Day 30 - Luang Prabang

We got a little teaser of Laung Prabang when we arrived last night, and it looked like a very cool small city. Today with the help of our guide, Si, we got our first real taste, and it does not disappoint.

We had an early start to our day and were up and out at 6.30am to catch the morning ritual of Tak Bat or Alms Giving to the local Buddhist monks. This is an uplifting and humbling display of the Buddhist faith that is based in generosity and mutual appreciation. The local people get up early (5:30am) and prepare food (including rice, soup, meat, candy bars etc.) to give to the monks for their daily meals. The only food the monks consume is the food donated to them each day. The monks only eat two meals a day - breakfast and lunch. The local townsfolk sit on the sidewalk and after the head Monk chants a prayer of gratitude and a blessing to the people, the monks progress past each "station" where people add their offerings to the bowls carried by each monk. The monks then return to their temple to share and prepare their meal. We felt privileged and quite moved to be able to participate in this daily ritual.

Our next stop was off to the local market in Luang Prabang. As is typical for markets in Asia it's a hectic mix of vendors and buyers and a dizzying array of produce, some familiar, others not and some downright bizarre! As you can see from the pics below, we saw the usual colorful variety of vegetables, an assortment of peppers, lots of rice and many cooked meals prepared in front of your eyes on charcoal grills. There was a lot of grilled meats including chicken, catfish and tilapia as well as pork and water buffalo. The "build your own soup" stall was fascinating.

Steve's favorites are the "you wouldn't find that at home" section. This included lots of buffalo skin, some fried and dried mushrooms (which we tried and were yummy) and an exotic selection of meats. Si's usual response to "How would you eat that?" was "Add some garlic, a little lemon grass, makes a good soup". Shown below (if you're squeamish please skip ahead) the half pigs heads, disemboweled bullfrogs and in pic #3, a dead chicken and, confirmed by Si, GRILLED RATS! AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!

Mmmmm, we worked up an appetite so back for breakfast at our lovely hotel (Le Sen Boutique Hotel). We confess our French toast and avocado toast choices were a little tame. After only a brief stop, it was off again to visit Si's favorite temple in Laos (maybe biased by him being a native of Luang Prabang). As usual, the temple included stunning architecture, statues and buildings. The last pic below shows an image on the temple wall depicting the principles of Buddhism and some of the consequences you'll suffer in hell if you transgress (i.e. hook through your tongue for lying). I'm sure it discouraged a few transgressors!

The final event, for another busy day, was a visit a local craft center where we were shown the process for making paper from mulberry tree bark (which is lots of soaking, boiling and pounding). Once the pulp is soft enough it is laid out on trays and the women place flowers (that are grown on the property) onto the pulp for decoration. The final product is used for making boxes, cards, photo frames etc.

The operation also practiced weaving of silk scarves and wall hangings. Every step of the process was on site including the live silkworms themselves and the silk cocoons (in the first pic). Spun silk threads are boiled for hours to soften and are shown in the 2nd pic. The silk strands are then dyed prior to weaving on hand looms. Lots of roots and bark from the jungle are used to make traditional natural dyes for example turmeric is used for yellow, (see pic#3). It was fascinating to see these small traditional and non-mechanized methods and we could imagine how things were done everywhere not so long ago.

We're not sure if there was a lost in translation moment but in this last pic a woman was heating some small dark round objects over a flame. We assumed she was making dyes for the silk. Si, said "No, it's the silkworm poop, makes a nice tea". Hmmmm

The tour visitors help support these local skilled craftspeople and Lauren picked up some cool souvenirs for us. We promise to show you next time you visit us in Framingham!

For dinner, we went into town and ate at a very cool riverside restaurant (recommended by Si) and had fixed menu "taste of Laos" dinner. It started with Lao whiskey shots (actually quite good), dried water buffalo "jerky" (Steve liked/ Lauren did not), pumpkin and bamboo soup, a delicious pork sausage, a strange but tasty chicken dish and the ubiquitous sticky rice. A fav of ours for dessert is sweet sticky rice served with mango (aka mango sticky rice). Yummy! A walk back along the main street of Luang Prabang concluded the evening. There was a very fun mix of high-end shops, (one with some spectacular wooden carvings), street vendor stores with arts, crafts and nicknacks. And then we took a quick Tuk-tuk back to the hotel.

Not surprisingly we had another great day!

Fun facts:

• We've seen "Lao" and "Laos" both used and were confused which one is correct. Si informed us that Laos is the country, Lao are the people.

• Exchange rates make everything so inexpensive here. Our 7-course tasting menu, a large beer and 2 glasses of wine, plus tip......$42

• We're about halfway through the trip already. Here's a summary of transportation totals so far

Flights - 12

Helicopter Flights - 2

Trains - 2

Boats -5

Car/Van and Tuktuk rides - lost count