Wow, what a first full day in Luang Prabang. We went for a cruise on the Mekong River, stopping at a village where we watched women make river weed snacks and rice cakes, then visited a cave with something like 40,000 Buddha statues, and then had a delicious lunch on board.

I had to pinch myself, as I did while we sailed the Nile, to think that I’m on this legendary river that starts in Tibet, then flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, where it empties into the South China Sea.

After the cruise, it was on to a craft market to see how craftswomen make paper and silk. In the case of the silk, we saw silkworms in their various stages of growth. These products were truly handmade.

Our guide offered to take us to a locals bar before dinner. Bar? Hang with locals? That’s a yes. Turns out the bar was also a restaurant, a place people go for a beer and some snacks after work. We were definitely the only foreigners there. We ate delicious barbecued duck and had duck blood, which was okay but probably a one and done. But we couldn’t disappoint our host by not at least trying it!

We were already full when we got to dinner, but that was probably good because the meal was disappointing. I think it’s funny that after a day and a half in Laos we already know good from mediocre Laotian food.

The onboard lunch was far superior, as was our welcoming dinner the night before on arriving in Laos. A highlight of that meal was a local sausage that was crispy on the outside but soft inside. It’s unlike any I’ve had before.

We’ll be having lunch in a village tomorrow, and our guide assures us it will be better than our dinner.