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"The whippings will continue until morale improves."
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Walt F.J. Goodridge is....
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We now resume our
regularly scheduled adventure, already in progress..........
Jamaican in China!--Eight Days in Laos. Day 1 continued
So, I'm walking down the main street in Luang Namtha checking out the scene. Every other entrance is a guest house, with a restaurant and trekking, but I'll talk more about the local economy later. Now, we have more pressing concerns.
Just a few feet south of the entrance to Zuela Guesthouse I pass the entrance to a place called Minority Restaurant. Minority?? I'm offended! I'm appalled!.....I'm hungry.
I'm attracted by the notice on the sidewalk billboard that states they have vegetarian meals. So, I take a look.
sidewalk entrance to Minority Restaurant
I walk down a passageway...
20 meter passageway to the restaurant
...and at the other end I'm greeted by the owner.
"Sawadee" (Hello) Vanxai Inyasone, owner of Minority Restaurant,
I get a good, calm vibe from him, and the place. We chat for a bit. (Vanxai speaks English fluently, by the way) I tell him what I DON'T want in my dishes (MSG, dairy, eggs, meat, seasoning salts, butter, sugar, etc.), and he says no problem. So, I look over the menu and choose a few items.
Whistle a happy tune while I wait.
Get served in good time. (No one else in the restaurant at 3pm in the afternoon)
And prepare to enjoy my first meal in Laos.
Care to join me?
(1) Fried Big noodles & Veggies, (2) Fried river seaweed, (3)Black Mushroom and vegetable soup.
>slurp< >smack< aaaaaahhhhh! All done.
Actually, please don't take those sound effects literally. Having grown up in a British-influenced society of impeccable manners and meticulously- enforced "proper" eating habits, the worst offense one could commit in my presence is to make noise when one chews. Chewing while talking to me on the phone is another unforgivable transgression in the same category. I've disowned friends and even a few family members because of this. (And, I'll hang up the phone...politely, of course.) It's a deal breaker for a potential relationship if on a first date, my date slurps and smacks while eating. Yep, ranks right up there with pretty feet as one of the "non-negotiables." But, forgive me. I digress.
Back to the meal.
It was fabulous! It's the best meal I've had in a long time! (Hmmmm...maybe I should change that line. It doesn't reflect well on my own cooking, does it?)
I think my plans have changed. I WAS going to spend just two days in Laos and then head back to China. However, the fried seaweed has thrown a random, unexpected element/loop/monkey wrench into my plans.
I think I'll be staying in Laos just a wee bit longer.
15,000kip for the seaweed
15,000kip for the noodles
15,000kip for the soup
45,000kip TOTAL (approx $5.50US, or 37RMB)
Good deal!
Yep, Minority Restaurant gets five stars from Walt the Wandering Vegan!
You can read more about the restaurant and the reason for the name by checking out the website: http://www.namtha-river-experience-laos.com/our_restaurant.htm
While you do that, I'll be having dreams of sugarplum fried seaweed fairies dancing around in my head! You think I'm kidding, don't you? You have no idea.
I know EXACTLY what I'll be doing tomorrow.
end of this episode;
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Your Comments
Feel free to email me your comments,
suggestions and feedback freely and uncensored. If necessary, I'll
request your permission before posting them here.
*****
ERROR: Yesterday's post contained my communication in Mandarin to a smoker on the bus from Jinghong to Luang Namtha, Laos. While writing the post, I jotted down my own phonetic equivalent of what I said. It was not official Pinying, but just my own. In my haste to send the mailing, I forgot to go back and edit the line. The corrected, official Pinying should have read: "Ni Hao. Wǒ bù huì shuo pǔtōnghuà, dàn wǒ xiǎng shuō: Wǒ bù xǐhuan xī yān. Wǒ de shēntǐ bù hǎo." Rough translation: "Hello. I don't speak Mandarin (well), but I'd like to say that I don't like cigarette smoke. My body is not good." and is now corrected on the site.
*****
Hi Walt, [Regarding Today I thwarted a Pickpocket]
Good story! and GOOD action!
However, I'm not surprised to read this story as it is a common practice by thieves: steal in crowd when people are rushing for something. Next time, you can call police (number: 110) station saying there is pocketpick in bus station XXX or just shout out "Thief" ( Xiao Tou!) If I'm on side to spot this, I often scream in extravagant way to arouse people's attention and interrupt thief's "pace" of intention.
Generally thieves don't steal from foreigners because they don't want to bring themselves too much trouble by contaminating image of China, but exceptions happen, so be cautious.
Beijing is quite safe at this point, but still some bus thieves are active in bus stations out of downtown. I'm not afraid of that because I always keep my wallet in a safe place, or hold my bag in front of me when I feel too crowded.
