A Random Entry

Five months ago we arrived in Tha Thom for the first time, by boat. Since then the river has dried up significantly, thus grounding any long distance boat travel. As we are in the dry season, dust is everywhere and trees are losing their leaves. It isn’t pretty like northern falls, but at times the cool nights and chilly mornings combined with the vivid blue of the sky almost remind us of the end of summer days.

With this change in season the sky is getting increasingly hazy as the hot season is ushered in. As one might expect the dust is somewhat to blame for the haze, but fires are another culprit. Farmers will traditionally burn the rice stubble from their fields and use slash and burn techniques in upland farming. The drying vegetation in the jungles is also reaching a perfect combustion point. The other day one of the largest mountains overlooking Tha Thom was encircled in a ring of burning forest. It looked eerie in the evening, almost resembling a glowing volcano. Villagers say that these fires occur every year, likely the result of hunter’s run away campfires. Our landlord also mentioned that unexploded bombs from the war will explode during these fires, although we have yet hear these booms.

Ring of Fire

Another contributor to the fine airborne dust continues to be the ongoing road construction. The road has undergone a massive transformation since we first arrived in Tha Thom. In fact this week the road through town received its first coat of tar! Travel to the nearest ‘large’ city (Paxan) is now fairly convenient, only 2 and a half hours by truck! This same journey was 6 hours by boat in the rainy season. Although the road is nearing completion two bridges still need to be constructed to allow for year round travel. The rivers swell significantly in the rainy season preventing a river crossing by truck (regardless of snorkel height).

As the road opens up, commerce and the diversity of things that we can purchase in Tha Thom continue to grow. We even purchased sour pork sausage from one vendor! Tha Thom also received its first billboard advertising a cell phone carrier.

Paved Road and Billboard

Even though we can get many things we still have to be creative with our meals. Stir fry and other Lao dishes are simple enough to make with all ingredients available in town. However, to make anything Western many of the ingredients are hard to find. We restock our supplies with the help of visitors coming from Paxan and Vientiane. Things we took for granted in the US like, bread, flour, potatoes, oats, milk, cheese and butter, all must be brought from the larger cities. In an attempt to ration our flour store we began making ‘sticky-rice’ pancakes. They are still quite delicious and very filling. Kaarina cuts most of the flour and adds pre-steamed sticky rice. Peanut butter is also a scarcity and very expensive in the capital, however, peanuts are certainly not scarce in Tha Thom. So we also tried our hand at home made peanut butter. Although not entirely ‘creamy’ it does taste like the real thing. A water buffalo steak and potato meal also brought us back ‘home.’

Sticky Rice Pancakes

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Steak and Potato Meal

A diversity of fruits also grace our table. A tree in the front of our home produces a fruit that looks similar to a guava, but has bright orange flesh and two or more oblong seeds. Our landlord brought over a bag for us to try. We both think it tastes exactly like a cooked pumpkin!

'Pumpkin Fruit'

Another tree in our yard was recently wrapped in the traditional sihn. Our language helper explained that when a tree is flowering it is tradition to wrap a sihn around its trunk. This symbolizes fertility. Villagers believe that this practice will yield a good harvest.

Tree wearing a Skirt

Fruit and other forest and garden products can not only be purchased at the morning market, but also from ladies who tout various produce from house to house. As I was trying to find a chain to fit my bike at the local fix-anything-shop one of these women stopped by selling a greenish purple fruit from the forest. For 25 cents I purchased a half dozen. They have a white flesh and taste just like custard! Kaarina and I have also become fans of jack fruit and enjoyed some that was brought to us from Paxan.

Purple Forest Fruit

Posted by Jeffrey