Blog Update

Hey everyone.

I forgot my adapter to my harddrive an hour away. Silly me. I will post more photos soon, till then here is a quick update.

So back I'm from my little break. I meditated serious for ten days and then straight from that partied hardcore for a week and half on an island beach with thousands of other travelers. Now that I am back and settled in Bangkok I am ready to start posting again. Also, I have a bit more focus. I am going to include tips how to eat street food here in Thailand. Eating street food is exciting but it can be daunting not knowing the language, the food, the customs. Its even been hard for me to learn the curve and I have just dove in and I will eat anything, from organs to chunks of blood[both are delicious btw] Also, a lot of people are scared to eat street food not wanting to get sick, I never really worry about that either, but I also have tips on how not being glued to a toilet for the duration of your trip here. So alongside the pictures of my foodie adventures will be info. Now the pictures and stories will not only make you want to come to thailand, it will be a resource for when when you finally cave and come. [You know you will!]

Alright my friends. Will get those new photos and stories up soon.

-Matthew

Stick-y rice and the heart of adventure

Hey Good Morning!

Sitting at the coffeeshop on the balcony- sun beaming. Its going to be a hot day.

Yesterday was exciting. Met a local Loas guy the other day- Lei. He was hanging out at his friend's restaurant. We talked a bit and I asked him if he could teach me how to cook a couple dishes. He was very friendly and excited by the idea. So he picked us up by motorbike the next day and we went to the market and then to his house.

He taught me how to make sticky rice on a stick. Its kind of like a corndog with stickyrice instead. Now I have like 15 different ideas to try using this simple technique. My friend Quinn came and video taped it. So I will have my first video coming within the next couple weeks. Its gonna be a little rough, as Quinn was getting used to the camera but regardless I think you'll like it. He did a great job for his first time. woot.

It was such a awesome day. Real Loas. This is what I want to do everyday! Meet people and eat- learn to cook new things.

We met and hung out with Lei and his family. Drank beers and homemade whiskey-strong stuff. They invited us back tonight again for Lei's younger brother's birthday, and even to stay over night. We will probably take up the offer, since the hostel we stayed at last night was infested with flees [luckily we escaped unbitten!]

This what I want my blog / my videos to be: An excuse to get to explore the heart of wherever I am. Its so much better to go away from the touristy areas and make friends. The people here are so kind once you get past the tourist part.

Enough of my ramblings. On to the photos. Not as many pics as I thought there would be since I took mostly video. But just wait for the video it will be worth it.

Our new friend Lei

Tom Yum Gai [Chicken Soup] as prepared by Lei's uncle. So good!

Looking at this picture is making me hungry for it again...

Latte Break

Not many pictures for you this week...

Spent it Vien Vien-Laos.

And if there were it would basically be pictures of sand pails-filled with bad alcohol. Sometimes party towns have great food. However if this one does I didn't really discover it. One good eat they did have was the sandwiches. Really great grilled sandwiches. But there is only so many of the same kind of sandwiches before getting sick of it.

Today, I escaped from the party scene and am sitting in a quiet town sipping on a Loas latte. The Jars Cafe. Damn. Best latte since I left Coffee Exchange. Makes me remember how much I love a good coffee. I haven't even bothered with it the last few weeks. Coffee is bad and expensive. This one is fair priced at under 2 bucks and it so good! I drank most of it before I thought about taking a picture. That has been a problem. Eating things before I even think about snapping a photo. I get excited!

{One day later....}

Drinking another great latte now. Great instrumental of "yesterday" is playing. I feel like home. A sanctuary. I can close my eyes. I miss my friends back home. I miss the coffee exchange. But the little sip that causes the nostalgia, cures it as well. This is a little gem of a place. and the best part is a kind and enthusiastic owner Mr Yai. He even let me behind the counter and I got to make my own latte. Woot!

We visited "the Plains of Jars" today and I learned that the US bombed the hell out of Loas durring and after the vietnam war. Killing thousands of civilians and displacing a half a million people. Also there are still unexploded bombs here. Many farmers and children die each year because of it. Bombies. We wern't allowed to walk in certain areas for fear of detonating them. I won't talk about it here much because this is a food blog, but look it up. You prob never heard about it and it will blow you mind.

Ok thats my rant. Here are some more food pictures. And I will have even more for you tomorrow.

Woke up and climbed to the high temple to watch the sunrise[Luang Prabong.]

Best fried sandwiches in [Vang Vien]

Took a trek and went to a whisky village. They basically make a fermented rice cake and put it in a jar. Then they add water. It tastes like a rough saki. What I am doing here is some kind of local drinking game. The rules are not clear other than you go around the circle and must drink a lot. What makes it difficult is they keep adding more you as you drink so you can never seem to get ahead. Then if you stop drinking and you havn't drank enough then they make fun of you in Laos, and then tell you to drink more. !

I will write more in-depth about another whiskey village we visited, in a future post.

Food with friends!

[Photo Credit: Hega Skarrud]

[Photo Credit: Hega Skarrud]

The buckets I mentioned- this is filled with half a bottle of bad whiskey and red bull. Not all of my travel companions remember vang vien that well....

One of the coolest drinks you can get in vang vien- non alcoholic. Sugar cane juice with lime.

Perfection.

A new dawn a new day

Woke at dawn the other morning. A beautiful place; in the dawn light even more beautiful. Took a bunch of pictures at the morning street market. Bustling already at 7 am. Live chickens, frogs and rats to be cooked. Fresh meats- any body part you want. This back alley market is not for the squeamish. Exciting though. Tourists dont buy this stuff. This is product for the local loas people. I almost bought bbq'd frog my self but decided it was a little too early and grabbed some fried pork patties instead, yum.

Still trying to figure out how to do this blog. Lots of other exciting developments. Met a cool new friend over food. He's from alaska. Been with us traveling for 5 days now. Also have had so many great talks with foodie friends. I love the community that food inspires.

Speaking of which I am hungry...

Edible photography

I just had a Willy Wonka moment. I wish I could print out photos of food and then be able to eat the photo and have it taste like what's in the picture. Wouldn't that be stupidly incredible? I know they can print photos onto candy paper. But that stuff tastes awful. I don't know if its possible and I certainly can't do it here in laos, but it seems if someone pulled it off--it would be freaking awesome.

Ok heres more food photos. I think I will deversify my postings a bit more soon. Not really sure how or what yet. But get ready it will be fabulous.