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Jun 08, 2024 10:00 PM Ethnic Khmu Village Visit Near Luang Prabang
An ethnic minority Khmu village near the town of Napho, on Road #2501 that leads from Luang Prabang to Kuang Si Waterfalls. My guide had our drive stop at the village en route to Kuang Si Waterfalls so that we could do a walking tour through it, though did not mention the name of the village. This would be the first of several ethnic villages that I would visit during my 13 days in Laos, with the majority of the ethnic villages being in the far northern province of Phongsali. I did not have cellphone signal and could not map the exact location of the village, but from my photos and video clips of the village and surrounding rice paddy terraces later passed beyond the village, and by review of a satellite map of Road #1 from Luang Prabang to Kuang Si, the approximate location of the village is 19°48'36.0" N 102°00'21.9" E. The village also contained some ethnic White Hmong and Lao Lum ('Lowland Lao') residents, with the Hmong language heard spoken among some girls (one holding a baby) in a clip near the end that's used as the video thumbnail image.
https://youtu.be/Za2Qs09XHzc?si=vQgjZNWwcbqL_Xls
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Jun 08, 2024 10:00 PM Souphailin Restaurant, Oudomxay, Laos
Souphalin, the namesake restaurant of owner and cook Souphailin (pronounced 'Su-Pai-Lin'), is located off Road #13 near the intersection with Road #2E in Oudomxay, northern Laos. A woman of mixed ethnic Khmu and Lao Lum ('lowland Lao') bloodlines, she was a very intriguing and friendly person with a very unique and intriguing bric-a-brac and photo-festooned restaurant that specializes in northern Lao cuisine, with the combination of her endearing personality and abundant hospitality, the restaurant's eclectic, rural village home-like ambiance and her very tasty food making my late lunch one of the most memorable meals during my stay in Laos. She was kind enough to let me take a couple of video clips and photos of the restaurant's interior as she prepared my 'mok moo' minced pork steamed in banana leaf. Souphailin is definitely worth checking out if one's travel plans in Laos includes a stop in Oudomxay.
https://youtu.be/9FEfbt7Jog8?si=oGAAqLVCY59HiIk1
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Jun 08, 2024 10:00 PM Bangkok’s Boat Noodle Village
Bangkok's Boat Noodle Village. Located along a small khlong near the northeast quadrant of the Victory Monument's Ratchawithi Road traffic circle in the city's Ratchathewi neighborhood, the village contains an assortment of Thai boat noodle vendor stalls and restaurants that offer a choice between a small bowl of noodles for 15 Baht and a large bowl of noodles for 50 Baht. I tried a small bowl of pork namtok noodles from the Jay Kloy Soi Ratchawithi 10 noodle shop, which flavor profile wise was spicy with a good balance of tangy and salty and a pleasant savory umi (fermented shrimp paste?) funk, and was very tasty.
https://youtu.be/7UIIbyIePws?si=qbTJ9K-cYwWJOVu4
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Jun 06, 2024 08:00 PM Cruising Northern Laos’s Nam Ou River
A collection of short video clips of a cruise down northeastern Laos' Nam Ou River from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw over the course of two days (December 2 - 3, 2023), which included a stop at the Nam Ou #3 hydroelectric dam near Nat Nam to change boats, and an overnight stay in the quaint village of Muang Ngoi. The Muang Khua to Muang Noi segment of the journey was rough 4.5 hours, with the Muang Noi to Nong Khiaw segment being roughly 45 minutes, followed by a roughly 2.5 hour drive from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang.
https://youtu.be/56b8m1tkTZE?si=NIs1mBUqf-nz7jFD
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Jun 06, 2024 08:00 PM The Ban Xang Hai Rice Whiskey Village
The Ban Xang Hai ‘Whiskey Village’, visited on a cruise up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang to visit the popular Pak Ou Buddha Caves near the confluence of the Nam Ou River. The village is roughly 22 km northeast of Luang Prabang, Ban Xang Hai village by car or tuk-tuk via Road #13 (GPS: 20.00333° N, 102.23056° E). The ‘lao-lao’ whiskey is made from sticky rice, has an alcohol content of roughly 45% by volume/90 Proof, and to me is similar in taste to a tequila. The village offers samples of un-distilled white and red sticky rice wines in addition to the distilled rice whiskey, and sells both the regular lao-lao whiskey and the cobra-infused version for men that is believed to ‘make you stronger for longer’. The village is also known for its hand-woven textiles and a Buddhist temple a short walk from the lao-lao still.
