movies on Buffalo sacrifices, weddings, interviews with tribal elders etc. It was not a large museum but very informative and worth the visit.
Back into the van and off to the Kuangsi Waterfall Park and Tat Kuangsi Bear Rescue Centre. The Bear Rescue Centre was established by a woman from Perth to rescue and care for bears that have been captured for their bile production. We saw about 15 bears. They are unlikely to be able to be released back into the wild as they are so traumatised and would have difficulty foraging for food although the rescue centre does hide their food before feeding time to get them in the habit of foraging should an opportunity arise to release them into a suitable environment and location.
From there we walked up to see the 4 level of the Kuangsi Falls. Our guide showed us pictures on his phone of the falls during the rainy season. They were impressive enough at the moment let alone in the rainy season. The boys and one of the girls went for a swim. Sitting in the pool was interesting as they were full of little fish that chewed away at the dead skin on your toes. Two of the guys had scrapes that had scabs on them and the fish really took a liking to that particular area of their legs so they had to cover the wounds with their hands. Bruce and one of the guys could not resist jumping off an overhanging tree like the other KIDS! The water was not particularly warm.
Back to the hotel where we had a few hours to ourselves before being picked up to go to our Lao cooking class. We walked around some more to find the bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan river and have a small bite to eat and a drink. The bridge is only there during the dry season and is taken down when the rainy season starts as the river rises too high to enable the bridge to remain in place.
Two Tuk Tuks picked us up at 4.45pm to go to the Tamarind Restaurant and Cooking School some 15 minutes out of town. The Tuk Tuk Bruce was in broke down twice with engine problems but eventually arrived about 10 minutes after Anne's one. Bruce’s Tuk Tuk went very fast to try to catch up and the last 3 kms of the ride was on very bumpy unsealed roads which made for some excitement. The cooking class was excellent and the food was great which was just as well as we had to eat it. We are not going to tell you what we had but we now have the recipes so watch out next time you are over for dinner. This was effectively our farewell dinner as this is our last night in Luang Prabang. We had a less dramatic return trip to town where we went to the night market for one last shopping spree before returning to the hotel.
- comments
Roslyn I am AMAZED Bruce grinding spices....did he actually cook??????? All looks lovely at the cooking school. And the bears look in good condition too. Looking forward to the next stop xxxxxx
Jane I have very high expectations for my next visit Bruce!
Jane Spectacular - thank you!!
Gael Another of your " very beautiful" photos!
Gael WOW - are you sure you ever want to come home!
Gael I'm just amazed how much can be achieved when you're up at 5.00am!!! All sooooooo interesting - thanks for letting us share your experiences - loving every minute of it! Take care!
Bob I see you have the right haircut Bruce, Have you bought an orange gown. Fitting any golf in?
Sarah stacey wow youl have to frame that one, & we expect an amazing dinner when you get back cooked by you know who Yeh xxx
Sarah Stacey I'm so jealous xx