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Under the Rainbow at Rice Fields Restaurant

My wife’s friend was in town and my neighbors asked us to babysit their new puppy, Pepsi, so we took them to the famous Rice Fields Restaurant at the southwest edge of town near Pullman and Rosewood hotels.

It was an important Buddhist holiday so we dropped by this ancient temple on our way to our meal. I’m a Buddhist, but I don’t believe in any of the ceremonies or praying to the monks so I watched the dogs while they did their thing. If Buddha or God are real, I highly doubt they care if we wear special clothes or if we pray to them or not, but it brings peace of mind for people to do so.

Even though I’ve put the marker on the exact location and told you the general location, I doubt that you can ever find this place. Even if you use Google Maps you’ll have a hard time finding it because it is on a random dirt road with mostly private homes and the sign to turn in is all in Lao language, but if you find this sign then you have made it. They even got all the English letters right which is a rarity here.

They serve mostly beer and Lao or Thai food, but they also have French fries. Do any of you remember the French not supporting the war in Iraq so the military-industrial-complex controlled media tried to change the name to “freedom fries”?

The electric tuk-tuk was popular here about five years ago, but they proved to be unreliable and took too long to charge so they went back to using the same old loud gas-guzzling crappy ones. If you see a tuk-tuk in Thailand you should avoid them like the plague because they are all mafia-connected scammers, but the tuk-tuk drivers in Laos aren’t so bad. You can walk almost everywhere in Luang Prabang or ride a bicycle so they are pretty much unnecessary unless you’re lazy or want some weed.

The restaurant consists of about 30 huts surrounding a rice field and has a great view of the mountains giving it a very chill and natural vibe.

I hated sitting on the ground or on tiny chairs when I first came here, but you get used to it after a while. Each hut has a fan and an outlet for you to charge your phone.

Rapper had a blast running around in the rice field and playing with the other dogs, but Pepsi was out cold once he had some food. They’re not very creative with dog names here. If a dog is all black then it very likely is named “Dom” which means black or “Khow” if they’re white. Brown dogs are often named Pepsi, but I’ve never seen a brown dog named Brown or “Namtang”. Rapper got the next-door neighbor’s dog pregnant and she had 11 puppies so there will be lots of puppy training in the near future, but Rapper is a good alpha leader and daddy-dog so he and I will teach them well.

Thanks for reading about our trip to the Rice Fields Restaurant today. They don’t seem to have a website but their Facebook page is:

You can find them on Google Maps if you search for their Lao name:

ຮ້ານອາຫານຖຽງນານ້ອຍ

coordinates:

19.862369373614598, 102.11187714164635

The Boat Races of Luang Prabang

The boat races of Luang Prabang, Laos 🇱🇦 have many local people and tourists enjoying food, shopping, and cheers from the crowd as they drink 🍺eer, and gamble on their favorite teams or villages as they cross the finish line. Whether you’re looking for a unique cultural experience or simply want to take in some delicious local cuisine, the yearly boat race is an event not to be missed. This year felt very commercial and had me missing the years before when people were sitting in the grass and dirt, but maybe I just felt disappointed that no cute girls invited me to drink with them this time.

The Tradition

The boat race tradition of Luang Prabang has been a beloved part of the city’s culture for centuries. People gather on the banks of the Namkhan River to witness teams of rowers compete. The boats used in this traditional event can be up to 30 meters long and are adorned with vibrant colors that create a festive atmosphere. They will prepare the boats all year long, park them at temples, and have them blessed by the monks for good luck before the race.

History

Luang Prabang is home to the oldest and most traditional boat race in Laos 🇱🇦. The event has been celebrated annually during the Buddhist Lent since the 16th century when it was used as a way for fishermen to demonstrate their skill and strength. Over time, the races have become a source of entertainment while also honoring the riverside culture and fishing tradition of Luang Prabang. The boats used in this event are powered by oarsmen and steered by a captain who will also bark the rowing orders.

