Jan 22, still in Luang Prabang

The three countries I have visited all seem to be quite religious. Religion plays an important part in everyday life. Bhuddist monks are fairly visible. The temples are not places of worship, but places where gods reside. Every temple has a community of monks living there; so temple grounds have quarters where monks live, medicate, look after the temple. There is a whole range of ages, from young boys to old men. The young apprentice monks don't all stay with it for their whole life, but they do spend a few years there.

In Luang Prabang there is a custom that the monks walk the streets in the early morning, and people kneel at the side of the road and give offerings of food to the monks, who collect them in kettles, that they carry. It is a well known tradition, and has become a tourist attraction. I asked at the tourist information bureau and was told, with a straight face, 5 am. I set my alarm, and at 5 I was on the street. I outnumbered the monks. Someone told me the correct time was 6 am. Fortunately my hotel was only a couple of minutes away, so back to my room. I was back at 6, still no monks, but a lot more tourists.

Finally, at about 6:30 the first group of monks appeared. There were about 20, walking in a single file, collecting the offerings. 5 minutes later a larger group. From a different temple arrived. I stayed for a couple of more groups, before going back. 

I had read that some of the tourists are making this into a sideshow, taking flash photos. It still dark at 6:30, getting right in their faces. It does happen, mostly by Korean tourists. There are a lot of Korean tourist groups, and they are quite noisy and obnoxious.

I found a nice little French bakery, a bit out of the way, for breakfast. The croissants are to die for.

In the center of LP is a hill, called Phu Si Hill. It is about 100 metres high, like the Hamilton mountain. There are several shrines and temples along the wooded path to the top. 350 steps. It's been a while I did such a climb, but I am only here once, so I went. After 250 stairs I though I was there, but it was only the ticket booth. I did make it to the top, and it was pleasant. It was still cool, and overcast. Not a lot of tourists..I wonder why? The shrines were nice, and varied, although there were a lot of Bhuddas

The view was lovely, you could see both rivers coming together. 

The streets that run along the rivers have primarily small hotels, not a lot of shops. There are a lot of restaurants overlooking the river. Quite quiet and a lovely stroll.

I wandered through the stalls in the night market. Just for the fun I counted, about 400 stalls. Until about 5 it is the main street on the peninsula. At 5 they start to set up. And it all has to come down before the next morning. What a way to make a living. In addition there are over 50 food stalls.

I had a lovely dinner at a waterfront restaurant overlooking the river. Very relaxing and beautiful. The food was also good.

Ralf

Monks in the morning

View of the Mekong River from the top. It is cool and foggy until about noon

Looking the other way, over the Nam Khan River