As mentioned in my previous post, April was a buzz of activity. Luckily for me it included two weeks in Asia. Part an overdue visit with JonaThanh in Singapore and part 10 days with K travelling through Laos and Northern Thailand.
The former was a long weekend that was based solely around stuffing our (my?) faces with an assortment of local delicacies (hot pot! chilli crab!) and enjoying the tropical heat with cocktails and wine. I'm noticing a trend in my family, all good meals commence with a glass of wine or drink, and if ever you get a delay waiting for a table or just find yourself with some spare time...at any point during the day? Well, I'll have two of those over there, kind sir! Please make sure it's frothy / chilled / adorned with an umbrella or other such accoutrement. A kind thank you very much.
My Singapore mornings started out at Tiong Bahru Food Market with 1-2 freshly squeezed juices followed not long after with an assortment of dumplings, fried noodles and the best chopstick licking char siu I've had since my last trip to Hong Kong. All for a piddly price, it's easy to overlook the market's sticky tabletops and elvis singing busker for the quality and value for money.
One of my three nights there we went for Singaporean Chilli Crab. Most recipes I've since researched indicate that contrary to the name, the dish isn't actually that hot. All I have to say to that is "you have got to be BLEEPING kidding me." Midway through digging in I recall saying to JonaThanh that I was pretty sure I could no longer feel my mouth. Ten minutes after that and my cheeks were numb too. Fun but messy to eat, it was definitely a sloppy evening. Why they don't give out napkins is beyond me. And the lemon water to dip my fingers for cleanliness? I needed a long shower to get it all off of me and my nails. That said, I'll happily go back for more next visit! When in "Rome" as they say...
The latter half of the trip was over Songkran (New Years) spent with K in Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai. Anyone who's been to Luang Prabang or parts of Thailand over the New Year holiday will know it's a water dousing spectacle for the ages. Not possible to leave our hotel from 10 am until 6 pm without getting absolutely drenched to the bone via water pistols, buckets of river water and hose pipes to name but a few, we didn't quite have the "relaxing" holiday we'd been hoping for. And as I've learned, when this kind of water pummelling occurs, it is near impossible not to get a little of it in your mouth. If you combine this with the other "traditional" Laos New Year celebration of getting completely drunk on Beer Laos, one might "suffer" the consequences of local germs in a foreign belly.
Let me be clear, not partaking in these celebrations is not an option. Unless you dive under your duvet in your (hopefully) air conditioned hotel, these activities can't be avoided. Clearly we weren't on holiday to stay indoors.
The drinking tradition is to open up a can of Beer Laos, pour a small glass worth from it and hand it to an individual. That person drinks his/her lot. The same little glass gets refilled, handed to the next person...and on and on...beer after beer. For some added "excitement" sometimes there's mystery ice that appears. Between the random family barbecue we were taken to, and the tuk tuk that we were stuck on, our initial polite "no thank yous" were finally cajoled into "Ok - let's hope the alcohol in the beer will kill the germs our bellies aren't used to" and "let's not think about the ice, just drink the warm beer really quickly before any of it melts."
So we drank, on repeat - lots of Beer Laos and other holiday spirits and truth be told had great fun in the process. Until a few days later when our bellies started to act up. K, in her infinite Americanised wisdom went straight for the antibiotics. Because it wasn't "that bad" or stopping me from doing things, I thought I'd let it work it's way through naturally. Well, needless to say, THREE WEEKS later when I was finally back to "normal" I'd conceded to K, her way was the right way!
That said, I've lived through it and ahhhhh, what's a travel story without some belly problems I say?!
The former was a long weekend that was based solely around stuffing our (my?) faces with an assortment of local delicacies (hot pot! chilli crab!) and enjoying the tropical heat with cocktails and wine. I'm noticing a trend in my family, all good meals commence with a glass of wine or drink, and if ever you get a delay waiting for a table or just find yourself with some spare time...at any point during the day? Well, I'll have two of those over there, kind sir! Please make sure it's frothy / chilled / adorned with an umbrella or other such accoutrement. A kind thank you very much.
My Singapore mornings started out at Tiong Bahru Food Market with 1-2 freshly squeezed juices followed not long after with an assortment of dumplings, fried noodles and the best chopstick licking char siu I've had since my last trip to Hong Kong. All for a piddly price, it's easy to overlook the market's sticky tabletops and elvis singing busker for the quality and value for money.
One of my three nights there we went for Singaporean Chilli Crab. Most recipes I've since researched indicate that contrary to the name, the dish isn't actually that hot. All I have to say to that is "you have got to be BLEEPING kidding me." Midway through digging in I recall saying to JonaThanh that I was pretty sure I could no longer feel my mouth. Ten minutes after that and my cheeks were numb too. Fun but messy to eat, it was definitely a sloppy evening. Why they don't give out napkins is beyond me. And the lemon water to dip my fingers for cleanliness? I needed a long shower to get it all off of me and my nails. That said, I'll happily go back for more next visit! When in "Rome" as they say...
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| HOT - Chilli Crab - HOT |
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| Mad looking but that may be due to spice induced face numbness. That's my excuse at least. |
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| One of many Singapore cocktails. So wish this was an actual "Singapore Sling." |
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| Mango margarita. This is what happens (on repeat) when the restaurant tells you to wait about 2.5 hours before you can eat. |
The latter half of the trip was over Songkran (New Years) spent with K in Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai. Anyone who's been to Luang Prabang or parts of Thailand over the New Year holiday will know it's a water dousing spectacle for the ages. Not possible to leave our hotel from 10 am until 6 pm without getting absolutely drenched to the bone via water pistols, buckets of river water and hose pipes to name but a few, we didn't quite have the "relaxing" holiday we'd been hoping for. And as I've learned, when this kind of water pummelling occurs, it is near impossible not to get a little of it in your mouth. If you combine this with the other "traditional" Laos New Year celebration of getting completely drunk on Beer Laos, one might "suffer" the consequences of local germs in a foreign belly.
Let me be clear, not partaking in these celebrations is not an option. Unless you dive under your duvet in your (hopefully) air conditioned hotel, these activities can't be avoided. Clearly we weren't on holiday to stay indoors.
The drinking tradition is to open up a can of Beer Laos, pour a small glass worth from it and hand it to an individual. That person drinks his/her lot. The same little glass gets refilled, handed to the next person...and on and on...beer after beer. For some added "excitement" sometimes there's mystery ice that appears. Between the random family barbecue we were taken to, and the tuk tuk that we were stuck on, our initial polite "no thank yous" were finally cajoled into "Ok - let's hope the alcohol in the beer will kill the germs our bellies aren't used to" and "let's not think about the ice, just drink the warm beer really quickly before any of it melts."
So we drank, on repeat - lots of Beer Laos and other holiday spirits and truth be told had great fun in the process. Until a few days later when our bellies started to act up. K, in her infinite Americanised wisdom went straight for the antibiotics. Because it wasn't "that bad" or stopping me from doing things, I thought I'd let it work it's way through naturally. Well, needless to say, THREE WEEKS later when I was finally back to "normal" I'd conceded to K, her way was the right way!
That said, I've lived through it and ahhhhh, what's a travel story without some belly problems I say?!
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| Trying to kill the germs with some Blue Curacao - sôk di pi mai! |
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