Color Ways

Luang Prabang is famous for the morning monk processional that starts at 5:45 AM daily.  The local people (and many tourists) sit on the sidewalk (heads must be lower than the monks heads, no eye contact, no talking) and place balls of sticky rice in the monk!s bowls as they pass by.  Monks rely completely on food provided by the community.  They do not prepare food for themselves and they only eat breakfast and lunch.

Becoming a novice is the way many poor boys get an education.  They may be novices for a few months to many years.  It is not compulsory and they may leave anytime.  However, it conveys great honor to their families and for many it is the only avenue for an education.

Luang Prabang is unusual as there are hundreds of monks in residence in the many wats.  The growth of tourism means that many visitors tread thoughtlessly on this important rite.  Chinese tourists seem to be the worst, putting their flash cameras right up to the monks and chattering loudly.  There is advice in every hotel and many restaurants about how to act, but some people just don't seem to care.

Our big outing is to the Kuang Si waterfalls.  We take a group mini bus and have a terrifying driver.  It seems sure he will run some poor mini bike into a ditch.  Locals say that in Laos there are no rules of the road.

The waterfall park also houses a Bear Rescue project run by an Austrailian group.  They are rescuing bears from terrible exploitation,such as "bile farms."  Bear bile is a favored "medicine" purported to cure all kinds of ailments.  How it is secured is harrowing.

Bears are kept in cages like this for as long as ten years.  The bile s painfully extracted from their gallbladder by syringe.  When they get too old or frail they are killed.  The bear rescue buys bears or finds them. The rescue facility is large, clean, and the bears seem content.  Moon bears are native to Laos.  They have lots of swings, toys and hammocks to rest in.  We don't see any pacing in their large enclosures, as we sometimes do at zoos.

Like shark fins and elephant tusks, bear bile has a sicko market.

Up a forested trail we come to the pristine aqua blue pools fed by a series of waterfalls.  We have seen such unusual waters in Germany and Costa Rica, too.

The water color is just amazing.  People are jumping in, but bikinis are frowned upon.  Laos is a conservative country.  Did I mention earlier that there is an 11 pm curfew in LP?

The water really is that gorgeous color. And clear!

We hike all the way to the top of the largest fall, which is a steep climb.  It is lush up there, and though we hear the roar of the falls, there is no good view point from up above unless one is to go dangerously close to the edge.  No thanks!

So we find a shady table to continue our card game for a bit.  This park is just an oasis of beauty.

After looping back to the pools below we have worked up enough sweat to enjoy a dip.  The water is chilly, but refreshing, once we get over that first reaction.  When the weather heats up to over 100 degrees, these waterfall pools must be the best place to be in Laos.

Dinner plans tonight are for Dyan Sabye restaurant across the river.  We pay our few kip to cross and our nice ticket lady snaps our picture.  When we return after dark, the bridge will be strung with little white lights.  These bridges are temporary.  They have to be taken down once the rainy season gets going.

Another lovely day in Laos.

Sawbahdee!!!

Ben has signed the two of us up for a 56 kilometer bicycle tour today.  John and Lisa opt for another elephant reserve tour.  I really do not fully know what Ben is getting me into.  But the day will involve me happily saying' " Sawbadee!" (Hello!) a hundred times.  These children, out of school for a week of holidays, are just a few of those who will greet us with waves and smiles and even a few words in

English.

But first we meet our guide Shiong (like Shawn).  No one else signed up for the tour, so it will be just the three of us all day long.  Shiong says sometimes the tours are 20 people, so we are pretty lucky to have this semi-private tour.  After we get going, we can only imagine how different it would be in a crowd.

We negotiate the Luang Prabang traffic and first stop is a weaving workshop.  What Shiong doesn't know is we are sick of shopping and Ben has little cash.  I still try on the traditional skirt almost all Lao women wear.

A few miles later we blessedly get off the main road which is under construction.  Why did I wear a white shirt?  It will probably be ecru from now on.  Choking on truck dust is no fun, but soon it is behind us.

We pull over to visit with this monk and villagers who are stripping poles for a ceremony at their wat.

Shiong explains they will use the poles to cook food as offerings to the ancestors. We are not too sure we understand all this, but we admire that they are happily working together to continue important religious celebrations.

The farm animals in this area are "free range."  This water buffalo seems curious about us.  Shiong tells us the villagers all know which animals belong to whom.  The Lao do not milk their cattle.  Dairy is not part of their diet at all.  After a mom weans her baby around age 2 there is no more milk in the family diet.  This probably has a lot to do with the extreme heat most of the year and lack of refrigeration.  John has told us that dairy and tropical climates are not a good mix.  Therefore, water buffalo will someday be steak.

The kids are so friendly and sweet.  The little one kept smiling and waving at us.  Before I took the picture she tucked her feet up on the bike just as she had been while riding behind big sister.

