Japanorama photography student, Janet Snowdon, recently visited Laos. We publish Day 9 of her photojournal.

Sunday November 22, 2009

Luang Prabang, Laos  Day nine

Cool comfortable weather

[Visit Janet's blog for all of her wonderful postings and photos].

Sandra and I both were up early.  She was up around 4am and me around 430am.  We kept quiet as our walls our paper-thin and we didn’t want to wake up our neighbors even though they were quite noisy the nite before.   Anyhow, it didn’t matter as we planned on participating in giving alms to the monks of Luang Prabang so had to get up early anyways.

By the time 6am rolled, many women were lining the streets with a white sash around them waiting for the monks.  The white sash means you are showing respect to Buddha.  Fortunately, I had a white scarf that we could use.  Sandra and I bought bananas, mangosteens and tangerines at the fruit market to give out.   We decided to take turns giving out the alms.  We also made sure we followed the custom of not touching the monk, keeping a lower height than the monks which meant we had to sit down on the side walk and when taking photos to not use flash and keep discreet.  There were about 10 French tourists also lined up and obviously they had no idea about the proper customs and manners as they were standing and taking photos nonchalantly without any respect or understanding of this Buddhist ritual.  Sandra and I took turns and went through our supply rather quickly.  Some of the monks were so young!  Toi said that many boys including him who come from devout Buddhist countries have to spend some time learning to become a monk.   There are even boys as young as 4 years old in the monastery because it is the only way the families can give him an education.  While giving away fruit, I noticed that many of the younger monks had chocolate and candy in the bowl.  I should have done more research and brought some candy or rice crackers from Japan!

545am, Luang Prabang:  Preparing for the monks

Monks receiving alms:  I told the tourist taking photos in the monks face that he is being rude, but he did not understand English and continued with his photo taking.

After we’ve done our duty we decide to go to Joma for the delicious Laotian latte.  While walking the main street, the procession of the monks were continuing with many tourists not respecting the culture but I saw something that was very inspiring.  About 60% of Laotians live below the poverty line.  The monks were giving some of their alms to the children who live below the poverty line.  It was very touching to see.   We can all learn from their example as what they receive from the people is all they have to eat.

Monk giving some of his alms to the poor children.

Monks walking the main street.

We found the morning market so decided to walk through it on the way to Joma.  We saw some interesting things , including live crickets and frogs. After a good latte, in a country where there are no Starbucks or McDonalds, we went back to our guesthouse for a fabulous breakfast of eggs, Laotian baguette and the best watermelon ever!

Morning Market

Young Tamarind plants

Beautiful mushrooms

Live crickets for sale

River crabs

Chicken and Fish

Toi then met us at our hotel for the activities of the day.  Our first stop was the Luang Prabang National Museum.  During the French colonization, the French divided Laos as they did not recognize it as a sovereign country but just as an extension of Vietnam.  So the King was allowed to rule of the Luang Prahang area and set up residence in the town.  The palace was built for him using both French and traditional Lao architecture.  It is located in the heart of town but has wonderful views.  On one side a beautiful view of the Mekong and on the opposite side, a view of the mountains.  It is a very interesting museum because it is the only place in Laos where you can view the masks and instruments used for the Ramayana dance drama.  It also has displayed many of the royal families personal items, photos and also the many small images of Buddha that the monks buried during the Indochina war but unfortunately, many were damaged due to termites.  The reception hall of the palace was amazing.  The walls were painted red and covered with intricate wall mosaics using Japanese glass that took 3.5 years to complete.  The mosaics depict the stories of Lao and Buddha.  The highlight of the visit though is  the image of the Buddha of Luang Prabang.  It is said to have been built in the 1st century in Sri Lanka.  It was stolen  and taken to Thailand during the Siam War but was returned by the current Thai government.   During the visit, we also learned about the tragic story of the King and Queen.  After the “Amercian War”, Laos was in chaos and the Communists took over.  The King and Queen were arrested and never to be heard of again.  Their sons and daughters though were allowed to leave the country and live in the UK and France.  Therefore, many Laotians believe the palace is haunted and will not visit it at night.  We also learned about the origins of the word Laos – came from the French and meant colonized people.  The original name for the kingdom was “Kingdom of Million Elephants” – Anajack Lan Xang.

Scenes from the National Museum

The Wat was under construction

The entrance to the museum which was the palace.

The grounds

A statue of the King.  He was a big guy!

After the museum, we headed to our first Wat  and Luang Prabang’s most magnificient temple – the Wat Xieng Thong.  But while walking to the Wat, Toi introduced us to a popular Laotian snack called banfonsai, which is a sweet fried pancake made with coconut, rice flour, sugar and was yummy!  Ladies make and sell it on the street.

During our walk thru the town, we saw sticky rice offerings dotting the walls.

We also met a very nice monk keeping warm by a fire.

Banfonsai:  Delicious!

Coconut is used to make a fire and cook the banfonsai.

The Wat is on the other side of the town and is the most beautiful Wat I’ve ever seen.  It is a jewelry box and the Wat is decorated in mosaics including a mosaic of the tree of life.  It was built in 1560 and survived many wars.  Thank god, that when the Americans decided to drop bombs in Laos they did not destroy Luang Prabang.  Toi said thought that the Northeastern region bordering North Vietnam is still suffering the Agent Orange effects and the loss of generations of families that perished during the bombing.

Wat Xieng Thong:  The most beautiful Wat I’ve ever seen

After the lovely visit to the Wat, it was time for some more shopping!  Toi took us to the weaving district which is about 15 km from the center of town.  Unlike the stores and the super expensive Canadian owned store – Caruso,  all proceeds go directly to the women.  It is located on a dirt road in a quaint village.  Sandra and I spent a good couple of hours their purchasing gorgeous textile and hand made paper made from mulberry leaves.  Toi was ever the gentleman and carried all of our purchases around.

Traditional Lao Silk Weave

Traditional papermaking

After shopping, we went back into town to see Luang Prabang’s oldest temple, the Wat Visoun which was built originally in 1513.  However, its been rebuilt several times as it was destroyed during many of the wars the Kingdom at that time has experienced.  The highlight of the visit was the display of the wooden images of Buddha.  In Theravada Buddhism there are over 56 different images of Buddha.  Again these images were buried during the Indochina/American War and a Japanese NPO has helped restore them.

Wat Visoun

Our last activity was to climb the 400 steps to top of Phu Si to go to the temple there and give an offering.  It took us about 20 minutes to get up and once up there Toi taught us how to give an offering the traditional way.  First, we buy sparrows that have been caught and kept in a small cage and also incense, candle and flowers.  We first say a wish and then we let the sparrows out of the cage.  There were 3 cages left to be sold and since I felt so badly for them, I bought them all.  It was a bit scary to let them loose as they were desperate and we didn’t want to get bitten by them but Toi helped us and off they went.    We then went to the shrine, sat Japanese style, bowed our head 3 times, lit a candle and incense and said our prayers.  It was a wonderful experience.

View of Mekong from Phu Si

Sleeping image of Buddha @ Phu Si

We met the two young nuns at the temple

View of the town of Luang Prabang from Phu Si

Our day then was finished.  Since we did not have lunch, Sandra and I went to a local restaurant for a late lunch or early dinner (it was 3pm) and had traditional Lao food:  Fried Fish Laos style and a chicken stew.  It was good, especially the fish.  We then headed back to the hotel to rest and finish our bottle of wine….. but of course, only after our last visit to the night market!

Children playing soccer with bare feet!

Food from the night market

Lots of babies at the night market