I’ve been invited to join a few teams in my younger years, but I felt my strength-to-weight ratio would be a burden rather than an asset to the team so I’ve always politely turned them down even though I was a pretty good kayaker. I would’ve also lacked the endurance for this as most of these guys have been doing this since they were kids.

They would totally lose, but I think there should be a foreign boat team too. Most local foreigners are fat and lazy and would rather drink beer and complain about their wives, but it would still be fun to participate in this ancient tradition.

There was some controversy last year because the winning team had constructed their boat from steel which is of course much lighter and water-tight than the traditional wooden boats. Their prize money was taken back and handed down to the next team and I’m sure they do a better inspection before the races now. If I were going to cheat, I’d just have a diver attach an electric motor, control it from the sidelines, and turn it on for a boost during the final stretch.

Thanks for taking a walk along the Namkhan River with me for this year’s boat race. The event changes the date every year as the Buddhist Lent follows the moon’s cycles and not our Gregorian calendar, but it lasts for a few days as there are many boat teams. Maybe I’ll see you here next year.

Zurich Bread Factory & Cafe

If you’re lucky enough to visit Luang Prabang, Laos then you’ll probably notice this cozy cafe and bakery because it’s in the heart of downtown at the base of Phousi Mountain by the Namkhan River.

I think that putting a leash on your dog is evil. How would you like having a collar around your neck and some dumb human pulling on a rope all the time telling you what to do? The only time I give “commands” to my dog and buddy Rapper is when he needs to get on the sidewalk to avoid some jerk driving their vehicle too fast or when some other dogs are sneaking up on him. If you want your dog to follow you then you need to let them take the lead sometimes too and that’s what happened today when he decided to enter Zurich Bread Factory & Cafe. I’m glad he did because I found a cool new place to chill that is dog friendly.

I’ve walked by this place hundreds of times without entering because it looked expensive, but some things were actually pretty cheap and tasty. The staff was also friendly and spoke English well so I grabbed a beer, pretzel, and a piece of cheesecake.

Good bread can be hard to come by in Asia, but you’ll notice the good smells right when you walk in the door. Laos was a French colony back in the day so they’ve been making good bread for hundreds of years and Zurich Bread Factory & Cafe is keeping with that tradition.

Their alcohol selection was good, but a bit pricey for me so I just went with the local beer, Beerlao. All of these spirits are imported so you can’t really find them cheaply anywhere in Laos. The local beer isn’t much more expensive than water so most people go with that. Beerlao is pretty good. It’s better than any beer you’ll find in Thailand or Vietnam.

I’m an introvert and don’t like being around other people so Rapper and I went upstairs. They have a pretty good view from the second floor which is the highest any building can be in Luang Prabang because it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site that has rules against any buildings looking too modern or being higher than two stories which gives the town a unique mix of Laotian and French architecture.

You can also lie down and enjoy your meal on these Lao-style sofas. Rapper thought he could relax on them too, but I told him they’re not for him. He’s a clean dog, but like all dogs, he sheds. Thanks for checking out Zurich Bread Factory & Cafe with us today.

website: http://zurichbread.com/our-branches/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/478851929133376/zurich-bread-factorycafe-luang-prabang/

The Road to Phousi Moutain

A lot of photographers swear by taking pictures during that “Magic Hollywood Hour” when the sun is setting so you’ll get the best light, but the light rapidly changes and it gets dark so fast you’ll only get a few pictures. It’s not so hot so there will be lots of people ruining your shots with their selfies, but if you go at noon when it’s super hot you’ll have fantastic light and you’ll be alone.

The temperature was 35 C (95 F if you’re American like me) and I wanted to get to the top fast so a jogged up skipping a step to save time. I thought I had developed myocarditis or irregular heartbeats from the virus and I’ve been super lazy and low on energy for years, but I feel good again after running to the top without getting out of breath or feeling dizzy. The negative effects were thankfully temporary. My dog can totally do this sprint up to the top, but he won’t even try when it’s hot so I left him at home.

I wanted to paint the pagoda on top of the hill so I gathered up what art supplies I could find. I only had black paint so it will have to be a dark painting. I can see it from my door, but it’s very small. I did line up the painting with the actual direction and view of the pagado so anyone who sees the painting will also get their bearings.

