Laos and Cambodia – food heaven…
Honey, I’m home!!! 
Still a little bit jet lagged… I woke up at 5 am this morning, couldn’t go to sleep anymore so I opted for some quality photo editing time… As it turns out that was not the best idea in the world, as I was checking all my photos at a 100% for sharpness (I can’t help it… I always do that) and mysteriously and shockingly they all appeared to be a tad blurry. Especially the ones at a higher ISO just looked entirely wrong, so I was starting to panic just a tiny bit when I saw in the corner of my eye that Lightroom was telling me I was looking at the pics at 300% instead of 100%…. No wonder! Geeezzz… Guess that happens when you’re not really awake… Anyway; they did look a lot better at the normal size I can tell you.
O and this post is going to be on the picture heavy side. Just so you know… I haven’t even looked at all the photos properly yet but this is a random selection of just some shots. I have waaaayyyy too many market pictures as we have spend half of our vacation at a market I would think. We had a good time, although I have to be honest that the itinerary was really not the best. We booked a group tour as that is usually a convenient way to see a lot in three weeks without the added hassle of having to organize everything yourself. Which is fine if you have all the time in the world but a little bit of a pain when you have limited time. Normally the balance between travel days and days of is quite good, but we booked with a different company this time..
Which turned out to be somewhat of a mistake. Out of our 21 days of travel we spend 10 of those either in a plane or bus. Way too many… But ok, that happened; lesson learned. We started of flying to Chiang Mai from Amsterdam to cross the border with Laos from Chiang Kong (where I also celebrated my 50th birthday… Can you believe how old I am?… Yikes…)
Look what landed on my arm!
Laos itself is beautiful and green, at least in the Northern half. The further south we got, the hotter it became and the drier the landscape… The difference between Thailand and Laos is striking. As soon as you cross the border it is clear that Laos is a lot poorer then Thailand, the people are a little less open then the Thai or the Cambodians. It takes them a bit longer to smile but they are still very friendly and inviting. The food – as with any Asian food – is just so good! I’ve got a couple of recipes that I will be trying out later and will share those with you too.
One of my favorite passtimes in any country is to visit the local markets and the best markets are always the ones where there are hardly any tourists around. We found a couple this time around too. Not always as pleasant on the nose with temperatures ranging from 35 C close to 40 C, so you can imagine what happens to all the fragments of meat and fish that are literally everywhere… But nothing can really stop me from going around even though most of the locals look at you with a bit of a weird look when you start taking pictures of the meat, fish or vegetables on display. Haha…
One of the highlights of our trip was no doubt the gorgeous Angkor Wat complex. We went in early and started of with Ta Prohm, also known as the ‘Tombraider temple’ since it was used for the movie as well. We got there at a little past 7 am and had the place virtually to ourselves.. Definitely worth getting up so early as later in the day it was too hot and also far too crowded. I could not believe the amount of people pouring over the temple complexes! Still I managed to shoot quite a few pics of both Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom without any people except a few monks but they color quite nicely with the grey in the temples so that is fine.
I wish we had had more time in Cambodia as I felt we spend too much time in Laos and too little in Cambodia… O well maybe a next time. I did get a little tired of the heat; it really drains your energy and by 9 am it was already scorching hot. So even though we got up early every day, it was hard to move around at some point. We ended in Phnom Penh and flew back home where we arrived yesterday. I’ll probably write some more once I’ve done some Cambodian or Laotian cooking! Thanks also to everyone for their entries on the homemade challenge. I haven’t visited any blogs yet but will get around to it soon. Results will be posted soon too and then the new challenge will come up next week! So stay tuned!
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Welcome back. Happy to read you again!
What gorgeous pictures! The last one is my favorite.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 1st, 2013 at 16:50
Thanks Rosa! That’s one of my favorites too!
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Lovely posts! I haven’t been to Laos and really love to visit one day! I totally understand when you think you didn’t have enough time in one place. I always feel this way when I travel!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 08:21
That’s always the case isn’t it? Especially the northern part of Laos is totally beautiful!
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Welcome back, dear Simone! We missed you heeps! fabulous & very cool pictures from your tarvels in Cambodia!