https://youtu.be/V_iX-ivdqI0?si=6AY427L-RXXRYSd1
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Jun 06, 2024 08:00 PM A Peaceful Morning in Muang Ngoi Village, Laos
Video clips of a morning in the quaint & peaceful village of Muang Ngoi, located on the bank of the Nam Ou River in northern Laos. Early on the morning of my one night's stay in Muang Ngoi, I was awoken by the sound of a distant large wooden gong being repeatedly struck at the Wat up the village's dirt 'Main Street' from my guest house bungalow, and knew the echoing tolling of the gong was the signal that the morning precession of monks begging for alms was about to begin. I quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed my cell phone to take some video of this daily ritual that takes place throughout Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, with some of the offerings made right in front of my guesthouse, followed by general clips of the village before leaving to continue downriver.
https://youtu.be/FpODBhy8N5w?si=6O3TmU6mzBGmIS0G
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Jun 05, 2024 08:00 PM New Contributions Despite Website Bugs/Errors
Greeting Globosapiens community! Having not posted in a long time, I’m finding that the website has become very ‘buggy’, with error messages that I have reported to the Admin at least a few times prohibiting me from uploading photos, travel tips and presumably travel reports (I haven’t tried that yet). I seems that travel log entries are still viable, so I will use that section of the website to share travel tips, observations and experiences pertaining to northern Laos (Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Bountai, Phongsali, Muang Ngoi, assorted ethnic minority tribal villages along Road #13 and Road #1B) and Bangkok from my trip in November & December of 2023. I will also include links to associated YouTube videos and SE Asia travel blog posts as they are published. Cheers, and happy travels all!
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Jun 05, 2024 08:00 PM Luang Prabang Mekong Sunset Viewing Spot
When in Luang Prabang, an alternative for taking in sunset on the Mekong River to handing over 260,000 Lao Kips or more to buy a seat on one of the group sunset cruises, is to head to the river-facing end of Inthasome Road, which intersects Sisavangvong Road at the west end of the Luang Prabang Night Market dining area. Crossing Chunkham Road to the Mekong River waterfront, take the concrete stairways off to the right down to the water’s edge and find and open patch of river bank near the wooden plank that leads out to the floating pontoon dock, then find a spot that provides a line-of-sight to the sun’s streaked reflection on the river before ‘golden hour’. There are a number of street food vendor stalls selling grilled Lao sausages & grilled tilapia, and a couple of small markets that sell cold Beer Lao, along Inthasome Road so that you can enjoy a beer and a snack along with the sunset, and stay through dusk to enjoy the relaxing environment and witness life along the water’s edge as riverboats and passengers come and go. My video clips are linked below. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/iLZ_mDsTudU?si=Pkx7di77zaVHaukb
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Jun 05, 2024 08:00 PM Bangkok’s Khlong Toei Wet Market
If you will be visiting Bangkok and (like me) are intrigued by visits to the local wet markets to experience the true local color as conveyed by the unique combination of sights, sounds and smells particularly in the busy morning hours, I highly recommend a visit the the fascinating Khlong Toei Wet Market, Bangkok’s largest wet market. The market’s surrounding are decidedly less that fashionable/upscale, with the Khlong Toei neighborhood a formerly infamous slum, but the size and scope of the sprawling market grounds (especially the massive fresh meat, poultry and fish sections with the stalls bathed in red and blue hues from the overhead rows of umbrellas) will make for a memorable experience!
https://youtu.be/PE3CM49X_50?si=SqaVq3EoOyv0k_0p
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May 11, 2024 08:00 PM Return Trip to Southeast Asia After 13 Years!
After a 13-year hiatus of visiting Southeast Asia, I was able to make my 8th trip to the region and visit my eighth country in November/December of 2023, spending 13 days in northern Laos and 7 days in Bangkok, Thailand. It was so nice to be back in SE Asia, to visit a new country and experience its local color, cuisine, and culture, and to be back in Bangkok. Pictures, travel reports and tips to follow soon!
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