Start by cooking a crepe, slice a banana on top, fold it, spread it with Nutella and drizzle condensed milk on top. Cut into bite sized pieces and serve. They call them banana pancakes. We've had them in Thailand and now in Laos at stands on the side of the road. What could be better for a late night dessert.
We went zip-lining yesterday morning. I started off in a foul mood after a long ride over muddy, bumpy roads in the back of a truck. But once I saw people zip-lining through the trees over a 100 feet above us I perked up. The climb up the hills over jagged rocks was maybe not as safe as it could have been, but the zip-lining itself was well done with good equipment, trained staff, and well built zip-lines and platforms. What a thrill to cross from one tree to the next through the jungle! We rode along about ten zip lines, and then came the finale. We needed to drop down on a line about 100 feet from the last tree platform to the ground below, what was called the spider drop. Elizabeth was the first to drop down, and as she hung on the line she asked "what do I do?". Our guide told she needed to do nothing and let her fall with a "goodbye". She, and then the rest of us, one by one, would drop in near free-fall before the person at the bottom applied the brakes to arrest our fall. This was the only part that I was a little concerned about, since we were relying on the person at the bottom to arrest our fall correctly. But it all turned out fine with lots of thrills and screams.
In the afternoon we went kayaking for about eight kilometres down the Nam Song river. With a guide in his own kayak, John and I were a kayak and Catheleen and Elizabeth were in another, we passed a few small rapids along the way, which we aimed for when we could. We also passed below one shear white limestone cliff after another, each stained with black moss and partially covered in trees which somehow managed to cling on. Later on the route we joined up with some people tubing, and passed a few bars along the river with music blasting and signs trying to lure us in for a drink.
Most of the tourists we see along the way, at least the non-backpackers, are Asians from other countries including Korea, China and Japan. This was evident for breakfast at our hotel where many of the food selections look to me more like lunch or dinner rather than breakfast. The kids were more adventurous than Catheleen and me and have enjoyed noodle dishes and curries on rice for breakfast. I usually just stick to the omelettes and toast.
We've rented bicycles for the day a few times. Sometimes we rent three and Catheleen lets one of the kids ride on the back of her bike. It a great way to get around but we usually come back from our rides pretty hot and sweaty. I'm getting better at putting the chain back on a bike when they occasionally fall off.
We've been relying on recommendations from on-line sources when picking a restaurant. My main motivation is not to get sick eating something that's off, but it has resulted in some good meals here in Vang Vieng. We've been to a German place for Schnitzel, an Israeli restaurant for shish kebabs in pitas, and a French restaurant for beef bourguignon and goat cheese salad. All were good. In all cases it seems the restaurant operator is making do with simple ingredients, or else making their own products, like goat cheese. I understand it is prohibitively expensive and sometimes impossible here to import many of the products easily acquired where we live.
We went zip-lining yesterday morning. I started off in a foul mood after a long ride over muddy, bumpy roads in the back of a truck. But once I saw people zip-lining through the trees over a 100 feet above us I perked up. The climb up the hills over jagged rocks was maybe not as safe as it could have been, but the zip-lining itself was well done with good equipment, trained staff, and well built zip-lines and platforms. What a thrill to cross from one tree to the next through the jungle! We rode along about ten zip lines, and then came the finale. We needed to drop down on a line about 100 feet from the last tree platform to the ground below, what was called the spider drop. Elizabeth was the first to drop down, and as she hung on the line she asked "what do I do?". Our guide told she needed to do nothing and let her fall with a "goodbye". She, and then the rest of us, one by one, would drop in near free-fall before the person at the bottom applied the brakes to arrest our fall. This was the only part that I was a little concerned about, since we were relying on the person at the bottom to arrest our fall correctly. But it all turned out fine with lots of thrills and screams.
In the afternoon we went kayaking for about eight kilometres down the Nam Song river. With a guide in his own kayak, John and I were a kayak and Catheleen and Elizabeth were in another, we passed a few small rapids along the way, which we aimed for when we could. We also passed below one shear white limestone cliff after another, each stained with black moss and partially covered in trees which somehow managed to cling on. Later on the route we joined up with some people tubing, and passed a few bars along the river with music blasting and signs trying to lure us in for a drink.
Most of the tourists we see along the way, at least the non-backpackers, are Asians from other countries including Korea, China and Japan. This was evident for breakfast at our hotel where many of the food selections look to me more like lunch or dinner rather than breakfast. The kids were more adventurous than Catheleen and me and have enjoyed noodle dishes and curries on rice for breakfast. I usually just stick to the omelettes and toast.
We've rented bicycles for the day a few times. Sometimes we rent three and Catheleen lets one of the kids ride on the back of her bike. It a great way to get around but we usually come back from our rides pretty hot and sweaty. I'm getting better at putting the chain back on a bike when they occasionally fall off.
We've been relying on recommendations from on-line sources when picking a restaurant. My main motivation is not to get sick eating something that's off, but it has resulted in some good meals here in Vang Vieng. We've been to a German place for Schnitzel, an Israeli restaurant for shish kebabs in pitas, and a French restaurant for beef bourguignon and goat cheese salad. All were good. In all cases it seems the restaurant operator is making do with simple ingredients, or else making their own products, like goat cheese. I understand it is prohibitively expensive and sometimes impossible here to import many of the products easily acquired where we live.
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