Classy Cafe Culture

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This town came with a big reputation. Caroline, a Swiss girl of whom I met in India, rated this as one of her top places to visit in six months of backpacking. Her first recommendation was to stay at a guest house situated near the Buddhist monasteries. She said the monks wake up at half four in the morning to do a important ritual, of which I could watch from the comfort of the guest house. It did not sound particularly appetizing but scheduled it in my diary. The first morning I just slept through until 11am. Oops!

This did give me an opportunity to stroll around the town. The main street was amazing. It was just like I imagine a rural French village to be. Since it is a French colony, the architecture was almost exactly the same as it would be in Europe. Wooden shop fronts with shutters on the windows. Every other shop seemed to be a bakery or Cafe selling pain au chocolat and homemade baguettes. Absolutely fantastic. Unlike many Asian towns, the streets were peaceful and clean with a sense of sleepiness. Only the river made a sound of quiet ripples. The perfect place to stop after a rowdy two day boat ride.

Stupidly, I decided to visit the temples and monasteries when the Sun was at its highest point. My t-shirt and shorts were drenched within seconds and had already finished a litre bottle of water in a distance of only two hundred metres. On the other hand, the temples were more pleasant. Monks stayed out the sun and sang traditional Lao Buddhist music in their dorms. I sat outside for a good half an hour with my eyes closed. I could hear the monks laughing and joking around too. It seemed a very positive way of living.

Before bed, I got myself a two hour oil massage. In South East Asia massages vary dramatically but this one was tip top. A young attractive lady who did not mind pushing the boundaries, yet never breaking them. I came back two nights in a row following. Big mistake! I just ended up hurting. Lesson learned: once is enough.

After an early night, I dragged myself up at dawn. The ritual is called "morning alms" and most famous here in Luang Prabang. My room had shop front type doors that opened onto the street. I awoke to find rows old women sitting on the opposite side of the street. Monks gathered at the monastery gates in silence. There were hundreds of them but no one said a word. Gradually, the monks proceeded to walked past these women in single file. Every time they passed a woman they would open their "begging bowls" and the women would drop in sticky rice and bread. No eye contact or word of thanks. It is just what has to be done. I'm so happy I was recommended my particular guest house because the tourists were nowhere near. A few hundred metres down I could see flash photography, which is strictly frowned upon. People just don't care. Many of them stood almost next to the monks putting a camera in their face. This lack of respect, however, did not spoil what I witnessed. A humbling experience that will be very hard to forget.

Learning from my mistakes I only ventured out in late afternoon. The Sun was way more bearable. I made my way up the local hill comically named "Phu Si" (pronouned Pussy). Here was a temple although this was almost nothing compared to the view. It had almost 360 degree views of the town below, including panoramic views of the rivers Mekong and Nam Khan. From here the town seemed more sleepy than ever. Not a sound. An idyllic place. Also, domestic and international planes were coming into land and flew passed us at eye level. Quite surreal. It was so amazing that a pair of monks whipped out their camera to take a snap. On the down side, it became slightly overcast at sunset but a couldn't complain.

After my usual breakfast, at the French bakery-cafe nextdoor, I booked a visit to Kouang Si Waterfall. A trip worthwhile. Truly breathtaking. I worked my way up passed some natural pools that were pleasant. They were not what I came to see. I could hear the waterfall but I couldn't see it. Five minutes further and the gargantuan water feature set my eyes alight. A nice sign in the plunge pool read "DO NOT SWIMMING AREA!" It made no sense yet it made perfect sense at the same time. This waterfall was raging. I scaled the waterfall to and what I found was almost nothing. No views to speak of although I had I a little did in the fresh water at the summit. Refreshing at worst plus I had it all to myself. Lovely! Anyone who visits Luang Prabang must see the waterfall!

To finish my experience I stopped of at a local village. Beautiful children. One cheeky chap had a stick, which he used as a steering wheel. He ran down the hill several times, with his trousers at his ankles on every occasion he reached the bottom (like the pun?!). These villagers were poor yet so happy. A lovely way to end my stay in the scenic land of Luang Prabang.

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Photos

The Dismissive Reclining Buddha
Looks like it is saying "Whatever!"