A couple of brief asides from the travelogue, I'm posting these two as a reminder of how good the food was over there. Both are slightly Westernised versions of South East Asian dishes, and are delicious, to my mind. I write more food stuff at my personal blog, Antipathti, if you fancy a read.
The ironey black pudding cuts through the sweet and bitter tamarind quite nicely, and I quite like the very eastern meeting the very western. Mmm.
Ingredients
Tamarind
Soy or fish sauce
Brown sugar
Chilli (fresh or powder)
Salt
Spring onions
Flat white noodles
Black pudding
Egg
Peanuts (smashed up)
Lime
Method
Serves one.
In a little bowl, mix up about 1 1/2 tsp tamarind, 1tsp soy or fish sauce, 1tsp sugar, and salt and chilli to your own preference and taste. It will smell and taste crap. It transforms when cooked.
Chop up the spring onions and pack pudding and stir fry in a fairly tasteless oil, veg or ground nut for a couple of minutes. Add the noodles and the sauce you made and stir fry for a couple more.
Add the egg and stir it all quickly so the egg cooks into everything.
Dump it in a bowl and sprinkle over the smashed peanuts and a squodge of lime.
Eat with chopsticks if you're pretentious.
A couple of brief asides from the travelogue, I'm posting these two as a reminder of how good the food was over there. Both are slightly Westernised versions of South East Asian dishes, and are delicious, to my mind. I write more food stuff at my personal blog, Antipathti, if you fancy a read.
Or larb, or larp, or laab. Bless the confusion of translating from a foreign alphabet to the western. Etymology aside, this is one of my favourite meals in the world. This version came close to the delicious flavour when I've had it cooked for me, and has the advantage of taking about 20 minutes, with very little prep.
The mix of herbs is delicious, and makes up a huge part of the dish. I have made this with strips of steak. Traditionally it would be minced beef (or pork, chicken, white fish or any other deceased animal) but I like the steak strips as a little westernisation of the meal.
If you have an extra 10 minutes, dry fry a small handful of rice before you start, grind it up in a pestle and mortar, and add this to the pan too for extra authenticity. It's called Khao Kua and is a big thing in Southeast Asian cuisine.
Ingredients
Ingredients are per person
Frying Steak
Spring onions
Bird eye or other small powerful chilli
Mint- A large bundle torn into big chunky pieces, insofar as leaves can be chunky
Thai/holy basil- A big handful again, roughly chopped. You can get it in Waitrose or Asian food shops. It's sweeter than normal basil.
Coriander- a handful, roughly chopped
Lime- juice and grated zest of half
Nam Pla (fish sauce) 1 tsp
Chilli sauce- 1tsp and use sweet chilli if you like
4 or 5 large whole lettuce leaves, to serve.
Method
Chop the spring onion and chilli finely and cut the beef into thin strips. Chop the herbs as well to save panic later.
So another boat trip from Ko Phi Phi to Ao Nang. Uneventful, save for the very end, where we have to jump a good meter and a half over water with 20kg backpacks on, because the walkway on our boat has broken! Cheeky tuk tuk drivers try to get us to pay for a bus we had already arranged, warning us that we may be entering the realm of the tourist once more.
Ao Nang is a little more touristy- the following videos we shot show you what to expect of an evening, all from our first night, where we got pleasantly toasted and had Indian food- you miss it while you're away from the UK! A reggae band, a fire eater, and a police car playing Manu Chao kept us amused, along with the usual buzz of offers from shopkeepers.
The next day was all about relaxing, save for an hour we spend writing postcards, and Christmas cards in time for them to get there on time (ish). Ao Nang is beautiful, with it's enormous craggy cliffs, and it's beach with longtail boats zipping off all day long.
In the evening we wandered the shops and found an amazing all you can eat place, with barbecued meats and a mix of Thai and Western food- after 3 months it was nice to have the option of a break from chilli and Nam Pla (fish sauce).
But by and large our time was spent enjoying the beach, with cold beer and fresh fruit, knowing our Asian adventure was nearly at an end, and soon we would be in Australia, and (oh no!) having to work.
Ao Nang was a very nice town- massively busy and touristy. And so for our final stop before our flights to the next country, we wanted to go back to a little bit of remote paradise, just up the coast, at Railay Bay.
So, back to the mainland. We had seen a bit of heaven, could anything match up? The answer is yes (at times). a coach down the coast takes us to Bang Niang. The area was one of the very worst hit by the 2004 tsunami, and the town is still in the process of putting itself back together- the pavements were still being laid about a mile in, and they have drydocked a police boat where it landed on the day, about a mile and a half from the sea. The whole town is newly built, and whenever you realise this, the memory of what people have been through hits you hard.
That said, it is a beautiful seafront, and the first night, we ate in a nice restaurant at the top of the bay, sat at a table so close to the sea you can literally (actually literally, not figuratively) touch it. The days are spent lounging on the beach, enjoying the 5km of uninterrupted sand and bar.
