Somehow I missed doing a blogpost for yesterday so this one will have two days worth of activity in it. However, after the EARLY morning this morning....today might be a pretty chill day to report in on. :-)
But before I can even begin to report in on anything I must share with you all something that just happened to me. I’m sitting at the little table on the porch in front of my room typing this blog. The sun is shining and it is warm and I actually considered moving to a different spot but then thought...no....I could stay here for a bit at least and am I ever glad that I did! There is a spirit house right across the walkway from where I’m sitting. (A spirit house is a little house that the owners here erect for the spirits who have been displaced by the building of this accommodation.). Every day (at least once per day) offerings of water, food, and incense are placed at the spirit house. Offerings are also placed around the property and prayers of gratitude are given daily as those offerings are changed out. The lady who works here (and who speaks not a word of English) just picked up the offerings from the spirit house and when she saw me sitting here she donned a huge smile and brought me 5 beautiful oranges from the offering plate she was changing out. Each time offerings are changed out they’re considered to have done their “job” and they can be used/eaten by people. Today, we were the chosen people. I haven’t told the others yet as I’m the only one out here but I’m anxious to share our good fortune with them. This gift is kind of like a blessing....and given that we also witnessed the tak bat ceremony (almsgiving to monks) at dawn this morning (more on that later) we must be in for a very special day. :-)
Yesterday dawned our first full day in Luang Prabang and we’re all loving it here. The pace of the place is very calm in comparison to everywhere else we’ve been so far. Perhaps that is in part due to the fact there there are 79 temples (or wats as they’re called here) within this little city!
We started our day with a leisurely breakfast next to the beautiful little lagoon that surrounds the breakfast area. The options for us to choose from were plenty and so everyone found something that appealed to them. The young men who work here are soooo sweet. They quietly go about their business and always wearing a smile.
Once we’d enjoyed our second (or third) cup of coffee we worked out a deal with Mr Pouh (pronounced Poo). He has a Tuk Tuk and lives right next to our hotel. It is a perfect arrangement! The temperature here is hot hot hot...about 33 degrees and humid so walking very far in the heat of the day is pretty much out of the question. In fact, once we were inside Mr Pouh’s tuk tuk I think Gail’s comment was, “I’m never walking anywhere ever again!” and I have to say.....I agree with her 100%. :-).
Mr Pouh was a great driver taking us on a circuitous route around town so we had an opportunity to get the lay of the land. This reinforced for us how happy we were to be tucked into our little corner at the Villa Oasis....truly an oasis in the heart of the city. Our first main stop was at a park where the Nam Kan river flows into the Mekong. It was GORGEOUS! Brightly coloured flowers stood out against the lush green of the park. There was the most amazing garbage basket that we all agreed would be a great idea for our town of Summerland to adopt. It is an attractive basket that is hanging suspended on a wooden dowel that is supported by two wooden stands. There is no plastic used at all and so the concept is very aligned with sustainable practices. To dump the basket it is simply tipped up onto it’s side and the litter falls out into the collector’ container. Unique, attractive, and functional....a great recipe for something worth adopting. Adjacent to this little park was also a beautiful patio that might call me back to sit for a spell with a long cool drink. :-)
Next major stop of our day was at the Wat Xiang Thang (a wat is a temple). We climbed the steep steps up to the temple and paid our entrance fee (about $3 CAD). We were prepared with our wraps (to cover our shoulders) and wearing pants that covered our knees as we suspected a wat would be on the agenda at some point today. As is typical of temples that have dress codes there was a supply of wraps that you could borrow or rent at the entrance. It was HOT and so we stayed as much in the shade as possible! There were little markets selling beautiful brass chimes, hats, clothing, and other Knick knacks around the perimeter of the property. There were several buildings on the grounds and all of them were old but still beautiful. Generally, they’re painted gold (and often also carved) so the look of the place is very rich. Inside the buildings the temperature is at least 10 degrees cooler so there was a little respite from the heat while you’re inside but don’t kid yourself....it is still smoking hot! There was also a couple having professional photos taken on the property. They were beautiful in their traditional dress...she with her parasol and him with his curly toed shoes. We have no idea if they were getting married or if they are movie stars doing a promotional photo shoot! Once we’d had our fill of marvelling at everything from the mirrored mosaics depicting the story of Rama and Seta on the walls to the quiet zen vibe of the property we made our way back down the steps to where Mr Pouh waited for us.
It felt soooo good to feel the breeze in the back of his tuk tuk again! After a quick refresh back at our rooms Mr Pouh took us all back into the heart of the city to a place called the Coconut Garden for a late lunch. We enjoyed a shared tasting plate and an icy cold beer. My favourite dish of the meal was a bowl of pumpkin soup. It was perfection. The blend of coconut milk with lemon grass, kaffir lime, and a touch of chilli was the base and chunks of a sweet orange squash with green onion finished the dish. This is one that I will always remember as a favourite!
After lunch there was shopping to be done and strolling the bustling street was interesting because it is so different from home. There are women carrying their items to sell in baskets hanging from either end of a stick across their shoulders. There are more motorbikes than cars and more tuk tuks than motorbikes. There is the interesting aroma of street food cooking blended with exhaust and other pollution. Yes, it is all very different in a good way.
