TaalCafé

Rhythm is everything

Category: Wanderer

Noodle Soup Restaurant LC

2024-08-13 / / 0 Comments

Delicious soup for a fair price

One of those days it was that I had decided to walk down town. Walking keeps you in shape. Everybody knows that. And so does using a bicycle instead of a motorbike. I do both. I walk and I cycle.

Moving slowly also has it advantages. One sees everything and discovers a lot. My favourite way of getting to know and becoming familiar with a new town. New for me that is.
As I was walking along on and off the pavement, as cars are parked wherever the driver thinks it’s okay, I spotted a new restaurant. Noodle Soup Restaurant LC
30,000 Kip any bowl of soup. Hey! That’s not bad at all!
I peeked inside. Everything looked clean and well organised.

Trying it out

Let’s give it a try I thought as I felt a bit hungry. There is Chinese noodle soup with beef, pork, chicken, a fried egg, or even a Vietnamese style noodle soup. I decided on the fried egg one. It comes with a little bit of pork on the bone as well.

Friendly service

Your soup is served fast and in a friendly manner. And if ever they have run out of some of the ingredients they will quickly walk to the nearby market to buy some.
You will never have to wait long for a delicious noodle soup coming your way.
The owner on the left and her assistant cannot speak English. They can speak some Chinese, do understand Thai, and are of course fluent in Laotian.

Location

Noodle Soup Restaurant LC

The name shown is the name of a restaurant that was there before.
Noodle Soup Restaurant LC is a new restaurant at the same location.

So sad!!!! It's closed for business.

Our man from Louisiana

2024-04-20 / / 0 Comments

One of those sweltering days, it must have been by the end of July or the beginning of August, our man arrived. Our man from Louisiana. Our man was not in a good shape. His toenails had grown to a length that we had never ever seen before. He walked slowly and could only walk the spiraling stairway up to the third floor taking pauses. When he started talking, he had a stutter and often could not remember the words he wanted to use. He had had a stroke.

Our man was not in a good shape though his accent still was. A lovely accent. A Louisiana accent. Melodious and enticing to the listener. With a banjo on my knee he would repeat over and over when we — Mr Photographer and I — mentioned Louisiana. He had been in Malaysia and Thailand, and wanted to visit Cambodia. Our man kept his spirits high.

Malaysia yes, the highlands. In a way to say thanks for having found some friends at the dorm we both received a sachet of black tea. Looking at the way I hang all my clothes suspending from the bed frame triggered a memory. He had been a sailor working for the US merchant navy all his life he told me. There was more. He had a son. A son in Texas with a very negative attitude. A son who would only complain to his old Dad. He did not want to listen to his son anymore.

One afternoon … he started stammering “I gotta … I gotta leave! I gotta … gotta leave! We really did not get it. What did he mean? He seemed to be fine before.
Absorbed with our own issues and struggles we forgot to ask for details.

Dumb asses we had been.
“I gotta leave! I gotta leave!”, had been his way of saying I cannot pay anymore. The guy temporarily in charge of the hotel while the manager was on a study trip had told him to pack and sack. So, he did. Once I realised that something was definitely wrong I tried to give him a call. No response. No answer, and again and again .. no answer.
Our man from Louisiana was gone…

Scavenger

2024-04-05 / / 0 Comments

Yes, I am a scavenger. I am always looking around for whatever rejects and trashed objects are laying around for me to pick them up. I give those things a second life. I recycle, reinstate, reclaim, refurbish, and renovate. ‘Wiederverwertung’ in German; giving things a new value again. Récupération … Emmaüs.
Abbé Pierre! Emmaüs ou venger l’homme. The book.

This time I found egg trays and a big file holder. The egg trays will serve to improve the acoustics in one of the classrooms of the Candlelight Academy. A classroom with disturbing echos. The fileholder has already found its proper purpose on top of my wardrobe. Life is good when you are in the knowledge of recycling and reclaiming.

Oui, Mesdames et Messieurs. On fait bien la récupération!

Op de markt

2024-01-21 / / 0 Comments

Zondag ging ik zoals gebruikelijk vroeg in de morgen naar de plaatselijke markt. Gewoon langs de straat. Ik kocht er aardappelen, wortels en uien. Wat ik daarmee ging doen, wilden de jongedames van de beste straatgroentewinkel weten.

The Best Greengrocers

Hij eet ontzettend goed merkte de oudste op. Haar jongere zus knikte instemmend. Ik pakte mijn telefoon en zocht wat plaatjes op van hutspot en andijviestamppot.

“kijk”, zei ik. “Dat is wat ik kook.” Dat is Nederlands eten.” 

The sisters

Ze waren blij.
Weer een nieuwtje over die rare buitenlanders om rond te vertellen en te bespreken.

The Bickery Man

2023-11-07 / / 0 Comments
The Bickery Man

Quibble — Gabble — Grumble — Ramble

On a Sunday night it came, completely out of the blue, invading my peace of mind.

Twisted mindset

“Hello, it seems that I am a low-life teacher below you, and you have your click1 of friends.
I see you are a true Christian, too.
You wear the cross too, and every Sunday you go to church and you don’t work on a Sunday the same it says in the bible.
Wow, god will love you and bless you to your commitment to him”

“Thank you. Sleep well.” I replied.

