Luang Prabang

We arrived in Luang Prabang which is very French because of the previous colonization by the French in Laos during the war. This town is much more expensive than Thailand, but in general, all of Laos is more expensive.






Leang had a friend of a friend that is a novice at a temple in Luang Prabang, so once we arrived, our first destination was to go to that temple so he could meet the novice and ask permission from the Abbot to stay at that temple.

We took a tuk-tuk to Wat Paphai, and once we got out, next thing I knew, we were surrounded by a group of novices all asking Leang questions. Eventually I was introduced to Leang's friend of a friend named Bournthan (or 'Than'), who is a novice and just 15 years old. Than and his older brother Daos live at Wat Paphai where there are a total of 19 novices, and just 3 monks (Daos is one of them) and the Abbot that is 94 years old.

At my guesthouse I would sit and read or write in that patio window on a cushioned bench and look over at the temple directly across the street.
































I could see over the wall of the temple, and this window could see into some of their windows in their rooms also. I would wave to the monks when I would see them, and they would do the same. It was so funny; sometimes the monks and I would write notes on paper and hold it up for each other to read. It was handy being so close to them, made it easy to make plans.














Bournthan's (Than) room where Leang stayed is the lower window on the left side of the building. I took this photo from my guesthouse patio.

Than is a really devoted, well mannered novice despite his young age and lack of monk mentors at his temple. He immediately looked up to Leang and began to learn from him about what it is like to be a monk in Thailand and studying at university, as well as the principles of Buddhism, tips on meditation, differences in the customs of Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, experiences with tourism and farang, how to communicate to groups of people, the Dharmma, and countless other things. All over the duration of our stay there. Oh and let me not forget to mention that Than's English is very good, and he is currently studying French.

While Leang was visiting Luang Prabang and staying at this temple, he was the senior monk and the highest in rank aside from the Abbot. Than gave up his room, and moved into his brother Dao's room and slept on a mat on the floor.







This is Than's room where Leang stayed. The orange cloth on the wall and on the ceiling are old monk robes that are being used as dividers, tablecloths, covers for the walls, cleaning rags, anything really. It’s completely normal for them to use old robes in this fashion, gotta make due with what they have.





This is the left side of the temple looking to the back where the laundry lines are for the washings.










This is the prayer hall where chanting and meditation are held.











This is the right side of the temple where the bathrooms and bathing areas are.





















These are the toilets....not exactly the same as the states...and not so 'state of the art'.

And let’s not forget the shower area. This tub of water has a little blue bowl in it. The water is clean in the tub....mostly. You stand in the area by the red buckets, and use the blue bowl to scoop water that you then pour over yourself. And that is how you bathe. Often the novices here will turn it into at water fight, where 4 or 5 of them bathe at once. Monks wear a cover when bathing, so there is no need to have this area enclosed.

This is a photo of Daos trying out my sunglasses....I'm telling ya, I didn't make up the story in the last blog entry about them not really understanding why people wear sunglasses! They think it is just for style, not taking into account the huge impact the sun can have on vision.





Guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree because a few days later Than wanted to try them on also, and asked me to take a photo of him so he could see what he looks like. I didn't realize he doesn't have a mirror.
Too bad monks cannot wear sunglasses, only eyeglasses.





In Thailand monks can wear 4 colors of robes: saffron, brown, burgundy, and orange. It is up to the Abbot of the individual temple which color that temple will wear. However there is a general trend throughout the country that the Abbots take into consideration. In the forest, monks tend to wear the brown color as to blend better with nature. Within the cities where eduational centers are located the monks usually to wear orange as to stand out against the lay people, as well as traffic since monks often practice walking meditation. The burgundy and saffron are worn per the Abbots preference, but you will often see the saffron used when a monk is traveling away from his temple where he currently lives and is going back home or to visit another temple.
In Myanmar all the monks and novices wear maroon robes.
I am not sure the tradition of robe colors in Laos, but while being there, it seemed the same as Thailand.
It seemed in Luang Prabang they all wear the orange robes, with yellow under shits like Daos and Than are wearing in the photos above. The same as Chaing Mai.

