In Laos, however, she still finds a choice, and to eat well and naturally is a real option. In the name of choice we end up eating cattle fodder, dressed up to look enticing, exotic and international, while our own traditional produce and recipes quietly die out." Happening all the time, all over the world."īemoaning our acceptance of preprepared food pumped with chemicals, she surmises that "it now takes more time, effort and money to eat locally grown real food than purchase processed pap from abroad. "They were all serving the same limited menu of poor quality dishes to people passing through, too lazy to care. Unsatisfactory evening in a sub-standard cafe with some Australian backpackers, for instance, her fury rises to a diatribe against blinkered tourist attitudes, leading on to a plea for better standards in world food. The author sees these as bent on hedonism at the expense of courtesy to their hosts and her disenchantment becomes While the Laotians remain a source of admiration and constant surprise, the company of fellow Western tourists quickly prompts irritation. As the silvery haze that envelops the town softens your vision, a diaphanous cloak of dreamy carelessness descends upon you and you just have to give in to it. The gauzy tranquility of the place puts a languid drift into your step and causes you to forget to breathe. Prabang, she observes: "Even with a hangover, everything they say about the enchantment of Luang Prabang is true. Natacha du Pont de Bie is at her most potent when conveying her wonder at this beauty.
A diversity of fish splash through the author's feet in its rivers, while myriad species of butterfly circle in clouds overhead, giving the reader a strong sense of a paradise regained.
Laos' landscapes are here displayed as rich in waterfalls, flora and fauna. Hydroelectric dams along the Mekong river, in defiance of neighboring countries' concerns for the likely ecological damage. Having been on the receiving end of the most intensive bombing ever experienced anywhere in the world, the Laotians still face the threat of unexploded mines in prodigious numbers, as well as China's The author's sympathy and respect for the people of Laos (chiefly for their joyful attitude and generosity of spirit) is what distinguishes her account of their plight.
0 kommentar(er)
