12 Aug 2006
Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep – Day 358 – 500 monk’s mouths to feed….!
As we said yesterday, we had heard about a Ceremony of giving Alms that we wanted to see for ourselves so the alarm was set for 5.45am and we got up around 5.55am! However, we still had time!
As we wandered round the main street we started to see monks who were walking in a line, padding along in bare feet in a blur of orange, saffron and muddy robes with a lacquer bowl slung over their shoulders. Devout Buddhists gathered sitting or kneeling on the floor waiting for them to pass in one long line. Women are not allowed to look at the monks and they wear a white sash and point their feet away (its considered very bad manners to point your feet at anyone. The women also have to have their heads lower than the monks – which when they are 6 is quite hard! Men can stand to give their alms. The faithful then offer gifts of sticky rice, one small clump per monk. This has evolved to people also handing spiced fish wrapped in banana leaves, fruit, cans of tuna, instant noodles and even treats like crisps/chips and chocolate bars, which make the young novices break out in smiles.
It may help if you saw some photos as it’s difficult to describe this centuries’ old ceremony.
Tourists are apparently invited to also take part, but we were happy simply watching and taking it all in. It’s completed in complete silence, and to give you an idea, there are about 500-600 monks aged from 6-60 and it takes around 30 minutes for them to file past the 500 metres of stretch of road.
At the very end of the line we saw a beggar with a big plastic bag, into which the monks placed food from their bowls. So it had come full circle, where villagers had given food to the monks and they in turn had given some of their food away too. It was all quite humbling and very moving.
As the sun comes up, the monks disappear like ghosts into the monasteries to pray and study before eating their last meal of the day by noon.
We did wonder about the hygienic angle of 200 hundred people dishing out food – we hope they all washed their hands! It was all very humbling and quite moving.
We wandered back to our room and went back to bed for a couple of hours! Then we got up and our bikes had arrived so we cycled into town for some brunch. Then we made a tour of the city and the various Buddhist Wats (or temples).
With Sharon constantly asking “What wat’s that?”
There were about 30 odd Wats in the small peninsula that makes up the UNESCO site – and that’s pretty impressive since there are only 3 main roads.
We then carried on cycling along the river and back to our room to cool down from the heat!
That afternoon we caught up with blogs, photos and a couple of calls home! Missing you guys!
We decided to treat ourselves and eat in the most expensive restaurant in town – not something we have done before! L’Elephant is French cuisine at its best and we decided to go with the Menu Suggestion rather than the Menu du Jour. It was 7 quid for two courses (rather than 4 quid for the menu of the day!) and absolutely divine. Talk about posh nosh on the cheap. What a lovely way to end our fantastic stay in Luang Prabang.
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11 Aug 2006
Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep – Day 357 – Cooking up a feast!
We had signed up for a cookery course again, but this time for Laos traditional recipes at Tum Tum Cheng in Luang Prabang. After meeting our fellow students it was into a tuk-tuk to head to the Phousy Market. There we discovered the vast array of fresh produce and found out about the different herbs and vegetables used. We also got to walk around the meat market and fish market. I warn those vegetarian friends of ours to NOT open the pix titled “Caution: …” – but it was fascinating to see everything being sold and will give you an insight into an Asian market.
It was back to the school to meet the head chef Chandra Vongsalavanh who had spent 10 years as a chef in Europe before returning to Laos to open his restaurant and subsequent guesthouses. Jamie Oliver visited him a couple of years ago and developed some Laos-British fusion food apparently!
Chandra spent time explaining the significance of each of the ingredients and also how important sticky rice is to the Laos people and culture. We had no idea. Sticky rice is cooked every morning around 5am by each Laos household. Then at 6am they give a small amount to each of the Buddhist monks who live in the many Wats (temples) in Luang Prabang. It’s a ceremony that has been happening for years so we decide that tomorrow we will get up early and take a look! The other thing around rice is at wedding ceremonies, where a clump of sticky rice is taken and split between the couple, who then eat their portion by entwining their arms – much like Western couples might drink Champagne! And small clumps of rice are also placed on their fence posts for good luck all year round.
So one pot of rice made each morning will last a family all day (rice is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner) and is taken in small clumps and dipped in the food. And there is no wastage, any rice left over is clumped into small rounds and made into rice cakes. All very fascinating!
There is no cutlery or chop sticks, only a Chinese-style soup spoon and any hand can be used to eat the food. And to not eat the rice by dipping with your hand is like to eat bread with a knife and fork!
Before we knew it we were being taught how to chop the various goodies including lemongrass, galangal, garlic, and shallots. Then we each were taken through a recipe we had chosen to cook. Fiona saw to some Pork Satay, Ali prepared the Sour Fish Soup, and Stephen was on the “Aw Lam” or Luang Prabang Beef Stew. Billie got her fingers stuck into the “Ho Mok Kai” or Steamed chicken wrapped in Banana Leaves. And Kathy stirred up some Lemongrass Chicken whilst Sharon rustled up the “Kai Pad Phet” of Fried Chicken with Red Chili Paste and Coconut Milk. It was great fun and (although we say so ourselves) bloody delicious too! It was nicely washed down with some sweet rice wine. We went away with a cook book, a certificate and even some dried spices! Thanks to our fellow students for making it such a wonderful day – hope Stephen’s wrist and bottom are not too bruised after his spectacular fall down the slippery steps!
