The town of Luang Prabang is in the mountainous region of northern Laos. It is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its fusion of traditional architecture and colonial influence during the 19th and 20th century. We have two nights and a very busy day here.
We were welcomed at our Laos hotel with a Baci ceremony by locals. The ceremony is usually conducted on a lunar calendar schedule, or to confer good fortune on special occasions such as a wedding, child’s naming day (35 days old), for a new job, or in friendship.
The prayers were chanted in Sanskrit, after which each villager tired a white cotton string on each of our wrists which reciting a blessing. We’ll wear the strings for three days.
Alms-giving
Before dawn each day, an 800 year tradition unfolds around the many temples of Luang Prabang. We left the hotel at 5:30 to take our places along a street where monks would pass.
Before long a steady procession of silent monks, ranging from old men to 8 year old boys, walked past. Each held a basket on their right arm. We scooped out small bunches of sticky rice with our gloved hands and dropped them in each basket. The people of Luang Prabang do this every day, waking at 4 to have warm rice for the monks. The monks rely on this for their subsidence.
Market
The daily market near the temple was bustling on an early Saturday morning.
The Mekong River catch was so fresh that fish and crabs were still moving.
After breakfast back at the hotel we were back on the road at 8:45.
Mulberry paper handicraft center.
The workshop used a 700 year old process that originally produced paper for monks’ calligraphy. Mulberry bark is soaked, then separated into fibers and pounded with water into a slurry. It’s poured onto screens and decorated by pushing leaves and flowers into the pulp. The frame dries in the sun. The craft paper is thick and textured.
Greg got a couple of paper lanterns to hang from our high ceilings at home, while Mark and I got accordion style books to use for commemorative stamps in Japan.
Kuang Si Waterfall
Is an hour from the center of Luang Prabang through the countryside and is a popular spot for locals and tourists to visit.
The main drop is 200 ft
Milky turquoise pools lie below the main waterfall.
We took a longboat lunch cruise on the Mekong River.
Small farms dot the riverbank
Laundry drying aft. Families live on their boats.
We next visited the national palace museum, which used to be the residence and royal reception rooms for the Lao kings. The collection of royal cars included a couple of Lincolns and an Edsel (my favorite), gifts of the US government. The monarchy ended in 1975.
Some odds and ends photos before I checked out from heat and fractured foot fatigue:
A very long-named temple
Big peacock
G and M continued on to climb 300 steps to a viewpoint with a geocache. I retreated to the hotel.
The scooter bridge across the river by our hotel is not for the faint of heart. Nor is the pedestrian walkway bolted as an afterthought onto the side.
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