Alleyways and French cafes

Laos is a place of good and bad food choices. A good choice is to get a restaurant recommendation from a travel guide. A bad choice is to pick a random restaurant with a view of the river with no other patrons present. Catheleen's meal was clearly not edible and she wisely chose not to eat it. This should have been a clue to me not to eat mine, even though it did appear okay. I was a bit off for a couple days after that, but nothing too bad. I'll try to make better choices next time.

There is an alleyway near the night market full of food vendors. It's about 100 meters long, has no exits except at both ends, and is covered along its full length with low hanging blue tarps, plastic sheets, and corrugated steel roofs to protect the vendors and patrons from the weather. Inside it is packed on both sides with food vendors cooking and selling all sorts of items. A popular choice are the all-you-can-eat buffets along the way, where for the equivalent of $2 you can fill a bowl with as much as you like, choosing from a variety of cooked meats, vegetables or curries. The alley is chock full at night with backpackers and tourists, along with the locals. I don't think I'm claustrophobic but this place makes we question that. The food looks good but I need more ambiance than a long, crowded alleyway. Nearby exits wouldn't hurt either.

Early in the morning as I ran though the streets with wood smoke coming from kitchens along the way, I saw steam rising from the jungle, like little clouds nestled among the hills. It was a reminder that I'm in a foreign land. I'm amazed at how many dogs just lay on the main street with motorcycles and tuk-tuks driving around them. I guess it's not busy enough here to cause the dogs much concern.

We travelled back to the waterfalls yesterday by local taxi, which involved bouncing around in the back of a small flatbed truck with a roof of sorts to keep the rain off. It was quite a ride as the truck twisted and turned its way around the valley for the better part of an hour. The driver had to slow down a few times along the way to let the water buffaloes pass by; those things are huge. The waterfalls were impressive and fun, and it was weird and slightly concerning to the kids especially when we finally realized we were being constantly nibbled by little fish in the pools.

This morning we talked to our hotel neighbour Martha, who just arrived from Saskatchewan. She is here for a month to help set up a lab at the children's hospital nearby, which is the first children's hospital in Laos. She said she was surprised at the level of effort that will be involved to bring the hospital up to reasonable standards. She noted the child mortality rate during the first five years of life is around 80 deaths per 1,000 births, which is very high compared to the developed world.

Today we went for a walk to the old part of town near the row of Buddhist monasteries, filled on the other side of the street with shops and French-style cafes in ageing colonial buildings. When you throw in the communist party flags flying everywhere, it's an eclectic mix I wouldn't expect to find together. In the heat we didn't stroll for too long before stopping into an inviting outdoor French cafe with tablecloths, good coffee, and cool fruit shakes. My cappuccino was made well with real milk here, but we usually end up having Laotian coffee by necessity, which is a strong brew mixed with condensed milk. Not a great substitute for milk in my opinion, but they probably use condensed milk since it can be transported here easily without refrigeration.