We get a snack break at the next village.  Shiong buys some "yam bean" from this lady.  After peeling it for us, we sample and realize it is jicama.

We will stop at 7 villages today and at most of them Shiong pulls us off in the shade and tells us about the ethnic minorities that live in each one.  We remember the Hmong and Khmu but get a little confused about all the different ones he describes.  

After lots of hilly terrain on our quiet dirt road we come to the river crossing.  Our cheerful boatman will load our bikes and ferry us across.

This is a fun little journey.  On the other side I will almost fail at getting my bike up the steep path back to a road.  The river floods during the rainy season.  Often the villages flood.  It is good though for growing rice, the lifeblood of these communities.  We didn't knoww that flooded rice patties also produce small crabs and eels for harvesting.

We are here during the cooler dry season.  Shiong says it will get really, really hot soon snd then the rainy season will turn the roads to muck.  The bike tour business will wither a bit.  I cannot imagine doing this in 90 degree heat. 

A stop in another village is interesting because a shaman is doing healing ceremonies.  We can hear him chanting and singing.  Lots of men are gathered around.  One inebriated man repeatedly offers us Lao Lao, local 100 proof whiskey.  We decline with thanks and bows.  This little girl shyly hangs near us.

It is one of the contradictory aspects of rural Lao life that many remote and very poor villages have satellite dishes and TV.   They lack running water and refrigeration, but the families can gather around the TV set.  Shiong worries that too much TV is keeping kids from learning traditional skills.

Rice is laid out to dry in this village.

We are getting famished.  Shiong finds a shady spot in a fallow rice paddy and gathers leafy branches for us to sit on.  He then pulls quite a feast out of his backpack.  The tour company has a family that does their cooking.  The food is delicious.

In the 6th village a wat is under construction.  The workers are all volunteers from the village and the building is financed by local donations.  

This is one long ride.  I am wishing it was about 30 k and I feel sure it is longer than 56.  We climb a lot of hills.  After we loop around and get back on a busy paved road, we are really flagging.  Shiong pulls into a roadside stand and buys coconuts that a guy opens with a machete.  Neither Ben or I are big fans, but we are game (and welcome a break).

Another shade stop is at a place where riverweed sheets are being dried (like seaweed). This is a favorite local snack.  The seaweed has sliced tomatoes and garlic dried into it and it will be toasted and broken into pieces to eat with smoked eggplant spread and other dips.  We have tried it - good stuff.

We finally descend into Luang Prabang about 4 pm.  It has been a 7 hour tour.  Shiong gives us each a hug and we wish him well in his university studies.  We can't wait for showers and the massages scheduled for later this evening!

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

I tell Lisa I am in love with Luang Prabang even before we arrive at the hotel.  The lush tree-lined streets, French colonial architecture,and brick sidewalks make it so pretty.  The Mekong cuts through the city and is lined with terraces of peanuts, Palm trees and steep staircases go down to it's river beaches.

Luang Prabang  was declared a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1995. It is a small jewel compared to bustling Chiang Mai, Thailand.  With about 50,000 residents, and surrounded by step lush teak and tropical forests, Luang Prabang is an outpost that is nonetheless swarming with Western tourists.  We will repeatedly run into our boat cruise mates over the next few days.  In some ways, LP is like San Luis Obispo!  A small city with a charming downtown and a neighborly feel.  Except it is in one of the poorest countries in the world.  80% of Laos population are substance farmers.

We check into The Aspara.  It is a boutique hotel - charming, old, and beautifully situated across the street from the riverside promenade.  The chiffon curtains in our room billow in the breeze that comes in from our upstairs balcony overlooking the street and river.  We will gladly forgive the creaking floorboards and doors.

We all get situated and then head out to explore.  We impulsively make dinner reservations at the pricy Tamarind Reataurant next door.  It has gotten great reviews, but we will be rather disappointed in the food.

So when I say it is pricy, consider that dinner for four costs about $60.  This will probably ly be the most expensive meal of our trip.  We often eat dinner for about $6 a person.

So it is easy to feel like a millionaire in Thailand and Laos.  After all, he currency, the Kip, is 8000 Kip to one dollar.  That means 1,000,000 Kip is $121.  Wow, we feel rich.

Our first morning Ben and I check out the free hotel bikes.  Mornings in LP are cool, but by 10 am the sun is bright and jackets are stowed.  The evenings are warm.  Thank goodness we came in January, the best weather of the year.

LP is at the convergence of two rivers, The Mekong and the smaller Nam Khan.  We discover this bamboo foot bridge and pay 5000 Kip (65 cents) to cross.  No idea what is on the other side.

First we scramble up a steep and trashy foot path to this small shrine.  We meet some French tourists and follow them to the handicrafts village down the dirt road.  

