orange {the colour} and alms at five in the morning - Luang Prabang

Way back on August the 15th last year {I'm SO rubbish at keeping my blog up-to-date….} we woke early {very, very early} to watch as the monks wondered along the streets of Luang Prabang collecting their alms for the day. This is known as the alms ceremony. Every morning as in everyday of the year, the monks of Luang Prabang rise early, leave their monasteries and walk through the city collecting their alms {food supply for the day} from kneeling/sitting villagers and tourists. Offering of food is one of the oldest and most common rituals of Buddhism.

monks in orange off to collect their alms…..

sadly, a number of tourists are not very good at giving the monks their 'space' 

I wonder how many years this lady has been giving alms to the the monks of Luang Prabang?

from the oldest to the youngest…the order of the monks when collecting alms {this may look like a 'close-up' it's not as I've zoomed in to take the photo}

back to the monastery 

We then headed to the local market which was really interesting….eels, crabs, locusts and maggots just to mention a few of the delicacies that were on offer! This market is open everyday…all food with the exception of knives & a few household goods! And in case you were wondering, we didn't buy a thing! After the market we headed back to our hotel for breakfast and a bit of R&R. Our hotel was a gem of a find. We loved spending time there. If you ever find yourself in Luang Prabang, do stay at Maison Dalabua! Here's the hotel link : http://www.maison-dalabua.com

the market

the butchers!

dried fish

bananas come in all shapes and sizes in Asia

toads!!

ducks and toads

mushrooms of various varieties 

this is near the end of the market - the only area to sell non-food items {very small section of household goods}

a selection of herbs; garlic; shallots and crabs

mushrooms and maggots!! a close up a few photos on….

cutting implements of sorts

thai basil, coriander and chilli 

tiny fish

mushrooms and maggots!

gorgeous guavas

crabs {still alive}

fresh herbs

crickets and aubergines /egg plants/brinjal

eels!

close up of live, wriggling eels!

Charlotte opted to stay at the hotel for the rest of the day and Andrew and I went exploring. We stopped at the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre http://www.taeclaos.org. This centre is geared for preserving cultural diversity in Laos. We found it fascinating. The shop is well stocked with loads of hand made pieces and we managed to do a fair bit of shopping! We then walked up to the highest point in Luang Prabang, Phou Si or Chomsy Hill. The views were great despite it not being a day of blue skies! There's a temple at the top and a number of Buddhas along the route.

up on the hill

a view from the hill - the Nam Khan River

roof tops of Luang Prabang

Buddhas halfway up the hill

a Buddha

the Nam Khan River

a painted window on the Wat Chom Si (a temple)

I mentioned in the previous blog that Laos doesn't appear to have any birds! We didn't hear any bird song when we were there apart from in the vicinity of a few temples. The bird song we did hear belonged to baby birds in small woven cages….they are for sale….they are released as an offering….they cannot feed themselves and soon die….a sad reality…the plight of birds in Laos is not good!

baby birds are in those woven cages 

offerings; baby birds and flowers….

We stopped for lunch at a riverside restaurant {Mekong River} and we watched the 'world go by' whilst eating burgers. Mighty fine burgers they were too! The rest of the afternoon we spent chilling back at the hotel.

across the Mekong River {from the restaurant where we ate lunch}

this ferry {along with others} goes back and forth across the Mekong all day long

Luang Prabang has one of the most wonderful markets! It's open in the evenings and a large number of handmade goods are available to buy….we had lots of fun shopping!

Some of the goods at the evening market….

slippers

comfy trousers/pants/longs

art

bags/purses/wallets

YUCK! various concoctions with creatures…..

traditional umbrellas

A little about Luang Prabang…..Luang Prabang is the capital city of Luang Prabang Province in north central Laos. The city is located at the confluence {merging of rivers} of the Nam Khan and Mekong River, approximately 300 km (190 mi) north of Vientiane. The city's population is over 50 000. Luang Prabang was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. The old town centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This city is well known for its numbers Buddhist temples and monasteries. Wat Chom Si (a temple) is a major landmark on the top of the hill {the hill we climbed to the top of}

at the hotel; Maison Dalabua Hotel

our accommodation {Charlotte's on the left, ours on the right}

reception in the background

gorgeous lilies - they were closed by mid-morning and they opened up again after the sun had set

out and about in Luang Prabang…..

the baguettes look yummy…I'm sure it's a recipe left behind from the days the French were the colonial power

a monk walking through the grounds of a temple

part of the Royal Palace Complex - it was closed when we were there

the main shopping street of Luang Prabang

would love to know what she was thinking

a door to part of a temple

part of the palace