I’m not happy with it so I tried photoshopping it. They both are OK, but not what I envisioned. Maybe I’ll ask the landlord for the purple paint and touch it up after it’s dried for a few days. What do you think?

Wednesday night walk around Luang Prabang

I’ve lived in almost twenty countries during my life. I teach business English to adults so I can pretty much live and work anywhere in the world. (If you’re a native speaker with a degree, it’s probably the easiest job in the world.)

I won’t bore you by list-bragging the cities I’ve explored on foot and bike, but I will say with complete confidence that Luang Prabang in the center of Laos in the mountains is the best place I’ve ever been lucky enough to call home.

I haven’t lived in America for so long that I don’t know if MINISO exists there, but they are everywhere in Asia. Sometimes I’ll regret not buying stuff here because it will go out of stock to never return.

You can stay in a five-star $100-a-night hotel or you can go the cheaper route and stay in a backpacker hostel and pay only $10 a night and get a free breakfast. It will be full of mostly younger European tourists so expect to share the room with some drinkers and pot smokers.

If you are an art lover then you’ll be happy in Luang Prabang because there are many art studios like this and hand-made crafts for sale along the street at the night market.

I won’t say where this is so this sleepy guard doesn’t get fired. I doubt their boss has even heard of the HiVe blockchain so it’ll be OK until someone else catches him asleep on the job.

This bridge used to be a lot scarier because it was dark and some of the wood was missing and you could see the long drop-down. If you’ve been to Luang Prabang before then you can’t forget this bridge. I actually jumped off it down into the Namkhan River for the Lao New Year in 2020 and the water was deep enough.

My dog was happy to see me come home, but now that his dad was around he wanted to go bark at his enemy neighbor dogs.

“Look at you in your cage, you big old losers! My dad lets me walk around freely all day.”

Rapper

The Royal Palace Museum in Luang Prabang

I feel ashamed that I’ve lived in Luang Prabang for five years and have gone past this historical site hundreds of times, but have never visited it until now. Besides the waterfalls, this museum is probably one of the first stops for most tourists visiting Luang Prabang. It’s on the same street as the night market and near the stairs to Phousi Mountain.

To be honest, I just didn’t want to pay the entrance fee of 20,000 kip which is about $1.20 USD. You can also buy a meal or a big beer for that much, plus I didn’t want to be around a bunch of tourists.

Luang Prabang is one of the most bicycle-friendly towns I’ve ever visited, but you can also rent electric bikes and motorcycles too. The locals are used to clueless tourists so they won’t honk at you or run you off the road, but be careful of the Thai and Chinese drivers who think they are the star of the next Fast and Furious film or something.

The royal palace was built by King Sisavang Vong in 1904. It has a variety of artifacts from centuries ago as well as cultural exhibits that provide insight into the ancient Siamese lifestyle.

Taking a picture of someone taking a picture

Whenever I go to an interesting place I like to take pictures of people taking pictures or of them just walking around rather than posing. It gives you a better feel of what things are really like. This guy asked me why I took his picture and I told him it was for my travel blog. I showed him my TravelFeed and HiVe accounts and explained that it’s decentralized social media blogging where you can earn crypto and then he was cool with it.

I hadn’t seen my friends from San Diego since 2012 so it was good to catch up with them and play the tourist for a few days.

They must have had a problem with tourists stealing ancient artifacts from the museum in the past so they ask you to secure your bags and cameras before entering. It’s disrespectful to enter with a tanktop on so they asked my friend to rent a nice shirt before going in. It only cost him 5,000 kip which is about thirty cents.

It’s a shame they don’t let you take any pictures inside because there are some cool and ancient things to see. I thought I could sneak a few in, but they had staff watching in every room so I didn’t try it. I think it may be because the flash could damage the old paintings or it could be from old Lao culture that believes taking photos is bad because it traps the spirit or soul in the photograph.

I wonder if this old cannon ever saw combat. Laos was once a French colony so it probably came from there.