While walking across the street from my guest house to Wat Paphai, I noticed this flower. It is the exact same color as the monks robes!










Once setteled into my guesthouse and Leang at Wat Paphai, we decided to go see the sights.

Phra Leang sitting looking over at the view of the national museum.












Because it was just the two of us, we had to be cautious about being together in public. Mostly these photos are of me taking photos of him, or him taking them of me, and a few self taken ones. Like I said before, we became crafty adhearing to the rules while still enjoying our trip.








This is the long....long...long (did I say long?) staircase up to the top of the mountain where a temple is located.














The temple is very old and called Wat Phou Si and is the most famous Wat of Lunag Prabang.






























































The view at sunset is amazing, however this time of year is when farmers burn the fields in preparation of the upcoming wet season just like in Chiang Mai, Thailand.











After viewing the Wat Phou Si on top of the mountain, we descended and entered another Wat. In Luang Prabang, there are a handful of temples on every city block.

This is a Wat that has a garden with birthday Buddhas. There is a position/stance for each birthday of the week.















I was born on a Thursday, so my birthday Buddha position is sitting.



























A Wat with clearly Chinese influences in style and art.

Stupas.....

This is an old and beautiful wall surrounding the perimeter of a Wat, and the little buildings in the photo are the areas where the monks and novices sleep.

This is a very old prayer hall at this same Wat.

This is another beautiful insect that I happened to come across on our way down the mountain of Wat Phou Si. It looks like a lobster to me. If you blur your eyes while looking at it, you will notice that the pattern on its back looks like a larger predatory and intimidating insect. Because this little one's back is at a slant, any insects that may be hunting it from the ground or even flying will be able to see its markings and perhaps will be deterred from making a meal of it.
On the other hand, it is exactly what caught my attention, but then again, its not my lunch.
Pretty amazing.

Locals make banana chips and stretch them and dry them along the streets.

A woman near the river bank made a make-shift home where her and her husband and child stay. In this photo, she is taking raw silk and spooling it to use for weaving on the loom which she will use to make cloth to sell.

The smaller river that flows into the Mekong River at Luang Prabang. To get to the villages across from Luang Prabang the bridges charge a fee during the day to walk across or take a motorbike, but after 6pm it is free to encourage people to eat at their restaurants.

After sight-seeing during the days, Leang would return to the temple and bathe and I would go do the same at my guesthouse. Then, of course, I would head to my new favorite noodle soup stand for dinner. I would visit this lady once, sometimes twice a day.

The noodle soup in Laos is a bit different than in Thailand, they use wider noodles and add tomatoes and gave me this red paste stuff; i have no idea what it is but its arroy mak mak (very very delicious)!

At 6pm every evening, I would return to the temple for evening chanting. This would last about an hour, and then meditation was right after for another hour, sometimes 2.

After that, Leang, the monks, novices, and I would gather around and talk and I would teach them English until it was time for bed.
The monk on the left of the photo has been a monk for just 2 years, while Leang has been one for 7, and a novice for 2. Than is sitting on the ledge on the right side of the photo, with Leang in the center, and me in the front. Notice how I am sitting lower than them. In Buddhism, when in the presence of a monk, a lay person's head should not be higher than a monk's since they are considered more holy and are spiritual leaders. If you are walking past a monk you bow your head. If approaching one that is standing, you bend down and lower yourself. If speaking to a standing monk, you sit, kneel, or squat down if a chair is not available.
Than studying the dictionary and looking up words usages that we would discuss in the lessons.

Every 7 days is a Buddhist holiday and the monks beat the drum, play the gong, and chimes for about 30 minunts at 4am and at 4pm. On the Buddhist holidays, chanting is usually 2 hours long as well.

I decided to go to the local market to buy some items to offer in the mornings during alms for the monks.



While at the market, I came upon loads and loads of used clothing for sale, around to 20 cents for an item.

I found the most amazing retro dresses, but I guess they are Asian sizes, because when I tried to put one on, I couldn't even get my shoulders in it!

I purchased fresh fruits like apples, oranges, and tamarines, also, breads, muffins, and some snacks for me.

