Tag: Laos

Monk action series

Throughout Northern Thailand, Laos & Cambodia, I’ve developed a sort of monk obsession. I’m fascinated with them and their lifestyle. But I’m not talking about real deep stuff here. More along the lines of… Why do Bangkok monks have to go barefoot and are too skinny while Chiang Mai monks get to wear shoes (typically flip flops or leather sandals) and appear healthy (i.e. well fed)? Why do Lao monks have to keep their bald head freshly shaved while Thai & Cambodian monks can play it a little looser? However, I admit that my primary interest in them is most likely even more superficial… their bright orange robes really make a picture pop. “Monk alert” is a term we’ve coined when one of us spots their orange robes so we can quickly become camera-ready. Lao monks have turned out to be my favorite, probably due to their daily early morning alms procession (I got up before 6am 3 out of 4 mornings to witness it bc I just couldn’t help myself). I was beyond thrilled when we showed up at the river bank for our Mekong boat day only to find two monks seemingly waiting to board our boat. Dreams of a live monk action series leapt into my head and while that unfortunately didn’t materialize (they instead waved us goodbye), that was the inspiration for this post and a collection of my monk photos, which I’ve largely spared you to-date.

Monks watting

 

Monk meditating

 

Monk blessing

 

Monks waiting for a boat

 

 

Monks waving goodbye

 

Monk posing after our conversation (he really talked to us)

 

Monks wearing beanies

 

Monks crossing a street

 

 

Monk crossing a bamboo bridge

 

Monks hailing a tuk tuk

 

Monks laughing over a fire

 

Monks walking in the alms procession

 https://youtu.be/GB01NA4mJi4

Monk worrying about sun protection

 

Monks Angkor watting

(My fave pic, hands down)

 

Little things excite me

In Luang Prabang, I found my favorite Wat to-date. Just not for reasons most people would find important.

 

This appears to be some sort of fire breathing monkmobile. Yes it has wheels. I do perhaps have a bit of an obsession with monks so this made me real happy… more on that later.

 

One of these things is not like the other.

 

The Mekong

We negotiated w a cute Laos boat captain, Mr Sing, for a day trip to Kuang Si waterfalls and Pak Ou caves via a Mekong river cruise. We arrived at the river bank and boarded our apparently private large long boat (we had just assumed he’d try to fill the rest of the boat… but we’ve found Laos people to be more honest and less apt to scam you than Thai folks). Despite the weather being a bit on the cool side (70), with some intermittent light rain sprinkles early in the morning, we were real excited for the trip. The boat was a convertible as the roof slid open (we enjoyed after the rain ceased), it was equipped w old airline seats that recline (which made for a very comfortable ride), and featured a good sound system (Mr Sing apparently likes to rock out as he played loud local music).
The arrival at the falls stop was a bit understated as Mr Sing just cruised up onto a sand bank in the middle of nowhere and “docked”. He then led us past the bank up along a rutted dirt “road” that popped out in a tiny local Lao village. Our captain had previously promised our price included bus transport to the falls. Upon arrival in the little village, Mr Sing began going door to door to find someone to drive us. The answer was a young local guy who had a pickup truck so Amy and I piled in the front seat, Dazed & Confused style. He spoke no English but happily drove us for 80k Kip and the 20 minute drive was gorgeous… passed rice paddies, locals going about their daily business (yes, some carrying 2 baskets w a shoulder pole & wearing the conical hats), kids walking to school, etc. Just a lovely super special snapshot into Lao life. Our driver dropped us and showed me his phone. The time said 9:22pm. Uh oh. “Two hours” I said. He laughed. “You wait here?” He nodded yes so Amy and I were off to the falls.
The waterfall was easily the prettiest I’d ever seen. Each tier, even more spectacular. Amy and I tried to guess how many tiers. I said 25+ if you’re counting each little drop. She thought 15+ major drops. One just drop dead spectacular one that left me speechless (I know, a real rarity) and this was after I already found the falls just captivating. To the right of the big fall, there was a basic wooden sign with an arrow pointing “To top”. We had already passed a proper set of stairs to the left of the fall. We opted for the right, luckily so as it was a pretty tough steep amble up to the top, and took the more gradual way down on the other side. Just a beautiful place.
Back to the bottom and nearing noon, we grabbed take away lunch from local street food vendors, found our “bus driver” hanging w the locals and made it back to the river bank to find Mr Sing sleeping on his boat but still rocking out.
It was a 2.5 hour boat ride to the Pak Ou caves (upstream) and was simply a drop dead gorgeous journey. Amy and I both agreed that Laos was one of the most spectacular places we’ve ever been. I will definitely be back to Luang Prabang and I will certainly explore the rest of the country.
Upon arrival, we hiked up into a large cave that serves as the graveyard for Buddha statues no longer deemed suitable for placement in a temple or those given as offerings by worshippers. So it’s a couple caves full of abandoned Buddha statues. Big and small. I thought it looked like an army of Buddhas was assembling. Clearly these emblems are sacred enough to warrant special placement in a gorgeous cave on an gorgeous island in the middle of the Mekong river, but it was a little creepy, I’m not going to lie.
1 hour glorious boat cruise back to LP. I say glorious bc the sun finally made its appearance, which made for a whole set of new pictures. 