The foods look tasty & the people funny & cool!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 08:21
Thanks Sophie!
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Impressive….colorfull and full of life
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 08:22
Thanks Raoul!
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Just wow! The colors are so vibrant and everything feels so alive. Absolutely fantastic photography and a great place to visit!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 08:23
Thanks Dani. It really is a wonderful place..
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Good to see your post Simone. Loved all the photographs. Especially the ones of Ang Kor vat
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 08:24
O yes, we loved Angkor Wat… I think we should have had at least a week in Siem Reap to explore more of the temple sites! So much to see!
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Welcome back and a belated happy birthday, I am one year ahead of you so that wonderful age is not so bad! Love the holiday photographs… there is something so special about butterflies!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:34
Haha… thanks Moya.. good to know there is life after 50!
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Gorgeous photos! I can’t wait to hear more about the food on your trip..
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:34
And you will hear more about it very soon!
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A totally magical send! Know SE Asia from Singapore to Hong Kong and many stops in between: this is SO new and delicious! Thank you and hope I may share this with friends who would understand and appreciate
! Many of these photos are just unreal . . . so looking forwards to all the deatils . . .
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:35
Thanks Eha and yes ofcourse ‘share away!’ More to come soon!
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Absolutely love your photos!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:35
Thanks Laura!
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Welcom back young lady, still all the best for your birthday and thank you for sharing all these photos!! Indeed the last one is also my favourite pic. And just take your time with blog visiting, etc…… no hurry
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:36
Thanks so much Eva! Like the sound of that ‘young lady’ Lol…
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That last picture, Simone, is absolutely STUNNING! It should be made into a puzzle. What a blast it would be to put this one back together from thousands of little pieces.
Sounds like you had a great trip despite it not being quite what you’d hoped for. Sure sounds like a great adventure to me. I can’t wait for the recipes.
Oh, and you look absolutely beautiful on that picture. So happy! I think I would’ve had a bit more of an “omg-what-the-hell-is-this-get-it-off-me-now” look on my face if one of those beasts had landed on my arm!
Looking forward to more pics!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:38
It looked harmless enough Sonia and its feet were so soft and cute almost… You would have not mind, I’m sure! And thanks for the compliments on the photos! Maybe I should start selling puzzles then, lol…:) would be a fun one for sure!
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Welcome back Simone! You have been missed. Going by the pictures it looks like you had a great time! I’m loving all the food and market shots! bring on the recipes!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:46
Working on the recipes Peter! More to come soon!
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Welcome back! Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. I always like to visit markets wherever I go, too – so many different things to see and learn about. Great pictures, fun post – thanks.
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:48
Thanks John! Yes I think a market always shows any place in its true colors so to speak… People go about their regular business and tourists are just in the way… I love being the only foreigner at a market!
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Welcome back, that last photo is my favorite also. Looking forward to seeing more photos.
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:48
Thanks Norma!
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Wow, amazing photos! Especially the photos with the fish! What an educational post!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 3rd, 2013 at 09:48
Thanks Julia!
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Hello there
Your images are amazing. The little girl, picture tells a thousand words. As for your question: Wow. You’ve reset the bar, Simone and we all better keep up
Looking forward to seeing more of your pics and recipes inspired by the trip…no doubt there will be plenty.
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 4th, 2013 at 06:26
Thanks so much Ishay! Not sure about resetting the bar, lol… Got your email too so will send some info later today…
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This is just the most fascinating and beautiful post!
What a wonderful wonderful experience and photos to match!!!
xo
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 4th, 2013 at 06:27
Thanks! Glad you’re liking it!
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“One of my favorite passtimes in any country is to visit the local markets and the best markets are always the ones where there are hardly any tourists around.” Absolutely what we do whenever and wherever we go on vacation. Authentic and local. And the shots are beautiful as always. This is such a dream vacation – in fact my husband dreams of moving to Cambodia or Vietnam. Stunning, Simone….
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I am just drooling over those vibrant colors! It sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. I can only dream of visiting one day, so I’m happy to live vicariously through your photos and stories. It’s all so inspiring.
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