Darlene and Gail caught a tuk tuk back to our hotel so they could cool off on our pool and Lynda and I stayed in town long enough to blow the budget (yes, this turned out to be the most expensive thing we’ve had in days!). We ordered iced lattes and cheesecake and a brownie. In truth they looked way better than they tasted. The cheesecake was crumbly (like maybe made with ricotta) and frozen in the middle and the brownie needed a little more sugar I think. But the one thing that set them apart from anything I’d ever had before was that the brownie had fresh mint on and around it. In Laos all of their food is served with fresh herbs for you to use as you like. This idea of putting fresh mint on a brownie is something I’m going to remember and bring home with me.
By the time Lynda and i got back to the hotel Gail and Darlene were all settled into the pool area which is perfect. It was pretty chilly at first dip but once you got over the initial shock....it was so cooling which was exactly what we needed to bring our body temperature back down to a place that felt good. The hotel staff were watching for our return and as soon as they saw us...they whipped up some ice cold lemonade and brought it to us all at poolside. We’re all feeling pretty grateful by this point!
It cools down nicely here in the evening and so after dark we set out in search of street food and the night market. We hit the jackpot on both counts and all four of us came home full and happy with the events of another great evening. We were all exhausted by the time we got back and we knew it was going to be an early morning!
Today started at 5 a.m. as we had to meet Mr Pouh at 5:30 by his tuk tuk so he could take us to see the almsgiving that takes place every day here in Luang Prabang at dawn. Approximately 200 monks leave their temples at dawn to collect whatever people want to give them. This food that they collect will be what is used for their one meal of the day. When we arrived there were hundreds of tiny stools lining the sidewalk. These were placed for the almsgivers to sit on while they gave alms to the monks that filed past them in meditative silence. Again, a dress code exists and you’re not supposed to have your head higher than the monks head to participate in this ceremony. It really was a beautiful thing to witness and it was sad to see a few of the tourists disregard the traditional norms by getting too close, using flash photography, and making noise. It is fine for tourists to participate....but respect of the practice must be demonstrated. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments was when the monks arrived almost as if by magic....one minute they weren’t there and the next they were. They just silently appeared out of the dark....walking single file and slowly in meditation and silence.
When you get up and out so early in the day....its still early when you get home so we had some time to kill until breakfast would begin to be served at 7:00. We can make our own coffee any time that we want it sooo.....What better way to kill a little time than to sit beside our lagoon, watch the fish jump, witness the water lilies open for the morning, sip on our 3 in 1 (coffee), and play a game or two of cards. Yep....this is the life. :-)
Breakfast was great again and by then we were all ready for a little lay down so off we went to finish the night’s sleep that we’d lost with our early morning adventure. Just up from that now to type this post. Not sure what the afternoon will bring but after my gift of oranges from the offering plate at the spirit house I’m guessing it’’s going to be a good day.
Well....it was a really good day for Gail! Last night one of her shoes went missing from the step in front of their room. (Everyone leaves their shoes as you take them off before you walk up onto the porch). Darlene was out with a flashlight before dawn looking everywhere and then when we came home from seeing the monks we all looked again in the daylight. Then Gail told the staff here and they looked everywhere too. It was about mid afternoon when one of the staff arrived with Gail’s missing shoe in hand. Wahoo! He’d located it down the little road behind our hotel and the little four legged culprit who’d taken it. (A dog). Gail was just so happy to have her shoe back the little dog got off Scott free. :-)
This afternoon we also went to the restaurant beside the park we visited yesterday where the Nam Kan and Mekong rivers meet. The restaurant (well the location) had caught our eye as a spot worth returning to and so we did. We caught a ride there with Mr Pouh and the staff at the restaurant agreed to phone him to pick us up when we were ready to go. Lunch was delicious and all was going well until one of the servers informed us Mr Pouh was on his way to pick us up. What?! We weren’t even finished eating yet and we’d just been talking about having another drink and maybe moving to a different table that was closer to a fan or maybe taking the boat across the river to see the organic garden. I’m sure they were just wanting to help but really....poor Mr Pouh ended up having to wait for us for a bit and we didn’t get to stay as long as we’d wanted. But the real kicker came when one of the servers was clearing away some of the dishes from our table. He took Darlene’s plate as she was finished. Then he took Gail’s and mine as we were finished too but then he just took Lynda’s right out from under her and she wasn’t finished! What?! She was in the middle of talking to the guy who had mistakenly phoned Mr Pouh to see what could be done to cancel the call or something and as she was talking the server just took her plate away. In fairness she was almost done but....really? It put a bit of an unfortunate spin on what had been a fantastic lunch so that was too bad. But on the upside....when we got back to our rooms we had a little relaxation time in our air conditioned rooms and then a dip in the pool to finish getting our body temperature back to normal. The staff here brought us watermelon juice to poolside this afternoon. We could get used to this and I’m seriously thinking I should take one of these guys home! :-)
We spent the rest of the daylight hours sipping Lao Beer in our breakfast area and playing cards. Yep....its a long way to come to play cards! But we had fun and once all the light was gone and we were getting hungry we set off in search of something for dinner which was also very good.
Tomorrow is our last day here and we’ve been given a late check out as our flight to Hanoi isn’t until 7 pm. Luang Prabang is a beautiful little city and we’re all glad to have been able to experience a little bit of all it has to offer.
Darlorlyngai
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