The market had loads of things, some things I wish I didn't see...or should I say...smell.

At 6am every morning, the monks all over Luang Prabang begin their bare-foot walk through the streets to collect alms.

The lay-people gather along the edges of the streets and sit on mats on the ground and make their offerings. They sit like this as to have their heads lower than the monks and novices.

Upon returning to their temples, the monks/novices clean the grounds sweeping leaves, gather the trash, then they all bathe, and at 7am they gather in groups to eat. One area for the Abbot, one for the monks, and one for the novices, and they then eat in silence.

The food collected in their alms bowls each day is all that they will eat for the day. They eat part of it in the morning, and they save the rest for lunch.

People sometimes offer other things besides food for the monks; for example, when I gave alms one day I gave 30 sets of toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as 30 packages of Q-tips.





A group of Buddhist nuns from Korea gave close to 200 notebooks and pens one day, it was pretty incredible of them. But more often than not, mostly what is collected is a big bowl of sticky rice with some fruits. If all they receive that day from the lay people is rice, then that’s what they eat. For lunch lay people will bring curries and entrees to the temples to offer, and that will be eaten with the rice.

I made good habit of buying milkshakes for Leang and Than since I worry about them getting the right nutrition....not to mention I am completely obsessed with mango/banana milkshakes.



On one of the days Leang, Than and I decided to take a boat over to the other side of the Mekong river and visit an old temple there.










This temple clearly did not receive many tourists, or even visitors in general in my opinion because when I went there, the lay people were not so friendly to me. We didn't stay long.


The most beautiful part of the trip was the way back. We walked along the river banks that are covered in white sand.








On another day, the monks, novices and I went to a local waterfall to go swimming.


The drive was about 30 minutes, and the landscape was stunning.







Leang and I at the bottom of the waterfall before the hike up to the pool where the monks are permitted to swim.





There were other lay people that went with us, so it was acceptable for me to be there.

I have never been so uncomfortable in my bathing suit in front of people ever in my life! And this is coming from someone who had spent nearly 3 months in southern Thailand rock-climbing in sports bras and bikinis! It was so strange to swim with them...but after awhile I forgot about it and just had fun.



The monks cannot be in the water at the same time as a lay person, so the monks and I would take turns swimming. The water was cold, but the weather was hot so it felt great!

More to come......Vang Vieng, Laos is up next!

Same, Same, but Different...

Phra Leang and I began our trip to Laos with a long bus ride to the northern border. It was just becoming evening when we arrived, and the border was closed for the day. UGH! I thought we would make it in time, but we arrived a few minutes too late.







So, Leang went to a temple that was in the town and asked the Abbot’s permission to stay there for the night, and I stayed at a near-by guesthouse.

Monks only eat 2 meals a day; breakfast, and lunch which is finished before noon. I am not a monk. I was hungry! So I wandered around the town, found a place to eat, dined solo, and then had my last Thai massage before heading to Laos the next day.



In the morning, we learned we had to take a ferry across the Mekong River that divides Thailand and Laos, and then arrange boat transportation to the next city of Pak Bang because there only one bus per day and it left early that morning.









Yeah...those are my bags in this shot. Climbing gear and travel gear....looks like quite a lot compared to the one small bag that Leang has in is lap. Since monks pretty much have nothing, they haven't much to bring. I think all Leang brought on this trip aside from toiletries was a towel and some books. Guess it saves a lot of time and money not having to figure out what to wear every day...not to mention how nice it must be not to worry about your stuff getting stolen while traveling.
















Let me not forget to mention that it was the smallest boat ever! Or maybe western people are just so much larger that it seems small to me and my big butt and long legs!










For example, look how peaceful Leang is sitting with his legs crossed, facing sideways with room to spare in his seat enjoying the ride, while I am sitting all bunched up in mine.







However, just when I thought I couldn't squeeze into my seat any more compactly, we stopped at a small village.





The boats operate as buses would; stopping at villages along the way when people need to get on or off. We picked up a few more people, and a Lao guy was instructed to sit next to me. He was a bit hesitant at first but I smiled and scrunched up as much as possible to make room for him.