China is a huge forest you can find any kinds of birds, incl. evil ones! haha! Good trip!--Susan in Beijing
*****
I want to say I am proud of you! But who am I, to make such a statement?
Thanks for sharing. And thanks for taking on the role. Once again, you serve as an inspiration to others................
--ruth
*****
Wow! A very kind, compassionate, and selfless deed. --Sasha
*****
COOL!!!!!!! --Norman
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thank u for helping the innocent woman --Massoud
*****
Funny. I just got off a bus here in Shenyang with the Chinglish sign: Defense care pick sincerely. I think, it meant to say, be careful of pickpockets.
Harbin, Heilongjiang late February this year, as I was walking with other pedestrians on the famed Moscow street when a young lady looking like she was barely 14 sidled up to a matronly lady in front of me and quickly flipped the top of her shoulder bag, almost unnoticeably pulling out her wallet, but I screamed at her as a reflex response. She did not run away; she just stared at me and smiled, then segued to the left and blended with the oncoming walking traffic headed the other direction. By then, the matronly lady became alert of what just transpired and after securing her bag, wanted to run after the wallet picking waif. Of course, she was gone.
Desperate people take desperate measures. Pickpocketing, like the trade of pleasure in Saipan, is just another entrepreneurial enterprise; illegal but no worse than their respectable cousins, first, where one legitimately but surreptitiously schemes after my assets, or the second, when we trade our soul for activities we hardly would otherwise tolerate without the pay. Take your pick. Obama is said to have hung out with street urchins in Indonesia. I probably would do the same were I younger.
Anyway, make sure your perpetuators have a way of escaping when you do anymore thwarting, unless you have police assistance in sight.
Take care. --Jaime
*****
Wow! That was fantastic. Your statement that the dark foreigner with the bag of cashews might just be a Jamaican who could outrun him and grab his stuff back reminded me of an incident in New York when my friend Joyce's daughter-in-law was robbed. The guy didn’t have a chance. She ran after him as if she was competing in the 100yd. dash, tackled him, and got back her stuff. Have a great day. --Aunt Nye
*****
Wow! Wow!, Wow!
Now that is what I call adventure! I love it! I couldn’t stop reading it! I am so looking forward to your book!
Seriously, this was an awesome read. When you were at the bus stop the second time around I actually picture you in all white and black Chinese slippers, your hands behind your back, your head up high, nothing moving but your eyes...LOL [cue the Under-Dog opening] THERE’S NO NEED TO FEAR “The Jamaican Crime Fighter is HERE”!
"Underdog, Shoeshine Boy’s heroic alter-ego, appeared whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by villains. Underdog always speaks in rhymes, such as, “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!”
Underdog - March of the Monsters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSbQMsbxJ6g&NR=1 --Diamond
*****
That was a heroic act, Walt! Very well written as well.
Whenever we travel, the locals would come up to me and point at my handbag and would gesture me to hold it in a more deliberate fashion (closer to my body). I would always comply as I understand it is a friendly advice. Actually, I seldom have anything valuable in my handbag. All the important things are closer to my body and more difficult to reach place, such as the pants pocket near the calf. My theory is that it is difficult to bend down and reach. --Myrna
*****
Nice graphic for your Jamaicaman belt buckle for your Kung fu belt, I think you are going to need it. --Uel
*****
Hi Walt,
My thought on reading this were: 1. How come Walt did not take a picture of the perpetrators, or get some other kind of evidence instead of putting his own life in jeopardy? 2. What, if the group ganged up on you? 3. What is to prevent these perps from continuing in perpetuity without adequate evidence to have them locked up. It seems to me, the local authorities would be very interested, if it starts to affect the tourism industry. I suppose that presupposes, they care.
I had been the mark of a pickpocket in a crowded market in Guatemala years ago; it was a small boy, who had both hands in my front left pocket, trying to steal my wallet. Fortunately, I had the wallet in my front pocket and kept my hands on it in the jostling crowd. It had an unsatisfactory ending, in that, I only pushed the kid away and did nothing else. I am sure he had adult handlers. In retrospect, I should have dragged him over to the policeman I saw earlier. On the other hand, you never know: sometimes the police are in on it, since they often make so little money. --Ken
For even more comments on that post, including my responses to Ken's questions and concerns, revisit Today I thwarted a Pickpocket
Big T'ings a Gwan!
As we say in Jamaica, "Big tings a gwan!" Translation: Big Things are Going on!
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Black Privilege in China
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Dating the Waitress at Your Favorite Vegetarian Restaurant (and other bad decisions) from The Nomad's Relationship Guide
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