Luang Prabang Day 2; 28 January 2006



I awoke early this morning. In fact too early to the sound of a drum beating. It may have been the beat of the drum that is sounded to awaken the monks to their morning prayers. It may also be just someone next door chopping pork or vegetables for the morning meals. Who knows? 4 am is still too early for anyone to rise. It did not help that I did not fall asleep easily and to be suddenly roused out of my sleep like that, I am unable to get back to the deep slumber I was briefly enjoying. Tossing and turning did not help and I was suddenly feeling itchy. It may be my imagination. But the way the guesthouse looked like is not helping. So at daybreak, I put on my jeans and put on an extra tshirt and two layers of sweater and braved the cold morning air. There were people in the street and I just followed them. I noticed that most of them are from Thailand. They were making their way to Sisavangvong road to make their morning offering to the monks that will pass by the road. I even volunteered to one that I can take their picture if they want. Some women were selling things that were being offered to the monks.


When the procession started, each of the laity placed a small dollop of rice to the monk's begging bowl. At the end of the road are some poor kids who were begging for food as well. So this is where I saw the divide. The Thais and Lao on one side making their offering and on the other side the westerners and people like me taking pictures of the event. I tried to be as discreet I could . It was over in a few minutes. But it was a great experience. I then took some street shots of the grey foggy street and then went to a restaurant to have my breakfast. For Bt. 60.00 I got to have a piece of croissant and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was quite sweet so I asked the waitress to add more water to the cup. Then back to the guest house I went and prepared to take a shower and get ready my things. When I got downstairs, Bong was already waiting for me, so I went ahead to pay for my $10 room and asked Bong to help me with my things. Then off we went to the other side of town.

Our first stop was Bong's house so we can keep my things there and we started walking around their community. I noticed the guest house at the corner that was having a party last night. Bong told me that it was a guest house and they were inaugurating the place, explaining why there was a lot of singing going on. Their initial rate was $15, a bit steep to what I am prepared to pay. So we haggled and settled on $13. But then at mid-day when we got back to the guest house, a farang couple was enquiring about room rates and they said the rate was $15. However, when the farangs hesitated, they lowered their rates to $12. I said, how come they were giving a better rate to the farangs? I demanded that my rate be improved to $12 as well. This time Idecided to stay there for a period of 6 nights. So hopefully tonight, I will have a good night sleep.

This morning before doing any tour, I decided to have Bong take me to the Luang Prabang Guest House in the outskirts of Luang Prabang. Translation--it takes one hour to get to town with no traffic at all! We got lost 2 times and I was getting concerned why we were having a hard time finding the place. We eveltually found it. They had a couple of log cabins that were decently appointed. The rate of $15 per night that they were charging was fair enough. There were no places around it that is interesting to photograph so I decided to cancel my reservations. But then prior to getting there, we got lost and found a much much better place, the Lao Spirit Resort. The cottage will cost $63/night. There is a nice river view. They said they have elephant trekking. The cottage is quite luxurious. So it would be good to pamper myself before I return to the reality in Bangkok. I e-mailed my reservations tonight and am hoping I will get an answer tomorrow.

So, back to town we went. I got my room reservations in the new guest house settled and at an improved rate to boot. Bong took me to a riverside place for Lao food. We had a feast. One of the new dishes I tried was laab made of bamboo shoots. We also had a delicious spring roll. I also liked the fact that they made the chicken crispy in their fried rice. All these cost me BT170.00. I am getting to like this place everyday. I can have a feast for less than BT200.





So after lunch we started our tour of Luang Prabang. We started our tour at the Palais Royal. The temple outside the palace was very nice. As I was entering the temple itself to take a picture of the carved door, the caretaker opened the door revealing the magnificent interior of the place. I then went inside the Palace. Photographs are not allowed. In a way I was relieved of having to carry my heavy back pack. The palace is small compared to the magnificent palaces in Thailand. But then it is well maintained. The throne room glistens because of the coloured glass mosaic on the wall. If you are familiar with the pastoral embroidery on the traditional laotian blanket, they this is the type of pattern used on the walls of the throne room. Access was also provided to the private quarters. The bedrooms were relatively simple. Imelda's Malacanang bedroom was more luxurious. To me the Palace is just a very big house for the late royal family of Laos.




Next stop were a series of temples that is now a blur to my mind. Honestly, by this afternoon I am literally watted out. One of them I had to climb up very slowly. Bong told me to use the one near the road beside the river. He was trying to tell me the stairs there was not so steep. I was being head strong and he let me have my way. I then found out what he was trying to say in Thai that I could not figure out. So it pays to listen to the locals for they know better.





The last wat we passed by was on the way to the guesthouse. It is a very important wat known as wat Visount. I took some more wat photos but then struck a conversation with a Lao monk. He seemed to want to practice his english so we talked for what felt like half an hour. I was surprised to find out that men in Laos become monks for 3 years, versus a month for the guys in Laos. He also advised me to talk to the monks first and they may even allow me to take their picture.

We then headed back to the guesthouse. I needed find an internet place and was told to pass by the night market which at 5:30 pm was already being set up. Along the way I was taking pictures. Then I suddenly realized that I forgot the blanket that I bought last night at the previous guest house. I made my way there and the girl manning the counter knew exactly what I came back for and returned this to me. After this, I went to the photo exhibit of an English photographer on the Lao people. In here synopsis, one thing struck me. She said, the Lao may be poor in material wealth but they are rich in spiritual wealth. Something like this. I just hope that they retain this admirable trait and that they will not sell their souls for money. So this is the end of the day and I am typing day 2 of my blog. I tried getting into Le Elephant, they were fully reserved. Perhaps this is their way of screening guests. I will try again later this week. Tomorrow, Bong will meet me at 9am and we will go to the waterfall. On Monday, I will probably take the slow boat to the buddha cave. I may also try to have a massage because my back hurts from carrying the back pack. So more tomorrow.