Since monks aren't really supposed to be social and are expected to meditate during travel, I knew that my entertainment from Phra Leang would be minimal and I would otherwise have to make do with the landscape alone to keep me occupied.









I'm not complaining....much...I mean the landscape was breathtaking for sure. But it is still nice to have someone to talk to.






Basically I feel when traveling with a solitary monk it feels as if I am traveling alone whether it is on a boat, or bus, or taxi.
In Asian culture, if a monk is alone, it is not looked upon kindly for that monk to converse with a woman since women are a temptation to the monk who has devoted himself to a life without.



However, if there is more than one monk, or even a man that is a 'lay person' they can be more social and speak to a woman in a group. The only acceptation to this is if the monk and the woman are to sit at a table together, but it is not permissible to walk together, stand together, and eat together....basically everything. While traveling Leang and I got pretty crafty making friends with other tourist men that were on the buses with us. It allowed us to speak freely in public, and Leang really enjoys speaking to tourists about Buddhism and meditation. As for me, it was a bit more difficult to speak with farang men and not give them the wrong impression but having a monk with me made it easier.




Becasue I am a teacher, I am held at a higher level of respect than other lay people. I am someone that when lay people are introduced to me as a teacher for the monks, they bow to me and become very happy and ask many questions which Leang either translates or answers for me. Never have I been regarded in an ill manner by someone when they learn why I am with the monks. However, while traveling, lay people do not know why we are together or who I am; just that I am a woman, and he is a monk.

There is a level of etiquette that must be upheld for him, and while Leang and I used these rules more as a suggestion when in private or at a temple we still maintained a level of propriety, and upheld the cultural expectations in public. At the temples things were more relaxed since it is mostly the lay people that have the expectations on the monks, and the monks simply have a minimal lifestyle and understand their own devotions and values. They are more comfortable and therefore more social at the temples because there are more monks and they’re on their home tuff, while in the lay person world, they are vulnerable to temptations and misconduct.


So...there I was sitting alone next to a Lao guy that doesn’t speak English, and me, who doesn't speak Laos.

After sitting awkwardly close for awhile, I totally busted him with his camera trying to sneak and take a photo of me, the 'farang'.

I began laughing and took his camera quickly away. He looked worried for about half a second until I took a picture of us, as well as of him on the boat. I gave it back then took mine out and did the same.

So you can understand why I was so thrilled to see this random Lao guy be friendly and take interest in trying to communicate with me. You might be surprised how a little bit of friendliness in a foreign country is so much appreciated when you can't speak or read a lick of the language. We spent the next hour having a blast while we pointed out interesting things along the countryside for each other to look at, all with the primitive communication techniques of grunting, laughing, and over-exaggerating expressions to emphasize meanings.


The boat we took to Pak Bang was a speed boat and it's so funny, the Laos people wear motorcycle helmets while riding in the boat. Talk about freaking scary...yeah...I feel REAAAAL safe now! Before this trip, I had heard stories about how the locals all wear helmets so it must be really dangerous to take the fast boats and was strongly advised against it by practically everyone.







Without speaking the same language, I surprisingly learned a lot about the Lao guy. He lives in a small village in the surrounding mountains along the river, and was heading home after visiting family (he had a Lao-English dictionary in case you are wondering). I'm assuming he doesn't see many westerners in his normal life, because about 95% of 'farang' take the slow boat to Lunag Prabang from the border because of all the hype of it being dangerous.




Through pantomiming, I learned they don't wear helmets for the danger!!!!! I was wearing sunglasses because the wind was making my eyes water, and after about 10 minutes I put ear-plugs in due to the noise and wind in my ears. Then when the boat continued around the bend, we moved out from the shade of the trees and mountains, and into the sunshine. Boy, did we start cooking! As I began putting sunscreen on the Lao guy and all the other Lao people started nudging each other trying to see what I was doing. They had no idea why I was putting this white cream on. The Lao guy showed me his dictionary and we pieced together a sentence. He asked me if that cream is why my skin is so white and his is brown. I explained my skin is white because of my family's skin is this color, but the cream keeps the sun from making it more brown. They talked between themselves, and Leang hearing them said 'The guy next to you has never heard of sunscreen before,' and this made me so excited. I immediately got out the container and distributed it though out the boat. They didn't know how much to put on so it was pretty funny; they were basically white now too! What a mess! The cream when on faces, on hands, on anything exposed to the sun. One of them even made the mistake of putting it in his hair! Did I mention that Asians are notorious for wearing long pants, shirts and jackets in temperatures close to 100F and hellishly high humidity? Yeah...they hate the sun here. Check out the people's clothing in the photo above if you doubt me.

