We have made it to Luang Prabang and this city has quickly become one of my favorites
here in Southeast Asia.
This is the cultural hub of Laos and we're going to show you a few of the things you
can do around town.
When you're visiting Luang Prabang, it is really easy to stick to the city center.
There is so much to do and see there but if you have the time come outside and explore
the outskirts of the city.
Come and check out the more rural sections.
Right now we're going across a bamboo bridge and we're going to see what is on the other
side.
Lead the way.
Because this is a very small city it is really easy to find yourself in the countryside.
That's exactly what we've been doing just wandering down rural areas and we even found
a dog to join us for the walk.
Now we are up bright and early for a biking tour around the city.
We picked up these bikes for 20,000 Kip, which is $2.50 USD and we have them for the day,
so we're going to be cycling around.
Let's see what we find.
When comparing Luang Prabang to other cities in Southeast Asia there are some major advantages.
One of them being that there is hardly any traffic here.
It's a wonderful opportunity to take out your bicycle and just explore.
You can go down the main roads, you can go down the side streets and you're not going
to have to deal with cars and other bicycles or even pedestrians.
Luang Prabang is very pedestrian friendly.
In fact, there are so many different little back-alleys and lanes to explore that it is
just a great idea to wander about without any sense of direction.
There are some fantastic views in this city so one of our recommendations is to enjoy
a meal by the river, which is what we're doing tonight.
Another thing you'll want to do when you're in Luang Prabang is to visit all of the temples
around the city.
This morning we're visiting Wat Xieng Thong and it is one of the main temples in Luang
Prabang.
It is also known as the Golden City Temple and it really has some impressive glass mosaics.
You'll want to wander around and take some photos.
It is 20,000 Kip to enter which is $2.50 USD and like most places it is good to come early
because it starts to get busy during the middle of the day.
Now it is time for us to get a little bit of exercise.
We're going to climb up 328 steps up Mount Phou si which is more like a hill for the
best views of Luang Prabang.
Admission to reach the top of this mountain is 20,000 Kip which is again is $2.50 USD.
It is kind of cool going up because you go up one way and then you come down the other
side of the mountain so you get to see different views along the way.
How could we have a list of things to do in a city without focusing on the local cuisine.
We're here at our favorite restaurant Tamarind.
We've been here so often it's literally our home away from home and we're going to show
you a few of our favorite dishes.
This is the dipping platter.
This over here is a coriander pickle.
Next we have an eggplant dip.
A tomato dip.
We have paste made from buffalo skin.
We have some seaweed chips and then some vegetables that we can use with the sauce.
Let's dig in.
That all goes together, of course, with our sticky rice.
Sam is going to demonstrate.
This is how you eat.
You just kind of put together a little ball like that and then you can pick a different
dip.
I'll try the buffalo sauce here.
You put it together just like that and you pop it in your mouth.
Delicious!
This is the second plate we've ordered.
Again, here we have a vegetable pickle.
This is a pork salad that also has banana flowers.
We have a pork sausage and here is some buffalo jerky - Sam's favorite.
Oh yeah!
Over here we have some little lettuce rolls that are stuffed with different dips and different
sauces.
We'll be trying those.
We've ordered so much food we almost forgot about this next dish.
It is time for me to do the honors.
I'm going to unveil our steamed fish, which comes wrapped in banana leaf.
It is called Mok Pa.
Let's see what is in here.
It is like opening a present.
I know.
It is like Christmas on a plate.
Oh, wow!
There it is.
You can see the steam coming off of it.
That is going to be good.
And when the sun goes down it is time to go shopping.
We're at the tourist night market and we're picking up souvenirs.
If there is
one thing that Luang Prabang is known for is for its Almsgiving which happens every
morning at six AM.
This is where monks collect alms of rice from kneeling locals and tourists.
Tips on how not to be a total wanker at the ceremony.
First, don't use your flash and don't blind the monks.
Secondly, don't chase them down.
You see people doing both of these things and it is infuriating.
If you love to eat like we do then you can't leave Luang Prabang without taking a cooking
class.
Today we're at the Phou si market and we're picking up ingredients before we start preparing
our food.
Not much sugar in Lao cooking like in Thai food.
When you taste Thai food you taste milky and creamy and sweet things because they add lots
of coconut milk and lots of sugar.
That is why their food tastes like that.
Laos food is different.
Lao food tastes lots of herbs and lots of texture.
This is Lao food.
I'd like to point out that Sam and I are making the exact same dish.
This is his sauce and this is mine.
What are you missing?
Just about everything.
Here we have our buffalo salad.
We stir friend some buffalo meat and we also added beansprouts and there is banana flowers.
We have string beans, hot chilies and mint leaves.
We're going to be rolling this up in lettuce leaves.
It is kind of like a little fresh roll.