A Southeast Asian journey while uni is out. Part Seven B: Food for Trekking

Another trek, another challenge. This trek promised to be much harder than Vietnam and that thought left the students none too thrilled. I however, was stoked. Again, I had visited this place eleven years ago and remembered verdant forests and burbling streams ... my memories were not too far off.
Luang Namtha is the hopping off town for all of northern Lao and may soon become a pulsing hub, trading mostly in natural produces and rice, as the major Chinese built railway comes right through town.

Like all of our guest houses before it, Zuela was clean, comfortable and had some outstanding SE Asian curries. It's staircase was of forest hardwood, the wardrobes, ceiling and skirting boards of some probable endangered and unsustainable logged forestry, but despite this (or perhaps because of this), the room was beautiful with a warmth that comes from sleeping beneath and within natural resources; timbers, bamboo and rattan right from our surroundings.

Morning brought a couple of tuk tuks and a visit to the local market to buy fresh produce for the three days we were to spend in the forest.

What a colourful place it was! Our Canadian Hong Kong science teacher was besides herself with glee, the students more focused on the flies and the un-swept floors, but even they could not help but be impressed by what was on offer... and we were in for a treat when later it was presented to us as lunch.

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