Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Day 5: Luang Prabang
Meals included: 1 breakfast
In the morning we have the option to rise early to view the procession of monks on their daily outing collecting alms, a practice that dates back centuries. The people of the town wait out the front of their houses with food for the monks to collect and take back to the temple. It is done early as the monks cannot eat anything after midday. By giving food to a monk you 'het bon' or make merit, which should augur well for your next life!
Following breakfast we visit the major temples, including the magnificent Wat Xieng Thong, which nestles at the meeting of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, and Wat Wisunalat, which is the oldest temple in the city. After our tour we enjoy the chance to walk around the local shops, which are well known for their hand-weaving and other interesting artifacts. Here is a chance for the shoppers to try their hand at bargaining.
We visit the National Museum at the former Royal Palace, an interesting structure that dates from the early years of the 20th Century and combines traditional Lao architecture with French colonial influence. The collection of treasures and artifacts reflects the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through to the last sovereign, who was deposed in 1975.
In the afternoon we embark on another highlight of our stay - a 29 kilometres journey south of town to visit the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfalls. In the evening in Luang Prabang we are free to make further discoveries including walking around the popular Night Bazaar. Another great optional activity is to sample a traditional Lao massage and herbal sauna.
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We arose early 4:45 so that we could observe the morning ritual of the Buddhist Monks walking through town collecting food from faithful donors. We walked into the village at a round about where monks file by with the their temple bothers. It is not a well organized event, as monks come from various directions and exit the round about in the which direction the head monk chooses. Senior monks are in front with those of lessor senority following behind. Monks under twenty wear yellow sashes to indicate that they are novice.
We sat in a darkened cafe waiting for 45 minutes until the first monks started to approach. We were beginning to think they had slept in. It was just beginning to show some signs of dawn when the monks started to walk single file rather quickly. Getting too close is inappropriate as is using a flash so photographing this activity was quite frustrating. Nevertheless, we captured a few somewhat poor photos.
We returned to our hotel for breakfast and then set out to explore the town visiting walking through the morning food market marveling at the food so different from the western world.
the old royal palace that is now a museum. Some of the interesting artifacts were gifts to Laos from the USA which included a moon rock and two small Laotian flags that had made a trip to the moon with our astronauts.
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| Python Meat |
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| Pink Eggs! Boiled in Horse Urine |
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| Yum, smoked rats |
One of the temples we visited was being renovated with a sizable donation from America. Tiles were being taken off and relayed. One of the monks was replacing gold leaf on wood carvings. This particular Temple was the one our guide Tui belonged to when he was a monk.
We walked along the river enjoying the sights and sounds of Luang Prabang.
After lunch on our own, we boarded a bus to the Kuang Si Waterfall. We took a short hike up the waterfall trail, passing a bear preserve where injured Asian Moon Bears are taken care of when they are injured and cannot be released into the wild.
The milky blue water flowing down the river comes from a spring high on the mountain, laden with minerals, then drops over an escarpment hundreds of feet below. Over time the minerals have formed lovely flat cascading pools that are wonderful for swimming, and we did. The cool, fresh water was invigorating.
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| Jan, Russ, and Roz |
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| Roz, Jan, Russ, and Dennis |
Tonight, we are on our own, and soon as I get this blog posted, we are heading down town to the night market and out for dinner. Tomorrow, we leave for a full day's drive through Laos toward Vientiane, the capitol.
All is Well With The Worrall Travel R's
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