Luang Prabang, provincial capitol of Laos, is a beautiful, small town. Each evening, local vendors flock to the main strip and painstakingly lay out their wares under packed in tents. Two lanes are created the length of the street and tourists wander back and forth looking at shawls, kitchen wares, kitsch, clothes, photos, paintings, etc. Some of the items are funny and silly souvenirs while others are beautiful pieces of art. What good are tourists wares if there's no where to sit and eat...at one end of the street, stalls of baguette sandwich makers line the way toward the tuk-tuk corral. After perusing and maybe purchasing a few items, backpackers can pick up a sandwich for $1-$2 and then jump into a tuk-tuk (an underpowered three-wheeled mini-pickup truck with open-air bench seats in the bed) - the local taxi. If the hungry globetrotter continues out the lane of tents instead of doubling back to see the second lane, he or she will discover a street full of backpacker eats - mostly with local dishes and Western dishes, some semblance of happy hour. Mixed in are massage vendors (just a few dollars for a full hour of Lao massage, foot massage, semi-Swedish massage, and all legitimate massage...) tourist companies ready to schedule flights, treks, elephant riding, etc, and more permanent stores for jewelry or souvenirs. Chris and I enjoyed the market a few times, bargaining hard for a few keepsakes but also remembering that these sales benefit an incredibly poor population, so we started to allow our purchase price higher and higher. Up and down that street we tried several of the restaurants, enjoyed a Lao massage and a foot massage, ate excellent chicken tikka masala twice, ok pizza once, and even sampled the baguette trucks and rode in a tuk tuk. The Lao people are wonderful, warm, and friendly and with 8,000 Lao Kip equaling $1, eats and treats are plentiful and cheap - the perfect recipe for backpackers' paradise. We recommend it to anyone.
Of course, after a wonderful time enjoying the backpacker life (in decidedly nicer digs than my last developing world adventure), we indulged in using reward points for a stay on the Club Level of Plaza Athenee, A Royal Meridien Hotel in Bangkok and reveled in the luxury of the place for 2 whole days! In the evenings we enjoyed their cocktail hour and hors d'oeuvres, then breakfast was the hotel restaurant Raintree Cafe, and afternoons allowed for illy coffee or espresso and a snack. As soon as we arrived, we swapped our grimy togs for swimsuits and raced down to the pool. On the 4th or 5th (maybe) floor of the hotel, the pool is elegantly stretch out amidst the busy Bangkok skyline. Orchids are growing in planter boxes and thriving on posts and trees. Just a few minutes into our swim, rain began to fall, but we were able to keep swimming because the air was pleasant and warm. The Club Lounge is completely beautiful with coffee table books about Thailand, art, and Martha Stewart wedding flowers (?). As a service that caters far more to business than leisure travellers, I think we were somewhat of an anomaly for the staff. The manager stopped to speak with us and we explained the situation that we're newlyweds, but spending a year living apart and had arranged to meet up in Bangkok. That evening we found a cheesecake with a "Happy Honeymoon" note in our room. It was beautifully decorated and considering the dearth of delicious sweets here in Korea, I would love to have jumped into a nice dessert, but I've never liked cheesecake and it's never been a taste I've wanted to cultivate. The next day, our only full day in Bangkok, we got a few recommendations for a limited tourist trip and found our way to Wat Pho where we could see the main sites of the city. Tour guides continually approached us as we walked up to the gate to tell us the Wat was closed for the morning for all non-Buddhists. Since I'm such a well-travelled and fearless woman, I disregarded these warnings as shams designed to divert those of us with true intentions toward tourist traps....but I was mistaken, while all of these "guides" had no common uniform or ID, they had the same story as the very official looking men standing outside the gates with formal badges. The Wat and other 2 big sites in the area were closed to non-Thais until later that afternoon. Eventually, we settled for a "free" tuk-tuk to a few other wats as was recommended by the sham-cum-honest guides. The tuk-tuk driver took us to the promised sites, but before the 3rd temple, he stopped outside a tailor shop and asked us to go inside for 5 minutes so he could get a voucher for free gas. Inside the tailors swarmed showing us catalog photos and promising to finish a suit by that evening for only $200. While tempted, I decided it wasn't a deal worth diving into, but Chris requested that we "bargain" a little longer so as to enjoy the air conditioning - he's so practical! Finally, after three temples and a humid afternoon, we hopped a cab back to the hotel where I convinced Chris that I'd take him to lunch if he'd put up with some shopping in the huge malls near Plaza Athenee....I needed some new adult clothes and Korean malls are SUPER crowded and have tiny, expensive clothes. He agreed and the lunch of spicy tofu and marinated chicken with vegetables did not disappoint! I managed to find a few things and appetite whetted, I could have looked for more...but Chris was toast and needed Cold Stone to make it back to the hotel. We retired from the heat and enjoyed another workout and swim before a nice cocktail hour and dinner as we tried to prolong our last evening together for a while.
Oh the Bangkok airport - really it's pretty nice, but I was just so sad I couldn't appreciate it. We arrived the required time before Chris's 0600 flight and none of the windows were open....finally he was able to check in, but because my flight was another hour later, I had to wait again to check in, fearful I wouldn't catch him at the gate. Finally, I was able to run to his gate and stand to give a final hug and wave goodbye as he walked through the jetway. Just a few more months until I get to see him again. I flew back to Korea via a stop in Taiwan - I wish there'd be a layover long enough to get off the plane and actually tour the city...but I suppose that will have to be another time. Missing all of you and looking forward to seeing you soon!
