Park City local Paula Altschuler turns world traveler.

Lao Lao, Yummy Yummy

By Paula Altschuler

Laos is the most laid-back country I have visited. The people, the culture, the landscape is uniquely and beautifully exquisite. Right now, we’re in Luang Prabang, a bustling city surrounded by tropical rain forest, the Mekong River, mountains and temples. Compared to any other city, this is quaint, quiet, slow, reserved. But compared to where we have been the last five days, it is an oasis of action.

We spent the past five days biking and hiking through northern Laos. For reference, the country is pronounced “louse” and the people and language and religion is Lao (no “s”). All are Buddhist, but the people are split into three, agreeable tribes: Lao, Hmong and Kamu. Intermarriage between the tribes is now widely accepted.

Initially, I was petrified of biking next to traffic, but the further we made our way north, the traffic gave way to scenery sprawled outward and upward in lime, hunter, and teal greens. Mountains line the river and the dusty, paved road is the only means of travel. We did not see another Falang (non-native) the entire two days of biking, which was close to 120 km. The Lao children are especially friendly, and run from the cover of their village huts to the edge of the roads to wave Sabai Dii (meaning hello) and holding their hands out for high fives.

Our third night was the most unusual. We hiked six hours into the mountains to stay in a village. Along the way, we were unexpectantly accompanied by three young girls who lived in the village. They giggled and talked just like 15 and 16 year old girls would (keep in mind, they had already hiked to our starting point). We also encountered another type of company, but this unwelcome – leaches!! I now completely understand the saying: “You’re being such a leach!”

Just 30 minutes from the Kamu mountain village, it started to rain. A hurricane-like down pour. We arrived soaking wet and muddy to a village as remote as they come – no electricity, bamboo frames and livestock everywhere. Then came the fun part. As we warmed up around the kitchen fire, I witnessed my first chicken slaughter. The same 16 year old girl, Jan, who already walked 10 hours to sell some goods, then made up our beds (mats and mosquito nets on the floor of what looked like a human chicken coup, with dividers between made of woven bamboo), was carrying around a live chicken by its feet. Jan giggled when I took a picture of her and the chicken and then proceeded to kill it, de-feather it and cook it.

We ate our chicken soup on the floor of the deputy chief’s floor, Lao style. We also ate a chicken stir-fry made of ALL of the organs of the chicken as well as its neck and head, mixed with garlic and ginger. Yum, tastes like chicken!

The following day, Jan let me braid her long, dark hair, which the other girls admired but were too shy to let me braid their hair as well. I also tried squirrel, which was what our guide and Jan were eating for breakfast. Tasted like dark meat chicken, but a bit more chewy. Along this trip, I have sampled several unusual foods – buffalo blood and cow’s stomach – local delights.

A long boat ride down the Mekong brought us back to Luang Prabang to hotel Sala Prabang. Showering with soap and shampoo was such a treat! We even splurged and ate dinner at La Residence Phou Vao, the most high-end hotel in all of Laos, located outside of the main Luang Prabang city. However, the meals in the villages have been amazing but our fancy dinner will be remembered for the bread, not the dishes. The best meal was our first night in Luang Prabang at Tamarind, a tiny outpost serving traditional Lao food infused with chic presentation and a multitude of flavors. The icy drinks are the perfect way to cool down from the intense heat and sharing is the only way, the Lao way, to eat!

Tomorrow we head to the Elephant Refuge…more to come!

Parkite Paula Altschuler was laid off from Park City Mountain Resort earlier this year and has since transformed her life. She’s become a blogger (jewtah.com – “story-telling by a Jewish New Yorker Transplanted to Utah”) and now along with her husband, world traveler! She’s offered to share her posts from Asia this summer with parkcitymagazine.com. Thanks, Paula!