Then came the final:
“Yeah, I will. I won’t contact you again”

Collapsed narcissist

Continuously seeking conflict with people in his immediate surroundings. Striving to be grandiose to no avail. You help them and they rise to a twisted feeling of being of great importance. Bombarding you with messages about … only themselves. Telling personal stories that no one really wants to hear.

Rambling on and on about themselves. Overwhelmingly being all over your friends and acquaintances in a café until they run to pay the bill and leave.

God has some real weirdos as devotees!

No doubt he contacted me again today. Of course!
Aspiring to being great takes a lot of effort.

Some people do excel in overstaying their welcome!

Quibble – Gabble – Grumble – Ramble

Void ~ Annoyed ~ Paranoid ~ Avoid ^_^

  1. He meant: clique ↩︎

A Turbulent Life

2023-10-08 / / 0 Comments

Johnnie

Johnnie was a lovely boy. That’s what his Mum in the US had always told him. And indeed he was. Never ever did we hear him say anything nasty or demeaning. Never ever did we sense any envy when other guests stated their successes in life. True stories of real successes or just imaginary successes aimed at steering attention towards themselves.

Johnnie hitting the strings

Johnny liked to grab the guitar to play a few chords to entertain … Sure! …
Though he played foremost to attract attention, using Oanh’s guitar which she gracefully has made available to just anybody at the Rainbow Hotel who fancies hitting the strings.

Johnnie had a head start at just any conversation with anyone new. Whether it was your appearance, your new piece of apparel, your skills at speaking English or just anything that he could relate to you, being special. He would say something positive.

Johnnie would highlight the positive side of others.

Johnnie’s life was however not that positive. Johnnie had a talent for getting involved with the wrong kind of people. Women, notably! Down and out local women who had assessed him as easy prey. A man like a boy longing for sex and affection where the latter was never there for him.

At the conclusion of yet another nightly journey roaming the streets down town Vientiane he would arrive just in time for breakfast. Then started sleeping on the couch.

Waking up he would be thirsty for a beer and many more. Johnnie would then start telling about his latest sad adventure. She stole my money man! 300 dollars man! Shit man! She also took my keys. Shit man! I cannot enter my room. Shit man! Which explained why he had missed out on a good night’s sleep again.

Whenever Johnnie experienced unbearable distress he would utter:
“Mum always said I am a lovely boy”. And indeed he was.

Inconsiderate guests

2023-10-05 / / 5 Comments

Ocean Blue Hostel in Vientiane, Laos

My bicycle broke down. I was downtown Vientiane near the night market when the rear brake got stuck. Without any tools, no way to repair that kind of brake on the fly. It was already late at night and I was stuck! – well kind of.

To stay the night I decided on the Ocean Blue Hostel. A friend of mine had been staying there before. She liked it.
So … why not?

It was a bit of a mixed experience. Nothing wrong with the hostel though. 

Staff members are friendly. Breakfast is okay and quickly served. Mattresses and bedding are clean. The hostel is well designed and everything is kept in good order. There are separate dormitory rooms for men and women. They are on separate floors as well. That’s probably a good idea.

I guess it was just bad luck. One of the young men staying at my dormitory room was smoking during the night. That’s strictly forbidden and incurs a hefty fine. He apparently couldn’t care less. I guess inexpensive hostels sometimes attract guests who just refuse to behave. 

A Great Experience

2023-10-01 / / 0 Comments

The Rainbow Hotel in Vientiane, Laos

I arrived from Thailand in April 2023 with the absolute minimum to sustain my life. Knowing one of the managers from previous trips, I naturally decided on a long-stay at the Rainbow Hotel. Staff members at this place are friendly, welcoming, helpful, and most of all … considerate. The hotel is a business. But that’s not all and everything. There is more to it. They make you feel at home.

It’s an old building. So there are still some things to repair and improve on a technical level. Staff and owners are working on it.

The front entrance and restaurant.
Hotel front and restaurant
Holiday makers.
Holidaymakers
The photographer.
The photographer
Sometimes one needs a nap.
Sometimes one needs a nap
Teachers waiting for their visa.
Teachers waiting for their visa
Young and less young.
Young and less young

The hotel is also a restaurant. The front part — which comprises the tables inside and the terrace outside — functions as a place to talk with other travellers, having a great though inexpensive Lao beer, to act out as a digital nomad, to be a philosopher aspiring to inspire, to find models for your next photoshoot and of course … to enjoy a delicious nutritious meal.

Oanh, the cook, is from Vietnam. Vietnamese, Laotian (Isaan), European, and Thai dishes. She does it all and fast.

I stayed at the Rainbow Hotel until early September when I finally could afford renting an apartment close to my new work place.

Taal Café

2023-01-01 / / 1 Comment

A place to discuss the lightness
and oddities of being

Courtesy of DOJU Turkish Café
in Hat Yai.

  • Taal is everywhere and anywhere.
  • Taal is all around us.
  • Taal is rhythm.
  • Taal is patterns.
  • Taal is language.

How about reliable hosting provided at prices you find hard to believe.
⇶ VPS HiSpeed ⬱ does exactly that.

About the authors
Be aware and be wise ... All comments face moderation.
It takes us only 2 clicks to mark an unlimited number of comments as spam. How long does it take you to spam the comments section?

© All posts have been written by humans and all visuals have been created without the use of AI. They are hence originals and therefore carry full copyright by their respective authors!

© 2025 TaalCafé

Theme by Anders Norén — Up ↑