We got up at sunrise to watch the ceremonial giving of alms to the monks in Luang Prabang. A group of female Japanese tourists lined one side of the street while their leader gave loud instructions regarding how to act while doling out the coveted sticky rice to the passing monks. Louise and I took our places on the opposite side of the street and out of the way.
Only a handful of locals appeared to participate in the ceremony and the serenity of the scene was often disturbed by people talking loudly or scrambling to get a good photo of the monks. The monks seemed indifferent. One even checked a smartphone halfway through the procession.
Vendors pestered us about buying thatched containers containing sticky rice and bowls filled with snacks. Historically (allegedly?), the food provided during the alms giving ceremony acts as the single meal the monks indulge in daily. Judging by the offering this morning I’d guess the monks have begun subsidizing their food intake with outside sources.
We returned to the hostel to take advantage of the free breakfast and utilized our last two hours of scooter rental to buy overnight bus tickets to Vientiane. The buses in Laos are significantly more expensive than in Thailand.
Next we walked to the UXO museum just outside of central Luang Prabang. The museum is dedicated to educating people about unexploded devices leftover in Laos from the Vietnam war. Unbeknownst to me, the United States bombed Laos heavily during the war with cluster bombs: larger bombs containing hundreds of smaller “bombies” inside. Upwards of 30% of the bombies did not explode on impact and remain scattered around the countryside of Laos. Despite the efforts of the government to educate rural villagers about the dangers of UXO’s, residual bombies kill one person in Laos daily.
I ate Pad Thai for lunch at a street stand and we walked to the top of a viewpoint overlooking Luang Prabang. A woman operating a small stand at the top of the shrine sold finches in tiny reed cages. Near a rock outcropping we saw discarded cages where people had released the birds earlier in the day.
In the afternoon we wandered (unsuccessfully) in search of a portable chess set. We indulged in another 5 dollar massage before coming back to the hotel to prep for the bus.
The bus ride was advertised as 10 hours long but ended up taking closer to 14 to travel the 240 miles to Vientiane. Louise and I shared a top bunk bed slightly shorter and slightly wider than a standard single bed. Rain poured as we swerved along.
The tentative plan today is to buy a used motorcycle to transport us down through the remainder of Laos.
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