Luang Prabang

A shiny mosaic at Wat Xieng Thong.

Day 9 (Feb.1): Wat Xieng Thong, Phou Si, and Dyen Sabai
It's difficult to get lost in the old town of Luang Prabang: it's just one big loop on the top of a hill. I wandered around for a day with no real plans in mind, but it was nice to run into old friends and make new ones.

I met a guy from Chengdu whose English name is Flame. He was very friendly and eager to talk about everything from politics to Taiwanese food. Even though he was from China, he loved Taiwan (and really disliked Chinese communism). We walked to Wat Xieng Thong, the city's most famous temple, where we ran into Corine and Ian! It was hot, but the temples were cool inside, so it was nice to explore and take photos. Overall, it wasn't very interesting, though. I was getting temple fatigue -- they all look the same after a while.

Small Buddha sculptures at Wat Xieng Thong.

Later in the afternoon, Flame got a massage while I got a smoothie and played with free WiFi. Internet access is advertised all over the city, but it's very rarely reliable. In fact, Flame and I actually met at the guesthouse because he asked me how to access its WiFi. It wasn't easy -- I had to go out onto the balcony to get just a few bars.

Anyway, as the afternoon wore on, we decided to hike to the very top of the local hill, Phou Si, to watch the sunset. This wasn't the best of ideas, since it ended up being so overwhelmingly crowded that any enjoyment of the natural beauty was inevitably spoiled by hordes of people taking photos and being loud. It was so ridiculous that it became funny, actually. But I'd paid the price of 20,000kip and a hike to see this, so I joined the crowd and tried to take some photos, too.

The sunset was still gorgeous. It was just hard to appreciate it with all the people around.

Me, Green, and Flame at Phou Si.

At the top of the hill, Flame and I ran into Green, a guy from Taiwan whom I met briefly in between the border crossing into Laos and the slow boat pier at Huay Xai. Green had taken a bus up north to Luang Namtha and had finally found his way back down to Luang Prabang. Realizing that they could have a lot of interesting things to talk about, I introduced them to each other and then tuned out as they talked about their respective countries in Mandarin too fast for me to really follow along.

That evening, I met up with Greg and P, Corine and Ian, and their friend Chrissie at the nice restaurant across the bamboo bridge* from the old city. It's called Dyen Sabai, and I highly recommend it. Their specialty is Lao fondue, which is similar to Cambodian barbecue. Essentially, it's meat grilled on coals like a barbecue, plus a heated broth for cooking other things hot-pot style. There was buffalo meat, Lao sausage, and delicious dishes with eggplant including fried eggplant and baba ganoush. Everything was to die for and also served with class.

The restaurant's atmosphere is also great -- instead of four walls, patrons dine in large open-air huts and sit on the floor with bamboo mats and cushions. It was wonderful. It was also cheap -- we ordered several of the dinner sets and lots of happy hour drinks and ate until we were beyond stuffed, but our total bill came out to less than 100USD. My share of the bill came out to 116,000kip, or $14.50. And this was my splurge meal of the week. Easily four times the amount I'd been paying for meals up until then, but compared to South Korea or the US, it was an unbelievable deal. So, if you are ever in Luang Prabang, be sure to try Dyen Sabai.

Lao fondue: a grill plus a hot pot. That there is buffalo meat! It's basically beef.

Greg, Ian, Chrissie, Corinne, and P, having a wonderful dinner in an open-air hut.

Of course, now that the city is booming with tourism, there are undoubtedly many other high-end restaurants that can provide the same level of class and fine dining, but this place really was something special. I think the good company added to it.

I ended the night at a bar owned by a French man, chilling with the three funny and friendly Brits I'd befriended over the past few days. After just one day in Luang Prabang, I already loved it.

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*If you are ever in Luang Prabang, beware the evening bridge toll scammer! During daylight hours, tourists who cross the bridge must pay toll; this contributes to the maintenance of the bridge, which is washed away every rainy season and rebuilt. But after sunset, the crossing is supposed to be free. That didn't stop a clever swindler from installing himself in the toll booth to collect fees from unsuspecting tourists. I was lucky to be crossing with P, who marched right past the toll booth without even giving the guy a second glance. And the guy was gone when we crossed back after dinner...

The bamboo bridge in Luang Prabang

Photos from Jeju

Well, it's been a rather gloomy and dismal day, and that's not just on account of the weather. It's gotten cold in Changwon lately, and there have been scattered rains. Also, awful things are happening in the United States and around the world. So it's time to go to my happy place and relive memories from Jeju Island (where I attended the Fulbright Spring Conference two weekends ago).

This was the view from my hotel room! It was in Seogwipo, on the southern coast of the island, looking south at nothing but ocean.

First stop on the one-day tour of the island: famous volcanic rock columns making interesting formations at the water's edge.

The peak of Sunrise Peak! (일출봉정상/Ilchulbong jeongsang) (taken by Adam)

It took about 20 minutes to get to the top, and the wind was blasting us the entire time. Here's another shot at the peak, facing east.

Looking west, back toward the island... it was gorgeous! 아름답네요! I love the colors of the water and the rooftops.

Down by the beach, Jeju's famous female divers were looking for shellfish. When they found their catch, they'd discard the beautiful shells. But this one I picked up in a tide pool. (Seems like I also got photobombed by Ashley.) (taken by Katelyn)

Cuttlefish/squid (오징어/ojingeo) drying on a line on the coast. Nom nom nom...

"I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams."

A Jeju pony! Riding one is on my Korea bucket list.

Have I mentioned yet that it was super windy and cold all day? Jeju is famous for its women (the divers), rocks, and WIND!

Super-windy. 바람이 불었어요.

But then we went somewhat inland to chill by a beautiful river and take a short hike to see a waterfall.

And here is the aforementioned waterfall, called Cheonjiyeon Waterfall (천지연폭포), or Sky-Land Waterfall. The hollowed-out bottom portion is made up of softer, porous volcanic rock, which has been worn away by the splashback of the waterfall, while the upper granite portions remain.

Since my departing flight was on Monday evening, I had time to hike up a hill in Jeju City with some Fulbright friends at sunset.

We also visited an arboretum. Ginger is standing in a sculpture of the hanja (Chinese character) that reads 木 (목), or tree. Adam is doing Gangnam Style because he is silly. We also got dinner, and I had 제주 육개장, and it was delicious.

Sunset

Masan, the Dream Bay

Changwon gets some pretty legit sunsets (일몰, ilmol). Every evening, I walk home from school and can't help but look up at the sky as the clouds turn from gold to pink to purple to gray. (But I also have to look down to make sure I don't step on dog 똥 or giant bugs.) There is a beautiful Korean word for the glow and colors of the setting sun: 노을. It is pronounced no-eul, kind of like Noel with the accent on the first syllable. One of my students happens to be named this, but to me, her personality is more like mid-afternoon than twilight (the latter of these essentially being, thanks to today's popular culture, no personality whatsoever).

Last week, I went fishing with my host father and brother. We went to Masan, which used to be the city just west of Changwon but is now the westernmost district of a bigger Changwon, ever since the incorporation two years ago. Masan's moniker is "Dream Bay", and this photo was taken from one of two iconic bridges that span said bay.