Pak Ou Cave

Located 25 km up the Mekong from Luang Prabang, the Pak Ou Caves are set in the dramatic limestone cliffs above the river.  The Caves had been an active "temple" long before their discovery in the 1850s.  The nooks and crannies of the Caves are jam packed with Buddha images with more being added every year.

I opted for the boat ride (rather than a tuk-tuk) to get to the Caves.  It was fun to see life along the Mekong -- the river lifeline that threads through several south east Asian countries.  I was surprised at the current in sections, but, the river is descending from the mountains...

I expect to have a full taste of happiness.

Boats are nothing but work....everywhere in the world!

River Fueling Station Sign.

River Trip includes a stop at a local village -- sip some Lao Whiskey, um, Wine.
Watch the women weave amazing silk scarves.  Try not to buy. Buy.

A little sweet and a little nasty.  You won't see this at Trader Joe's any time soon!

The dock.  

Whirlpools and rapids.  Typical aid to navigation marks, were, plastic bottles and bamboo logs.
No one travels along the Mekong at night!

Tiny cubby in the cave.  Some of it was too dark & alot of the images are quite old & musty looking.

Lucky Lucky

Today I set out to have a Lucky Lucky Day.

It started early as I decided to go to the Alms Giving Ceremony.  Buddhist monks walk the streets barefoot each morning with bowls.  The faithful donate rice or other food items into the bowls.  No words are spoken.  The monks line up and walk quietly -- those donating try to get a few grains of rice or a banana into each bowl.

Through out this trip I have been a "monk stalker" -- trying to capture pictures of them in daily scenes --  so I thought today I would arise and be a "faithful" donor.  Donated food is all the monks will eat each day.  They have 2 meals:  breakfast and lunch.  No food is eaten after mid day.  I had gone once to a Monk Chat and a young Monk described the schedule:  up at 4am to meditate, walk the streets,  breakfast, school, lunch, more studies and then evening mediation.  When asked about not eating in the evening -- he just looked at us and said:  I am always hungry.  Well, no wonder!

I walked to one of the larger Temples & the rice sellers were out hawking early.  I bought rice and a basket of fruit & crackers.  And then the Monks just appeared down the street and walked in a measured pace.  And believe me, sticky rice is hard to pull apart and drop into their bowls very quickly.  I bought more rice as they kept coming--quietly with eyes down cast.  And then, all done.

A contented start to my Lucky Lucky Day!

My Sticky Rice & a bowl of fruits and cookies.

Here is the view from the donor's mat!

I plan to give this flavor combo a pass!

Wat Ho Pho Bang -- home to the Pha Bang for which the city is named.
It is an 83 cm tall gold alloy Buddha (no pictures allowed) -- and it arrived in the City in 1512

Oh, and when you need to move your satellite dish...any tuk-tuk will do!

Temples & More

A day of wandering -- looking down alleys, in and out of temples, and enjoying the sleepy sultry atmosphere of Luang Prabang.

The Temple I visited today was Wat Xieng Thong -- centered on a 1560 sim (chapel) with the roof swept low to the ground.  The gold fronted building is Hohng Kep Mien and is the garage for the huge golden funeral urn used for Lao royalty.

Luang Prabang

This is better.  A lot better.

Luang Prabang is the old capital of the Lane Xang Kingdom and a World Heritage Site, lying on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and Khan rivers.  The town is one of the best preserved old capitals in Southeast Asia and its beautifully restored temples, period buildings, traditional cultures and tranquil atmosphere make it a traveller's destination.  So here I am.

Luang Prabang is the cultural and historical center of Laos.  33 Temples to explore! Yippee!

The Elementary School was having a dancing competition...so fun!  

The winners??  After the moms fixed up their hair!!!

Many alleys & flowering trees.  A tangled maze of streets to explore.

Friends from HuayXai -- ok they call me Mom.

The Bus Ride from ....

Well, from HuayXai to Luang Prabang.   To get from one to the other you can:  take the "slow boat" down the Mekong (2 days + 1 night in a dumpy river town), the "fast boat" (only a few fatalities a year....), the day long minivan arriving after dark, or the VIP Night Bus.

All the choices were, um, not exciting but I opted for the VIP Night Bus.  Enough boats already on this trip & I much prefer arriving in the morning to new places rather than at night.  And a Night Bus means you don't have to book a hotel...that's a real savings!!

And a VIP Night Bus...exactly what does that mean?  Maybe the A/C works, maybe the brakes work,  maybe the seats recline, maybe the bus stops for bathroom breaks.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Somehow after waiting a bit too long at the station, all the passengers sense we are about to depart.  So we line up and board the bus.  It seems large -- luggage below (even a couple of motorbikes) and passengers sit up above.  I am in seat 5.  Second row on the window.  Fine.  Being the VIP bus they pass out water bottles to each passenger.  And then...barf bags.  This is starting to not seem like fun.

We wait a bit longer for some late arrivals (a bus goes better when it is full--this has been shown all over Asia) and so there will be no chance to shift around and get 2 seats.  Really not fun now.

Off we set at 6:30pm as it is getting dark.  I had hoped to see some of the countryside, but it was not easy.  Thick smog/haze/smoke is everywhere.  I haven't seen blue sky for at least 10 days.

The road is quite twisty and windy -- north then east then south.  A bird would be there in no time but we will take at least 12 hours.  Thank goodness the rains have not started as long sections are not paved.  Really not fun.

But the driver seemed very cautious; and we only came across a few locations where traffic had backed up (? mechanical problems) so one lane control.  

Someone onboard was playing some nasty techno Thai-Lao-Chinese music that no ear plugs could blog.  My seat mate watched Amadeus on his netbook.

Those bathroom breaks -- well, the bus stopped and you were welcome to use the dirt field behind the abandoned trucks.  Really not fun, but heh it was dark!

A long night.  Only a few times did I think:  What have I done now?  Who thought this could be fun?

But time goes along.  We arrived in about 12 hours.  The baggage comes flying out from under the bus.  The tuk-tuk drivers swarm like flies and pretty soon I am at a hotel.  Well, my suitcase is there and I can check in "later."  I head off to walk the streets.  And for breakfast:  a chocolate croissant and real coffee.  Yup, the French were here.

I think that was my last all night bus ride!