I guess there’s no harm in tourists writing things on these coconuts because somebody will just eat them eventually.

I’m glad to see that tourists can no longer ride elephants in Laos. It probably wasn’t fun having random people riding on your back every day. Luang Prabang used to be called, The Land of a Million Elephants, a few hundred years ago.

Thanks for exploring just one of the many sites of Luang Prabang with us today. If you want to visit someplace cheap, but safe and clean and full of natural and ancient wonders then you won’t be disappointed with this secret gem of Asia.

Loy Krathong 2022 @ Luang Prabang

This festival changes dates each year because it falls on the full moon. It is a Buddhist tradition that was adopted from Hinduism. Some people pray to the water goddess, bless their ancestors, wish for good luck for their relationships, or float the year’s bad luck away. I’ll wish for all of the above. I’ve celebrated it many times with my kids or students, but this was the first time I had a romantic Loy Krathong.

I took my dog Rapper to the river before my wife’s friends arrived at our place to give their offerings to the monks. I was both surprised and impressed that he got into the water because he hates taking baths.

Just as the monks came to our spot it started to rain.

Since it was such an important day the monks needed these boys to help them carry all offerings they received. I guess it’s like Halloween, but they do this every morning at sunrise and only monks get stuff. Some people will give them rice, but most will give them treats and even cash. I like walking my dog early in the morning, but only see about one or two people out every day, but there were hundreds of people on my street for Loy Krathong.

I don’t know what these are called in either Lao or English, but they worked as both a decoration and protection from the rain.

The town made several of these floats from each village and competed for prize money for the best-looking one. I saw them working on this one for several days. I think it got 4th place. They look really cool at night with all the candles when they are set in the river.

It felt like a mix of Halloween and Christmas with all of the candles everywhere. I’ve celebrated Loy Krathong in Thailand many times, but it was a much better and more traditional experience in Laos.

They tried converting to electric tuk-tuks about five years ago, but I don’t see any today. I’m not sure if it’s because of price or poor battery longevity, but they are back to using these ugly-looking things again. They are fun to ride in when you first come here, but I’m quite disappointed they are still a thing.

Luang Prabang has its own brand of beer, but it’s got nothing on Beelao. During the pandemic, restaurants would add free beers to every food order, but I’m still not a fan.

I asked my wife why only the ladyboys dressed up as giants and she said it’s because they are big and Lao men aren’t interested in dressing up. I wish Lao women dressed like this every day. It looks so much better than modern fashion.

It’s really hard to capture the moment at night with a Samsung phone with pictures, but I think this video did a good job. Thank you for checking out Loy Krathong 2022 in Luang Prabang with us. Let’s hope all our bad luck floats away…

Luang Prabang: The secret gem of Asia

I’ve been to about twenty countries, but Luang Prabang, Laos is my favorite spot so far. I’ve been lucky enough to call it home for the last four years and I’d like to share my best photos of it with you today.

Even though it’s a small town it has a very diverse amount of visitors. I’ve met tourists from almost every country, even ones I’ve never heard of before. They love watching Thai shows and listening to Thai music and Lao is very similar to Thai so they can understand Thai, but most people can speak English. Laos was once a French colony so some people can speak French. A lot of people can speak Chinese as well.

Vietnam

Not a lot of people have heard or know about Luang Prabang or even the country of Laos, but everyone knows Vietnam which is next door. Laos is a landlocked country that also borders Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and China. It’s about a 45-minute flight from Bangkok, but you can also take their new high-speed train from China or Thailand.

When my old Navy buddy invited me to visit him in Hanoi, Vietnam, I had to take him up on the offer so we could talk about our time in Vietnam when we are old men. These guys invited us to drink beers with them. They were some of the best beer drinkers I’ve ever met. When they’d pour a drink they’d always say, “Gombai”, which means buttoms up. When I puked in the street and said, “No more Gombai”, they all laughed heartily.

Kuang Si Waterfall

The first thing we did after arriving in Luang Prabang was visit this fantastic waterfall. If the Garden of Eden were real I imagine it would look a lot like Kuang Si. I recently made a HIVE post and a Youtube video about it.

