Summer 2009

 

During summer vacation of 2009, I traveled yet again to Southeast Asia for a month. I spent most of that month in Thailand, with one week in Laos and three days in Hong Kong.

I enjoy Laos because of the relaxed atmosphere and friendly people. It's perhaps even more laid back than Thailand. It's also easy to find great food in a variety of restaurants that cover everything from rice and noodles to steak. Speaking of steak...

 

On my first trip to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, my buddy Peter introduced me to Blue Sky Restaurant and their wonderful steak dinner. The vegetables and potatoes are nothing to write home about. The filet mignon, on the other hand, is quite tender and delicious. It comes with a choice of sauce including mushroom, black pepper, or red wine gravy. Also notice the size of the baguette--huge! This was my third trip to Laos, and by now I've probably eaten about a dozen steaks at this restaurant. None of those has been anything less than fantastic. Cost for the meal: less than $6, including iced coffee. Mmmmmmm.... :)

(Click on any thumbnail to get a larger picture.)

 

Here's a tasty breakfast at the Scandinavian Bakery. Order an omelette and you also get fruit, a tea roll, a croissant, fruit juice, and coffee. The omelette is absolutely outstanding, tasting almost like custard. Total cost for the meal: less than $4.

 

 

Leaving Laos we (Peter, his girlfriend Song, and I) crossed the border into Thailand in the small city of Nongkhai. We had to wait a couple hours for our train to leave to take us back to Bangkok. I was rather amused by a group of small pigs that trotted right up to the train and started digging their snouts in the gravel next to the tracks. Apparently as a city boy I'm rather easily amused by such things.