Letting Go

Living abroad is stressful pretty much all the time. The place is unfamiliar, the people are all unfamiliar, the language is almost entirely different, and you’re almost always a little bit lost. It’s a good kind of stress, but it wears on you.

Thankfully in this part of Asia there is a sense of play that pervades everything. In Luang Prabang, for example, the guy at the internet shop took my phone from me because it was identical to his and played a guessing with me to see if I could get my own phone back.

My wallet turned up missing the other day, and the guy at the travel agency suggested I talk to a fortune teller to see where it is.

My favorite wa s the tuk tuk driver, who, pesky true to his role, asked me “Where you go?” This was probably the 100th time in a week I’ve been asked this by tuk tuk drivers, so I said, “Heaven.” He didn’t seem to understand, so I pointed to the sky. His rejoinder, “Tomorrow.”

In the same spirit of play, I made a list of my favorite menu entries in Luang Prabang. In case there’s a bit of stress in your world, take your time with the menu; I’ll be back to take your order.

tofoo juice
pate vietname sandwich
bamboo lape
sateam fish inside banana live
fried weeds
staffed bamboo
spicy intestine salad
pork lap
banana flam bert chocolate
creaked pork
tunaburger with tuna
chili paste with beef skin
chip butty sandwich
Pizza Lao (Lao sausage, Mekong seaweed, chili sauce)

Notes: We did ask what the chip butty sandwich was, but the answer was not helpful. I suspect the Pizza Lao wouldn’t be any good without the chili sauce. And no, I didn’t ask if you could get the tunaburger without tuna.

Most frightening to me is the Pate Vietnam sandwich. It sounds to me like the beginning of a really bad joke.

My personal favorite is the creaked pork. I’m not sure why, but a week later I still crack up every time.