It was difficult to move after all that food, but we managed to walk around town for a bit! Bizarrely tiny rotis or pancakes were being dried in the street – not entirely sure yet why! We then treated ourselves to a Laos Aromatherapy Foot Massage which was divine! Sixty minutes of part pain, mainly pleasure, and having our feet pummelled and then our head, necks and backs too. Hadn’t realised quite how tight some of my muscles were becoming – ouch!
Luang Prabang is really a wonderful city; you can see why it has UNESCO world heritage status. But despite the tourists (and there are many from all walks of life) it’s a fantastic mix. There is little, if any, hassle – vendors just walk away when you shake your head – and others are just delighted to see you and give you a big smile and “sa-ba-dee!”, they even enjoy having their photos taken and don’t demand a dollar in exchange!
There is budget accommodation right up to Boutique hotels and it just works. Whatever style of holiday you like, we recommend you come to Luang Prabang as soon as you can.
It may be too soon to say but I think LPB is going to be my favourite Asian City; I could certainly stay a whole lot longer than we are!
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10 Aug 2006
Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep – Day 355 – cruising along the Mekong River (day 2)
This morning I gave the cold shower a miss, just couldn’t face it! The reason for the cold showers? “This is a no electricity city, miss” but there were generators so we had light til about midnight and a fan too. Not that it was that hot, considering what we have become used to!
Breakfast was overlooking the river and Sharon obviously hasn’t had enough bananas as she chose the banana pancake! We trekked down the hill to the “pier”, I use the term loosely as there is no such thing – the boats just tie up here and put down a gang plank. We arrived about 8am and got aboard to find it was already heaving and all the seats were taken. We inwardly groaned and tried to work out what we were going to do for the next 6 plus hours. As we trundled through the 100 plus people to get to the back to put our packs, I noticed two backpacker blokes taking up 2 seats each. So with bags dumped I headed back to those seats and asked them if they were free.
Both of them indicated their legs, which to be fair weren’t particularly long, and were mimicking that they required one bench each. They also said “no English”. I said that what did they expect me to do? Stand for the next 6 hours? I looked around and was definitely getting some support from fellow passengers. Why should they get special treatment?
I hasten to add that we were far from last getting on the boat, there was a queue behind us, people were already sitting on bags at front and back, and well these guys were deluding themselves! They were talking to each other, which I recognised as Hebrew. Now in the last 12 months of meeting many Israelis backpacking, all of them – without exception – had excellent English. So now I was annoyed they were trying the old “dumb” routine. I sat down on the little bit of wood one of their bottoms wasn’t covering and said “thank you”. I indicated to Sharon to come forward and she too sat down next to the other guy. They then talked across us, so Sharon asked if they would like to sit together. They were quick to do so and ended up standing to move to be together. The other passengers were clearly quite smug in the apparent conclusion!
Backpackers continued to arrive way past the 8.30 intended departure and there was literally no room. Soon locals were asked to leave the boat – which many did (we guessed they paid a heavily reduced fee) and people found what little space they could and sat down. There were still plenty of locals though! We ended up not leaving til 9.30am after all the money had been counted (we have never seen so many notes being counted and folded and exchanged – it could have filled two dustbin bags worth!) and passengers checked for ID.
Within 45 mins of the journey (though we had been sat on the uncomfortable bench for an hour longer) Sharon uttered the immortal words, “I don’t think my bottom will ever be the same again”. The journey did seem to take a while, and it was very uncomfortable for everyone, but we did meet lots of people and got to see some stunning scenery.
On the way to the pier Sharon bought some bananas and we decided to have a banana break every hour (we had about 12 little ones) and we would do things in 15 min stages like play i-spy or chat or listen to music or read or snooze or stand…. You can start to see how desperate it got!
We had also purchased some fried veggie rice for lunch, so we tucked into that at 12.30! It was yum! We were careful with our water intake as the loo was at the back and not that nice after 100 odd passengers had used it!
About 8 hours after sitting down on the thin bench with a back we finally arrived at our destination. Luang Prabang is wonderful. First impressions are really good, there is a nice vibe and the people are so welcoming. After showers and a change we walked round the town and took it all in. There is a big contrast between posh hotels and restaurants and their Lao neighbours living in one room with the family sat on the floor watching TV. But it seems to work. It’s nice for us to have a few luxuries and the prices compared to Europe are still amazingly good, but definitely more expensive that Thailand.
So after wandering round town and booking our next transport moves we hit a French Café … we kid you not! This place is crawling with them and it’s quite bizarre – but they colonised Laos and this is their legacy!
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