Where's the Truffles ?

 

January 10 2023, Luang Prabang

After an afternoon of loafing around the afternoon away. I was a little sweaty and kind of proud I finally got that darned nail fixed.

I had made reservations for dinner at Gaspard highly recommended French Lao Fusion eatery. It was the other side of the night market and by now my sneakers knew the way without thought from me. Reservations were for 7pm, but at 5pm I got bored of my room.

Two minutes to slip on my sandals and Scott-e kangaroo vest. I never counted pockets on the vest, but I don’t need a purse when wearing it. One pocket for US Dollars, one pocket for Passport and credit cards, one pocket for big local money, one pocket for local spending money. One pocket for iPhone, even a pocket big enough for my e-Reader Nook. All this and I don’t look like a Sherpa ascending Everest.

Up the street to the funny old French car, turn right and keep walking. Slowly making my way down the street, I espy a man sitting behind a box smoking. I asked (pantomimed) him if he could spare one and gave him a bill worth about 6 cents. He took is and offered me a second one. One was enough.

A few blocks later I found a step to sit on and watched the vendors start setting up for the evening. By day this street is a pretty busy street flanked with tourists and filled with tuk tuks, trucks and motorbikes. At 5pm the street is blocked off at both ends to vehicle traffic and out come the pop up patios. Then all the merchandise is unladen and laid out for display. Both sides of the street are lined for 10 or so blocks by the ten by ten foot stores. The aisle down the middle is maybe 20 feet wide and come dark it is jammed from store tarp to store tarp with my fellow tourists. None paying attention to their surrounding or other people.

Weaving and snaking and occasionally jostling my way through I ran the gauntlet and came out unscathed at the end closest to the place I made reservation at.

Arriving at 6pm not 7pm I had the place to myself except for the staff. I had come here because the duck was supposed to be good. Gaspards is absolutely beautiful, the service beyond excellent. The food not quite to the same level, and the price astronomical by Laos standards. The raw Buffalo carpacccio I misread as Buffalo Cheese Caprese. It was pretty darned good. The mushroom soup with Truffles was missing the Truffles. The only truffle I found was when I put truffle salt on the soup. The duck, well it was just a shame that the duck had to die for that mediocre plate of food. I expected Gourmet and got Gour-missed. (Hey! That’s a great line!)

The bill by US prices was a little on the low side and by Lao standards half a months salary for the average middle class Lao. The bill structure was in $ USD, then extra if you pay in local Kip and a different price if you pay by credit card. I reached in my USD pocket and pulled out a fifty and a twenty. “Will you take the change in Kip?” - sigh! - ‘Sure why not?’ moments later “Madame I can not accept this fifty it has a micro smudge on it from some bank, and my bank will not accept it”. - Sigh! 1,2,3, ……. Ok. Patience if running low. I tossed my Amex down. “We only accept Visa”. - Humph! - ‘Here is a fan of credit cards take your pick!’. There goes the meal cost, plus the restaurant’s credit card surcharge, plus foreign transfer fee, all for a blue smudge on a fifty.

Back through the throng of Night Market shoppers. I could have avoided them but even though intellectually I know they are safe after dark, emotionally I am still cautious. Back at the hotel a bit of a novel and around 10pm good night.

So far today go slow, morning routine, Starbucks in a cup and around 10am across the street for breakfast overlooking the Mekong. Kill time until 1159am (check out noon) to kill more time until 6pm’ish for the train to Vientiane.