We can't resist the very first shop, where a husband and wife are selling textiles.  She is busy at her loom and I admire the vivid turquoise scarf she is weaving. They offer to sell it to me off the loom.  She has two completed ones rolled around the spindle.  All she has to do is unroll one and cut it off. The picture shows how the fringe separates each piece.

I always wondered how fringe was made.  She demonstrates by rolling a few threads together.  In just a few moments the scarf is ready for me to purchase.  I pay $12 for this scarf that has taken her days to make.

It has a lovely pattern and yet is certainly not one of the more complicated designs they sell.

Back to the hotel only to discover that our camera is broken.  Trip crisis.  Ben does online research and determines it is toast.  He heads to the Dara Market, which is a bunch of indoor stalls selling everything you need (and if not, you will live without it).  He comes back with a basic Canon camera that he bargained for, but since the seller readily took his offer, he figures he paid too much.

John and Lisa have run into their Dutch bridge partners from the boat and they recommend Lao BBQ place for dinner.  The restaurant is a jungle inside - our table is under vines hanging down from big trees.  Our waiter brings a clay bucket of blazing wood coals, and a big domed pan, like a metal sombrero, that fits over it.  There is a hole cut in the center of our table to hold the fire bucket.  He delivers platters of thinly cut meats and veggies for us to BBQ on the dome and steam in the broth that we are to pour into the lip of the pan.  The hot broth arrives first in a little bucket.  Not knowing what it is for, Lisa serves some to each of us in our bowls.  The waiter has to correct us and put it back - it's intended for cooking our veggies, not eating like soup!

Luang Prabang is easy to get to know, yet we realize we have lots and lots to learn.

Fair Trade?

Our peaceful second day on the river has one alarming event.  We look up from our reading and chatting to see the young woman who is serving as stewardess at the helm of the boat and frantically waving and shouting for the captain.  Apparently, both csptsin and Kha are in the far back of the boat repairing the toilet, and she has been left in charge of steering.  She is quite nervous and some of us get nervous too when we seem to come awfully close to rocks and she is steering wildly.  She steers, then runs half way back shouting for the captain.  We are about to get up and go find him ourselves when he finally saunters forward and takes back the wheel.

It has concerned me all along that their are few life vests on board.  Almost all of them are ripped at the shoulders from sun damage.  Making sure the boat has good safety equipment, before boarding,  now seems like a good idea!

Our village stop today is to visit Khmu village.  A contingent of children wait on the sand to greet us.  The older girls shyly duck from the camera, but they are all delighted to see their pictures on the camera screen and I take and show many pictures. The oldest girl demonstrates that she can count to ten in English and we have fun counting and the kids repeating English words.

There is no offering of anything to sell and no begging.

The little boys are not shy and eager to get a look at their photo.  Then they giggle.

The kids lead us up the path to their hillside village.

The garden of lettuces is surrounded by a sturdy fence of split bamboo slats.

A lady is making thatch roofing panels, expertly tying each bamboo strip into place.

This colorful rooster struts around.  We have just learned from Kha that on a recent visit the villagers were preparing a wedding feast.  He was offered roast dog and whiskey.  He declined both, since a Buddhist may not eat dog or cat.

This little one has a runny nose, but the children and women in this village seem healthy and fairly prosperous.  

The village is much cleaner than the Hmong village yesterday.  The houses are well constructed and neat.

Again, their main product for trade is sticky rice.  Here it is drying in the sun.  Later it will be milled.

The Khmu also live by barter.  Pulled up along our boat is a tradesman' boat, loaded with clothes and other items the villagers may want to trade.  

One of our passengers visited a Khmu village 20 years ago.  At that time the people wore elaborate native clothing and hats.  Now they wear t-shirts and shorts for the boys.  

Kha encourages us to make donations for the village's new school.  He says the Nagi also trades books and pencils for the opportunity to bring in tourists.  Still, many of us wonder if this is a fair trade. Are the boats full of curious tourists a help to the village or an intrusion to their culture?  Some of the tour wish they had candy or pencils to give.  Would this be good or bad?  There is much to ponder about our cultural and economic gulf with the Khmu.

Our final stop are the sacred Pak Ou caves housing many Buddhas of all shapes and sizes.  

It is a steep climb up 300+ steps to the first cave.

 The caves are in deep darkness and we only have one flashlight.  Luckily my camera flash is adequate.

The lower caves offer some stunning views.  We meet a British group who are bike touring with Red Spokes company and heading to Luang Prabang from Chiang Rai.  They are loving the experience and I know Ben and I are both thinking that would be a great future adventure.

Our cruise is nearing the end and we are all in one piece.  Our hotel has called to say they will be waiting for us.  We have new currency to learn.  We have been practicing saying "thank you" in Lao - "cup-chai".   Almost time to say goodbye to our fellow cruisers and "sawbahdee" (hello) to Laos.