30 January, 2024

Hi everyone,

We used our free time today to tour four handicraft businesses with a handful of others from the tour group. We went to a silver workshop called P. Collection, Thai Silk Village, Gems Gallery, and the Umbrella Arts Centre. We learned a bit about how they make their products, and then spent some time in their shops. 

At the Thai Silk Village, they showed us the moths, which are not able to fly, and the worms and cocoons. The moths make either yellow or white cocoons – one is known as Chinese silk, and the other Thai silk (we can’t remember which is which). The cocoon gets unwound into thread, cleaned, and dyed naturally, e.g. butterfly pea flower is used for purple. Then it’s threaded onto bobbins for the weavers to use on the loom.

At the Gems Gallery, we learned that jade, rubies, and sapphires are mined in Thailand. They also import emeralds from Colombia and some other gems from other countries. 

The Umbrella Arts Centre makes paper by hand and uses it for a variety of products, the most well-known being parasols. We bought a cute set of paper string lights shaped like moons.

We had a quick bite to eat at the hotel when we returned and then went for an excellent spa treatment. It was much fancier than anything we’ve done before!

Afterward, we met up with the tour group to head to the home of a Lana family nearby for a traditional northern Thai dinner. They started by introducing us to some of their customs and family history, and the first thing we did was make an offering at the shrine, which is almost always located on the East side of the house. This is to greet the spirits that protect the family and ask for good health and protection.

This family follows Buddhism, Animism, Feng Shui, and Hinduism so they have a mix of practices from these philosophies and religions. The family has been living on the same plot of land for 160 years and spans several buildings. They showed us some family photos and had us try their tea, which is the usual offering to friends and family when they come over. However, their tea is quite different! Instead of dry tea leaves steeped in hot water, the leaves are fermented and chewed. If it’s strong, then you can add a few grains of salt, rather than sugar.

A few people in the group, including Sarah, also tried something that older generations commonly chewed – a pann leaf wrapped around a bitter nut, bark from a different kind of tree, and sap. This was often used before toothpaste and toothbrushes were common. However, if you chewed it a lot, your teeth would turn red, and then eventually black. This was seen as beautiful by older generations.

The family has a garden, which is very different from what you might be imagining! They have bitternut trees, mango trees, coconut trees, jackfruit trees, hot basil, galanga plants, anise, and kafir lime trees as well as a couple of storage outbuildings.

After learning about their traditions and family history, they made us an excellent meal. There were about 15 different appetizers to try, including banana chips, pumpkin chips, potato chips, sticky rice with mango or jackfruit, and donuts with mung bean paste.

Then they served us soup with chicken, galanga, kafir lime leaves, tomatoes, and carrots. This was followed by a spread that included red curry, fried chicken (excellent), steamed vegetables with tomato chili paste, roasted vegetables, Thai sausage, and pork skins. We were each served our own portion of sticky rice, which is so sticky you can mold it into a little spoon shape and then scoop up the stuff on your plate, which is how it’s often eaten. We sat on little cushions, but usually, the family sits directly on the floor (even the grandparents).

Finally, we had bananas in coconut milk, which was quite sweet and tasty, as well as fresh mini pineapple and mango. The entire meal was delicious! We have really enjoyed the food here so far. Some of the restaurants we have eaten at have a very large menu so it was nice to be served a range of things instead of asking our guide what each menu item is, how spicy it is, and whether she would recommend it.

The family was very sweet and it was a lovely end to the day. Tomorrow we may head to the Old City for a little bit before checking out and heading to Luang Prabang. It’s hard to believe that we are just finishing up the first of four countries, and we are excited to see what Laos has to offer!

Lots of love,

Sarah & Spenser