You would never see Asians on the beaches of the south...only farang sun-bathing. Even on motorbikes, they wear jackets backward to cover their arms and hands from the sun. While in Chiang Mai I met a guy from the States that lives there teaching primary school there, and he said that the children won't even go outside at recess to play because they are afraid of the sun and becoming browner. It's in their culture here, all the Asian models, musicians, and movie-stars have pale skin, yet all the villagers have dark skin. In the cities people even use whitening lotion, not regular skin lotion. But of course, these Lao villagers work on farms and are exposed to the sun alot, they just take precaution to reduce when they can.

After the sunscreen incident, I shared ear-plugs and an extra pair of sunglasses with them. Pretty soon all the people were sans helmets. It then occurred to me they wear them to protect them from the sun, insects, wind and noise. I asked the Lao guy, and he confirmed it with his dictionary.

The communication gap we often have with people from other cultures can be so hilarious to us individually. Here all of us 'farang' thought immediately that they must wear helmets to protect them from danger...in fact they do; danger from the sun. So the communication gap was bridged. And it may seem like they just don't know things the way we do, and perhaps reading this you may even have feelings of superiority for being a westerner and understanding something that seems so simple to you as sunscreen. But there were and still are many things about Asian culture that I don't quite get either. For example...Beetel Nut...and I know they thought it was hilarious while I tried to figure that one out. It's all cultural. Same, same, but different.


The view from the small town of Pak Bang. When we arrived we had to hike all the way up the mountain to reach this town from the river below. Let me tell you...it sounds all nice and adventurous, but don't forget that I had 3 bags,(totaling about 40Kg) while Leang had one small shoulder bag. Monks are not allowed to have luggage or help lay people carry things so I was utterly on my own! I almost wanted to just roll down the hill to the river below and take a swim since it was so hot and humid! Honestly though, it was such hard work in all that sand...just look at the photo! I kept sinking!


No...it wasn't as easy as it looks carrying my bags despite this photo; my medium sized bag with all my climbing gear is just out of the photo sitting by my feet. I think total I am carting around close to 50 Kilos. I weigh around 57 Kilos if that paints a more clear picture.






Once into the town a different Lao man also had to go to the bus station to check the time of the bus to his village. The three of us walked another 3Km to the bus station where we learned that the only bus of the day headed north left in the early morning. We would have to spend a night...so walk back to the town we did. Nothing like a nice work-out after traveling all day hahaha!


The next day, the 'bus' was totally a local bus. Like I said, most of the tourists splurge with the slow boat all the way to Luang Prabang which takes 3 days, and costs more. I figured this would be more fun since I had Leang to translate if I needed him to because Thai language and Laos language is very similar. Also, since it was not the normal tourist path, the bus made many many stops through small hill-side villages in very rural Laos. I'm sure most of these people hardly ever see a 'farang', because when they saw me, I sure got a lot of stares and curious glances.

The buckets with the white covers have live fish in them that these locals were taking from the river back to their villages. Most of the people also had bags with a variety of edible plants and vegetables that grow along the riverbanks. I tried a few pieces that were offered to me, but I have no idea what they were, but they were good.
















The bus ride was a chaotic 6 hours; I did everything in my power to get some rest for at least a little while regardless of the winding roads and frequent stops.






















We passed through many small villages, and picked up and dropped off many people: elderly men and women, small school children, farmers, merchants...it was really amazing to see this side of Laos.










After the long hours through the winding hill-side, we arrived at the northern town of Odumxay. Once there, we had to wait at the bus station for 4 hours to catch the bus to Luang Prabang.