I’ve spent most of my life as a teacher but realized how much I like working in hospitality after I got a job at Pullman Hotel. It’s an expensive five-star hotel on the way to the waterfall, but there are also many nice guest houses in town that will only cost about $10 a night.

Temples and the King’s House

This beautiful house that looks like a temple was once the king’s home but is a museum today.

You can’t miss Phousi because it’s on top of a hill downtown and can be seen from almost anywhere in Luang Prabang. It also serves as a good marker if you get lost.

La Pistoche Pool and Bar is a great place to bring the kids, have some food and drinks, or just get out of the sun.

They take a lot of pride in their local beer, Beerlao, and rightfully so because it tastes great and usually costs less than a dollar.

Thanks for checking out Luang Prabang today. If you are planning on visiting South East Asia it’s really worth a visit.

Another day in Paradise at Kuang Si Waterfall:
https://peakd.com/hive-184437/@jeremiahcustis/another-day-in-paradise-at-kuang-si-waterfall

Kuang Si Waterfall:
https://www.tourismluangprabang.org/things-to-do/nature/kuang-si-waterfall/

Pullman Hotel:
https://www.pullman-luangprabang.com/

La Pistoche Pool and Bar:
https://lapistochepool.wordpress.com/

To the top with a confident Mr. Wolf

The first time we took our dog, Rapper, to the top of Mt. Phousi he was a scared little puppy, but this time he led the way like a boss. We take him everywhere with us.

Buddhist countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos like to buy homemade good luck offerings for the monks. Since we had to carry them to the top I didn’t think we should’ve bought these in town, but mom’s the boss.

It’s a little hard to see in this picture, but if you look at the very center you can see the top of Phousi.

There are many ways to the top, but I prefer taking the steps by a large temple in town which is the fastest way up. Rapper kept looking back wondering why we didn’t run up the steps like he did.

Almost to the top now. I really like this spot where you can pray to Buddha and get your fortune by shaking a large bamboo cup full of chopsticks with numbers on them. The first one that falls out is your fortune; you can take the paper with your fortune.

Let me know if I got this legend wrong, but I think these statues represent an ancient Hindu belief that a mighty Naga sea creature came out of the river and married the most beautiful woman who was a goddess of life and fertility.

Buddhas along the way…

They have a different Buddha for each day of the week and various appearances. Some are young, some are old, some are fat, and some are lazily taking a nap.

At the top

Once you make it to the top you can enjoy a 360 view of the whole town.

I don’t remember at how many months Rapper went from a terrified little puppy to a security guard, but I’m happy to see he’s socialized well and is a confident little guy.

See? I told you we could buy this stuff at the top!

The best time to take pictures is early in the morning or right before sunset, but we went at noon when it was hottest for some reason.

I like taking pictures of people taking pictures.

Rapper hates being told what to do. Teenagers like to roll their eyes at mom and dad, but Rapper yawns to show his annoyance with us. Does your dog do the same?

I love ringing these old bells at the temples. I’ll give em a hard smack for the loudest sound. I think you’re supposed to do it three times.

Stay hydrated baby.

I hate how other dog lovers are always taking pictures of their dogs’ asses, but this one captured Rapper’s leadership both up and down the hike well.

Are you coming, dad?

Thank you for reading about another great hike up to Phousi in Luang Prabang, Laos with us today. Have a great day and may the Buddha be with you.

The Sacred Unicorn – SPLINTERLANDS art contest #188

Hello everybody. Today I’m happy to share with ya’ll my entry for this week’s Splinterlands art contest of the Sacred Unicorn. I usually participate in the Splinterlands weekly battle challenge, but I was inspired to do some drawing this week too.

I’ve been stuck in the country of Laos 🇱🇦 (It’s next to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China.) since one day after my 40th birthday on March 27th, 2020. I had just applied for my work visa when they shut everything down. They said it would be for just two weeks, then two months, now it’s been over two years.