In the evenings, we visit the night market, where the grill stalls are immense, although Ben tried a noodle sausage which was texturally unique and somewhat confusing when you expected meat! One evening, we looped down to the far end of the beach, via a roadside food hut, and made our way back along the 3 miles of beach, darting into little bars all the way back to town, by which point we are very merry. Halfway down the beach, our way is cut off by a river outlet- unlike in Koh Phayam, we don't have to wade through, as an enterprising bar owner had set up a shuttle raft, at 10 baht (20p) a go. I imagine he makes a lot of money from this! We also hear a lot of 90's reggae in the bars, Big Mountain's version of Baby I Love Your Way being a personal highlight! We eat from a streetside barbecue, delicious satay kebabs and squid.
The next day, we move about a mile down the road to Khao Lak, where a badly insect infested room earns us an upgrade to a high end hotel- very nice! We spend the day on free beachside loungers, in a tree lined peaceful corner of the beach. Huge waves make swimming exciting, and we drink from freshly fallen coconut shells. Both ends of the culinary scale are reached, as Ben eats a double Big Mac (four burgers!) for lunch, and a Northern 'Jungle Curry' for dinner, which is the hottest thing he had eaten for ten years, when an error in an Indian restaurant led to his being served a vegetable phall, and politeness kept him from sending it back! The flavour and tender beef makes the agony and sweat well worthwhile, and we get ready to depart for the isle of Phuket the next day.
After crossing the border on foot, we arrived in our third Communist country, Laos! A quick bus over the Friendship Bridge, and a tuktuk into town and we were in the Lao capital, Vientiane. The word capital almost feels inappropriate here- even city feels strong, as it's so laid back here, it is more like a small town, save for the inevitable Asian lunatic traffic!
Our first hotel was seconds away from the Nam Phou Fountain square, where live musicians performed evening.
Nam Phou fountain
The center of town is set at the edge of the Mekong river, so you are looking back over into Thailand as you walk along the front. All along the front there is an enormous market, selling pretty much everything you can think of. Every single stand is red, and it paints the whole front that colour. On the day we arrived, there were also enormous public exersise classes going on, with hundreds of people taking part, which was very entertaining to watch. Especially when you're still sleep deprived and bewildered from the journey the night before!
The night market
The large part of the first two days was spent in the Kafkaesque nightmare of ferrying back and forth to the Thai Consulate to obtain our visas to return and explore the South of Thailand. However, the journey there gives you a view of the impressive Patuxai, a Lao copy of the Arc de Triumph, made slightly larger. This was built using concrete the Americans had donated for a airstrip (possibly out of guilt, the country was badly hurt by the Vietnam war, despite not officially being involved), and as a result, has the amusing nickname of 'The Worlds Tallest Runway'. It's still impressive the fifth time you go past!
Patuxai
Lao cuisine is also amazing! Their national dish is Laap, a mix of minced meat (traditionally eaten raw), sweet basil and mint that is delicious. Beerlao is great ('Beer of the Wholehearted People' is a great slogan too). Laolao, a blindingly strong rice whisky is very popular, and does this;
Before
After. It tastes like burning.
The best restaurants in Vientiane appear to be the worst looking- on one street there are five consecutive cafes all cooking amazing food for around 10,000 kip (just shy of a quid), under a crudely fashioned covering made out of old canvas and beer adverts, with kitchens made from a gas bottle and some knocked together metal, serving barbecued meats, spring rolls, fresh coconut and fish caught 30 metres away in the Mekong. Not a bad meal between them.
Great restaurants- they look terrible!
And despite very strict laws prohibiting such recreations, we were offered opium, and the services of a transvestite. Which was kind of them.
Much like Hanoi, Chiang Mai just seemed welcoming from the moment we arrived. We werw staying in the old town, a mile and a half square inside the old city walls. You can't walk more than 100 yards without passing a temple, and within hours, a local Buddhist had filled us in on the best ones to visit, and the best way to get cheap fares around. It's that friendly.
The original temple was HUGE, but then an earthquake made it just big
Jenny disapproves
We went to the Night Market by 'tuk-tuk' (a motorbike with a couple of seats attached to the back) in the evening. Ben bought vests (shock!) and on 'Halal Street', the Muslim section of the market we bought the tastiest and hottest dish made from rice balls, made fresh in front of us.
A picture cannot capture the sheer amount of chilli in this!
We washed it down with much needed Tiger beer, and watched a fan dancer in the middle of the market. The beer was lovely, and the fan dancing odd, but very watchable.
Later in the week, we arranged a trek through our guesthouse, involving an elephant ride, which was a little scary, as our elephant liked running up hills to fetch bamboo, but brilliant;
There are very few pictures where Ben isn't looking terrified...
