Luang Prabang by slow boat

 Like many Luang-Prabang-bound backpackers and Lao river villagers, we hopped on one of these long boats equipped with up-cycled velour bench seats from the back of a car, some plastic picnic chairs, and bags of rice to sit on.

The two day boat ride took an overnight hiatus in a small village.  We sampled soup, salad, and sticky rice.

Every once in a while, the boat would stop at a sandy riverbank to pick 

up Lao and their loads bound for Luang Prabang: in this case, dinner.

Day two found us stuck with bags of rice for cushion. But at least we made some new friends.

Our new friend let Neal try some of her on-board snack: bbq mole. Unfortunately, the stink glands had not been removed.

A peaceful, never-ending ride down the Mekong.

Arrival.

Things I lost in the fire of fun

I lost a few things on our trip:
1 baseball hat
2 bandanas
1 tank top
1 pair shorts
1 pair undergarments
1 pair socks
2 water bottles
1 water bottle satchel
1 rain poncho

I also broke:
1 man purse
1 pair sandals
1 camera
1 water bottle holder
1 backpack zipper
1 suitcase zipper
2 tent poles
1 motorcycle handlebar
1 tea tumbler

Laura lost two shirts and almost lost her purse (with everything from credit cards to passport in it) week two.

yup, more taiwanese food and stuff.

One of the best snacks we ever ate:

candied peanut and sesame rolls with cilantro inside. 

The original coffin bread. This one was actually not as exciting as the spicy pork one we had in Hualien - but we paid our respects to the innovators of this self contained toast/pot pie. 

A group of women shucking oysters on the street in Anping, Tainan (Dutch era capitol). 

Fisherman's breakfast and a local specialty: milkfish porridge.

 

Here we have, yes that's right, a truffle filled steam bun.

Here are the jelly figs.

 blingo we found a moth!

 Taiwanese breakfast sandwich! Inside out!

They like white bread so much, they made it into a filling.

 Taiwan is diet-crazed, too. Boo.

 Typical buffet includes all sorts of whole fried fishes.

The bottom one is milkfish belly.

 OH MY GOD IT'S ALL DIFFERENT FLAVOR SYRUPS FOR BUBBLE TEA!

 OH MY GOD JELLIES!

 A freshly oxidized pile of fall harvest Dong Fa Mei Ren Cha (Oriental beauty).

The queen declared this tea her favorite, and boy is it good.  

 More fall harvest... just put out to oxidize.

Last scooter ride, double fisting our last

boba of Taiwan, overlooking the north coast.



NIGHT MARKETS: Where all of the magic happens

One of the major highlights of Taiwan was the night markets- the crowded insanity, strange fried foods, and endless shopping were perfect at providing enought excitement to offset the serene beauty of the mountains and the coast.

Here are some photos from west coast night markets:

 Meat selection for hot pot.

 Floating fish balls

 

Some dessert toppings - boba, beans, and jellies!

 @CG: PASTRIES!

 Noodle mountain and the fixin's

Cooking molds are pretty popular - for things like cream filled mini cakes,

fried dough balls, and these giant seafood dumpling orbs!

 DEEP FRIED CUTTLEFISHES ON STICKS!

 This is jelly fig dessert. It's jello, but it's made with the fuzzy seeds of 

a fruit containing pectin, instead of horse hooves. It's good with lime!

More frying molds.

Your typical diy hot pot stand.

Scallion pancakes gone pizza style.

Grilled, stuffed rice rolls.

 One of my favorites: stew in a mug with puff pastry on top.

 More molds: this time it's quail-egg half-orbs!

Night market from afar.

 Shrimp on a stick!?

 Traditional meat bun baking method.

 

 The ever-present stinky tofu.

One of my fav desserts: A peanut, cilantro, ice cream wrap! Amazing.

the search for lei cha

 After circumnavigating nearly all of Taiwan, we found ourselves in a town in the north west of the island - finally - in front of a wooden bowl full of green tea and nuts, and a large stick with which to pestle it all together. We had finally found Lei Cha: a pounded tea made by Hakka farmers (Hakka= an ethnic Han subgroup originating in northern China; Hakka people have emmigrated to countries all over the world and a large group of them once settled in Taiwan .)

 Grinding the tea.

 Adding the nuts.

 Mochi-like desert to go along

Almost ready to add hot water....

With rice crispies on top! Delish.