I live in the wonderful town of Luang Prabang which is a UNESCO world heritage site so I don’t have any complaints, but I’ve also been unemployed for quite a while. I was a teacher for a long time, but I started working at a hotel in 2018 and I decided that hospitality was what I wanted to do, then BOOM, Covid-19 came along. I was in the military when I was young, but I got out in 2015 so my GI Bill benefits expired a while ago, but I saw an email from the VA (The Veterans’ Administration) that I could get some job retraining so I took them up on their offer. Most of the jobs were for things like hospital work, welding, truck driving, and other technical jobs, but I noticed that they had a certificate in digital illustration so I chose that.

Most of my classes were about Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I felt that my teachers were just shills for ~~Adobe~~ and for buying a MacBook. Since Laos went lockdown crazy, I couldn’t find a new computer if I wanted to. I also only had an income of $285 for my disability compensation from the VA, so there was no chance in hell I was ever going to afford a brand new computer anyways. It took me a while, but I figured out how to get both programs to work on Linux on my piece of junk old PC with a little help from the Pirate Bay. I wouldn’t recommend it though. It was a total pain in the neck and I could only get 2012 or 2015 versions to work. Overall, I feel disappointed in my learning experience. Online classes just plain suck. I need to be IN the classroom. I need to be able to raise my hand and ask the teacher for help. I will NEVER take an ~~online~~ course as long as I live.

One thing I did find useful from my course was my teacher saying that most digital artists still use good old paper and pencil to get started and then scan to Photoshop so that’s what I did. Since the whole NFT market is crashing I wanted to make fun of some of the other NFT projects I have tried but didn’t care for like ~~CryptoKitties~~, ~~Axie Infinity~~, or ~~NBA Top Shot~~.

The Sacred Unicorn may no longer be the best card for using in Life battles, but it’s still my favorite card so I thought I’d do a few rough sketches and see how it went, but I was happy with the first try and just kept on going with it…

I felt it was time to move from pencil to Photoshop so I added my pencil drawing to my wall of inspiration. If I ever become a famous NFT artist, I’ll mail someone the original pencil drawings. (That’s a big IF right?)

source

I went to Pexels and did a search for: SKY BACKGROUND and really liked the photo by Oleg Magni. I later got so frustrated with Photoshop that I gave up, quit, and decided it just wasn’t going to work out. I really miss my iPad and the wonderful program of ProCreate so I did a Google search for an alternative and came up with SketchBook. It took me all week to get used to it and to draw the Sacred Unicorn but I absolutely love SketchBook now.

Another problem I had was that NOBODY in Luang Prabang sells or has even heard of a stylus so I had to make my own. You can read my post: DIY: Make your own STYLUS pen at home if you want or need to do the same.

Now that I had my trusty DIY stylus and a good digital art program it was time to get crackin. I tried making the NBA ball in Photoshop, then in Illustrator, then in the Linux versions of Gimp and Inkscape but found it too difficult. The only thing I did with Photoshop was put the pencil drawing over the background image, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have used Photoshop at all and just saved the background image as exactly that in the layers menu in SketchBook. I could probably draw this whole picture all over again in a day if I had to re-do it, but I had fun drawing it which is something I haven’t felt in a long time and I also learned a lot from my mistakes so it’s all good.

If I had been better at using layers, I would have had a much easier time doing this, but I’ll do my next drawing much faster and smarter.

I absolutely love the predictive stroke tool in SketchBook and how you can adjust the level of AI-assisted drawing from 1 to 5. It was a better experience than using either Photoshop or Procreate in my opinion.

Here is the original Sacred Unicorn image from Splinterlands. I used the eye drop tool and the undo tool about a million times. I used the eye drop tool to get the colors right from the kitty, axie, and unicorn, but I’m proud to have drawn this image myself without any tracing. I used to just put an A4 piece of paper over the original Splinterlands art, do a rough trace, then pencil and ink my drawing. Although it is good practice for getting your shading and inking down, it’s still cheating, right? Thanks for reading about my original drawing today. I’m looking forward to doing another sketch. Which Splinterlands card should I use for inspiration next?

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