Adventures abroad
My lady gave me a tour of her families rubbermaking orchard. Incredible process- the raw material ends up looking like a bathroom floormat after it has been congealed, pressed and dried.
I saw little tiny conical pits near the base of the trees- My lady shot her hand down into one and she pulled up a squirming ant-lion-- fascinating.
Met the dad and the aunties and they fed me ultra-spicy local cuisine. Seems like I eat crazy new things prepared in crazy new ways every day in each new province/country. It really has been a gustatory odyssey, with each dish turning out to be more fiery than the last. I may survive...
We trekked all over the southern half of Laos and saw a lot of waterfalls. Traveled by train, bus, car, motor bike and rode in some perilously rickety canoes. We even rode a few elephants at one point. I have to say Cambodia and Angkor Wat were better, though- easier to get across the border and more to see. Laotian currency is a bit ridiculous- 6000 kip to each US dollar, so I was paying millions of kip for things using big stacks of bills for each transaction.
Returning to Madison in three days- Trip has been fantastic, mainly due to the incredible job my lady did as guide and interpreter. She speaks Lao, Thai, Japanese, English and Singalese. Incredible! She kept me from getting cheated on many occasions and helped my bargaining skills with salesmen in three countries.
I saw little tiny conical pits near the base of the trees- My lady shot her hand down into one and she pulled up a squirming ant-lion-- fascinating.
Met the dad and the aunties and they fed me ultra-spicy local cuisine. Seems like I eat crazy new things prepared in crazy new ways every day in each new province/country. It really has been a gustatory odyssey, with each dish turning out to be more fiery than the last. I may survive...
We trekked all over the southern half of Laos and saw a lot of waterfalls. Traveled by train, bus, car, motor bike and rode in some perilously rickety canoes. We even rode a few elephants at one point. I have to say Cambodia and Angkor Wat were better, though- easier to get across the border and more to see. Laotian currency is a bit ridiculous- 6000 kip to each US dollar, so I was paying millions of kip for things using big stacks of bills for each transaction.
Returning to Madison in three days- Trip has been fantastic, mainly due to the incredible job my lady did as guide and interpreter. She speaks Lao, Thai, Japanese, English and Singalese. Incredible! She kept me from getting cheated on many occasions and helped my bargaining skills with salesmen in three countries.