The Loop: Day 4 - From Kong Lor to Ban Song Hong
23 October 2010
Jean and I retraced our path to Kuan Kham where we had seen a sign for a waterfall yesterday. The signs directed us to an unmanned tourist information office. We found the door ajar so we looked around inside but didn't find any maps or further instructions as how to get to the waterfall. We tried several possible trail heads nearby but didn't find anything forth coming. After checking the office again and still finding it empty we set off motoring west.
The winding road soon began to climb and I found myself ever downshifting as the motor scooter strained to keep us moving forward. Since the way was strewn with amazing vantage points and Jean and I were both getting a little saddle sore after a few days on the road we took the liberty of taking frequent breaks.
Eventually, the serpentine road brought us down from the mountain heights to the balmy low lands. We turned on to highway 13, a broad, flat two-lane paved road, and began motoring south back in the direction of Tha Khek.
We arrived in Ban Song Hong in the early evening and took a room at the one guesthouse in town. Then we went looking for food. As we've discovered in the past few days, rather than established restaurants, many small settlements have shops with a couple of tables out front where the proprietor may or may not be willing to prepare food for you. Choice is usually limited to rice or noodles combined with what ever the shopkeeper has on hand.
We have among our Lao vocabulary a phrase, “Khoy kin je” that has caused some consternation in locals we've encountered. It means, according to the crib sheet, “I eat only vegetables.” It's meant to convey that one is a vegetarian. However, I think it's sometimes construed by shopkeepers to mean the speaker eats vegetables and only vegetables. Nothing else. This causes a stir because I think it's probably considered slightly sacrilegious to have a dish without a rice or noodle component besides throwing a major wrench in most cook's culinary repertoires.
In Ban Song Hong we finally found a place where they were willing to make us dinner. Jean told the man, “Khoy kin je,” and it drew a puzzled look and some head scratching. He spoke to his wife and looked under the lid at the boiling contents in one of the pots over the fire. Then he went into the store and returned with two small boxes.
He pantomimed eating and held out the two boxes for us to look at. They were both covered in foreign script so I had no idea what the contents where but they appeared to be instant noodle packages. I believe he was concerned because the noodles on the stove contained egg and he thought the processed noodles might not.
I picked one and ten minutes later we were served with two steaming bowls of Ramen noodle soup with vegetables. It was almost like being at university again.
We have among our Lao vocabulary a phrase, “Khoy kin je” that has caused some consternation in locals we've encountered. It means, according to the crib sheet, “I eat only vegetables.” It's meant to convey that one is a vegetarian. However, I think it's sometimes construed by shopkeepers to mean the speaker eats vegetables and only vegetables. Nothing else. This causes a stir because I think it's probably considered slightly sacrilegious to have a dish without a rice or noodle component besides throwing a major wrench in most cook's culinary repertoires.
In Ban Song Hong we finally found a place where they were willing to make us dinner. Jean told the man, “Khoy kin je,” and it drew a puzzled look and some head scratching. He spoke to his wife and looked under the lid at the boiling contents in one of the pots over the fire. Then he went into the store and returned with two small boxes.
He pantomimed eating and held out the two boxes for us to look at. They were both covered in foreign script so I had no idea what the contents where but they appeared to be instant noodle packages. I believe he was concerned because the noodles on the stove contained egg and he thought the processed noodles might not.
I picked one and ten minutes later we were served with two steaming bowls of Ramen noodle soup with vegetables. It was almost like being at university again.
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