This was followed by a trek through the jungle, with our guide Neo. He was a very funny chap, and had loads of info on the local wildlife (and what it tasted like!). We saw a chameleon, which was bigger than expected;
Some creepy spirit houses, where the local villages encourage evil spirits to stay out;
Shudder
A huge waterfall;
Some amazing views;
And rickety bamboo bridges;
We stopped off for a swim in a little lagoon by a waterfall, which was much needed after the walk, and was beautifully secluded. On the way to get some lunch, our tour guide showed us how to blow bubbles using plant sap!
After lunch, we went down the river on bamboo rafts. Ours was piloted by a 10 year old boy who liked hitting rocks!
And then we went and drank a lot of mojitos. There is so much more that's brilliant about Chiang Mai, but I think this post is now a little long. So I'll just put some food pictures to sum up the rest!
So to start, Qatar Airways is AMAZING. A 747 with comfy seats, good films and a delicious green curry wrap! This was tempered slightly by Ben messing up at immigration...
Anyway, we got to Bangkok late as a result, and got a cab to our hotel. The cabs here are lurid pink, which is strange. The Khaosan Road is anarchic, but was subdued by an enormous downpour on our first night (we now know what monsoon season means!), so we spent time in our room at Buddy Lodge, an amazing boutique hotel in the middle of everything- the towels are folded into elephants!
Worth every penny for this!
The following morning, the weather had cleared up, and we went for a wander to Sanam Luang, the park leading up to the huge Grand Palace complex, it was surrounded by a million little market stalls selling every manner of trinket, and a fair degree of pirated DVDs and games!
We spent the evening wandering Khaosan and the surrounding alleys- people sell hard here, and the people selling trips to ping pong shows make hideously graphic noises to let you know exactly what that is... Jen had coconut ice cream from a coconut shell- it was delicious. The fruit stands sell bags of fruit for about 40p, and you can get pat thai (glass noodles, chicken, egg and chilli) for about 60p. At the end of the market, some kids were playing strange Thai autoharp type instruments- we saw them play Coldplay and Lady Gaga!
The next day, we explored Bangkok by boat along the river. There are so many temples and amazing buildings you lose track of what they are.
They know wat is wat...
We stopped in Chinatown for vases full of iced coffee, then headed home for dinner at Mai Kaidee, an amazing vegetarian restaurant hidden on a little back street. The spring rolls with peanut sauce were mindblowing!
So after a quick stop in Guangzhou, we were on to Vietnam, and Hanoi. Guangzhou was very busy, and the only major point of interest was the Canton Tower:
Nice lights at the Canton Tower
Immediately in Hanoi, the feel of the city seemed more laid back. This in spite of a million motorcycles all desperate to get to their destination at speed, down narrow streets that seem more suited to traveling on foot, but more on that later...
On our first night, we went to the Newday restaurant on Ma May, and had barbecued ribs and lime chicken. The ribs affected Jenny emotionally they were that good! We followed that up with beers in a bar called Half Man Half Noodle, with a balcony that overlooked the busy street below.
We then strolled down to the Hoan Kiem Lake, where we saw a monkey taunting a dog.
Monkey vs. Dog
Twice because why not?
The next day, we explored the Old Town some more- loads of crazy stuff- the whole place seems to be held together by string, but laid back people and amazing food keep the whole place going.
In the evening the weekly Night Market took place on Hang Ba- absolutely packed but they sell some cool stuff- we bought a lovely pop up birthday card to send home. At the top of the market, under the train bridge, there was an amazing restaurant, with hot plates on every table- you are provided with butter, meat, chillies, onions and an amazing sauce and are left to cook your own wraps- so delicious!
Before
After
The next day, we couldn't resist going back to some places we'd already visited- Ben had more pho (noodle soup, fresh tasting and lovely)and Jenny had crazy Vietnamese muesli, which was cornflakes, yoghurt and bananas! , then a street barbecue lunch and back to Newday in the evening for Lemongrass and chilli chicken, spring rolls and special ribs.
You can also drink Bia Hoi, the local beer, served straight from the barrel, at street temperature- it's surprisingly delicious, and costs only 15,000 dong (17p!).
Six glasses for a pound. HEAVEN.
On our final day, we finally saw how laid back Hanoi is, as our entire street had a power cut, to which the hotel staff said 'It won't be long. Power will be back at 4 o clock.' At 10am in the morning... We wandered round the town again- many places had generators, so I assume this was a regular occurrence!
There were crazy balloons flying over the river, and we had iced coffee by the lake and watched them.
And finally, to cap off our stay, Jen took the perfect video of the motorbike traffic, and the fun of crossing the road here!!!
Unfortunately, due to the weather in the South, trains were severely limited, so we had to cut short our stay, as we couldn't travel much further, and so our next stop became Bangkok...
