Thai spring rolls.  Pad Thai.  Green chicken curry with coconut milk.  Mango with sticky rice.  Mmmm.  All these we made today at the Baan Thai Cooking School.  First we met with our instructors, then walked to the market where we learned about the the necessary ingredients while the hosts purchased them.

We then donned aprons and headdresses (to keep hair out of the food) and set to work.  And I must say we were pretty good cooks!  As we left, our instructors gave us cookbooks.  I will be recruiting victims for my Thai cooking when I get home!

After eating the fruits of our labour, we flew to Luang Prabang in Laos.  The per capita income in Laos is substantially smaller than Thailand’s, about $2,800 compared to $9,400, though the figure may not be correct.  Laos is a communist country run by a military dictatorship, so reported numbers may not match reality.  At first glance, the income disparity shows.

We arrived at our hotel and settled in before attending a Baci ceremony, a welcome ceremony where a priest (a former Buddhist monk) and about a dozen attendees chanted prayers for us.  We enjoyed a small snack and tossed back a short shot of rice whiskey (stronger than rice wine) and then the priest and attendees tied multiple cotton bracelets on our wrists.  We are to keep at least one bracelet on for at least three days – longer is preferable – for good luck.  The bracelet must not be cut to be removed, but must be untied.  And if possible, the untied bracelets should be left in a temple or on a stupa or in some other religious venue.

Dinner at the hotel followed.  Yes, more food.  We seem to eat a lot on this trip!  This food resembled Chinese food much more than Thai, and was – as always with Road Scholar tours – delicious!