   
  

 https://youtu.be/zfim13MCdFk 



 

Loving Laos

We read the best way to see Luang Prabang was by bicycle so our first full day in the city was a lovely day doing just that with touring bikes provided courtesy of our hotel. The city is a quaint, charming, lovely small city in a mountainous region on the peninsula bounded by the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. It’s perhaps the most lush locale I’ve ever been (rivaled perhaps by parts of Norway), is stunningly gorgeous, and while it features top-notch gourmet restaurants, cheap spas and all the luxuries, at the same time, it seems as if you’re visiting a place where time’s stood still. It has a nice lazy slow pace and is not in the least bit intimidating plus the Lao people are just as nice as can be. Within a day, I was thankful we had 4 nights there (even wishing we were staying longer) as this city was already easily my favorite visited to-date.
The highlights of the day included a walk across a man-made bamboo bridge that is erected over the Nam Khan every November in dry season bc it washes away every June in the high waters that come with the wet season. Despite being constructed entirely of bamboo, and the fact it has only a 6 month lifespan, it’s supposedly pretty solid and can support the weight “of several people at once” so Amy and I jumped at the chance to pay 5k Kip to cross the bridge (the funds go toward rebuilding next year’s bridge). It felt pretty solid. And seemed otherworldly it was so picturesque. We found on the other side of the river, a great resto nestled in the lush woods and proceeded to sit for 2+ hours enjoying amazing local Lao fondue (our server told us every Lao household has a fondue pot used when special company visits), cocktails featuring the local Lao whiskey (Lao Lao), the local beer (BeerLao), and a few games of gin.
That night we hit the local night market along the main drag, a short walk from our hotel. We found it was much more quaint and authentic than the Thai markets and the goods appeared unique and locally made. For the first time, we found a LOT of items that piqued our interest, inspiring a lot of gift ideas, so we looked into shipping goods back home because as much as we love you, we weren’t going to carry them on our backs. If it weren’t for the totally unreliable Laos post system, many of you would be blessed with absolutely amazing local Lao gifts, but you’re just going to have to take my word for it.
After a busy jam-packed schedule in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the lovely slow pace of Luang Prabang happened to be just what we were looking for. Prior to the trip, I’d done quite a bit of research on Laos and was very excited to visit. I think Amy was less so as neither of us really knew what to expect, so we limited our time in Laos only to Luang Prabang as a sort of compromise. I admit I felt a little pressure hoping that LP lived up to my expectations and was so thrilled that it did. I will now be the biggest Laos promoter. Everyone should visit.



 

https://youtu.be/ttnLmtPGVu8

 

  

 







Wat’s up

So Wat = Buddhist temple in Thailand, Laos & Cambodia and they are as ubiquitous as cathedrals in Europe or Walgreens in America. We use the word now as a verb on our trip as in “lets go watting today” or “I am so watted out”. When we arrived in Chiang Mai, I admit I was a bit Wat-shy after viewing the Bangkok Wats, due to all of the production involved (lines for tickets, lines for audio guides, lines for dress code review, lines to borrow a cheesy starched white button down shirt bc they won’t allow wraps to cover your shoulders despite the fact they’re fully accepted in all mosques throughout the Middle East, lines to return awful button down shirt, massive crowds and massive time commitment). I powered through and thankfully so bc since, Watting has been much more accessible and enjoyable… You simply buy a ticket at the entrance, flip your shoes off and head in to visit for as long (or as little) as you like and crowds are minimal. Some of them are simply breathtaking they are so ornate. So onward we Wat.

 

Definitely a dragon theme in Chiang Mai