261206 Luang Prabang night market

The sixth precept was broken (by the cat, not by its friend) at a noodle stall across the road from Wat Hosieng. One stove + one cooking pot + two low tables + wooden stools in a little space outside a house. A few farang ladies were having dinner there, not sure if they were solo travellers - they sat apart & kept to themselves. For them the tables were just too low - when seated their knees came up to table height. Just as the cook took a break & disappeared into the house, two of the farangs tried to pay the cat for their dinner, not realising that it was a fellow customer & not the noodle stall owner. If this carries on the cat's going to earn $$$ plus free meals simply by eating out in Laos :P

The Luang Prabang night market, where the cat bumped into Mr Belgian 2 again =)






This market was a much more pleasant experience than the Chiangmai one. The students in English class #1 were right - the Lao sinh sold in this market were all tailored to fit larger-sized Westerners. The stallholders themselves also told the cat to go to Talat Phousi to 'dtat sinh' (lit. 'cut skirt') - some of their wares were so huge that adding shoulder straps would turn them into calf-length dresses for the cat :P

All internet cafes were closed tonight - for some reason all connections were down. News of the Hengchun earthquake that struck Taiwan just after the cat's parents flew off from Taipei finally trickled in via Thai news a day later. Undersea cables were damaged & telecommunications in Asia were disrupted, & the cat would no longer be able to use the StarHub link with Laotel to make/receive calls & SMSes. It would be a full week before most services were back to near normal.

end of day 10 (261206):
noodle soup/pho/feu/khaaw soi eaten to date = 08 bowls