Monks & Pak Ou Caves

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Yes! I had a good night sleep and got myself out of bed to go and see the monks. They walk the streets in a line and people can wait for them to pass you and give them food.

A lady collared me as I was walking up the road. She gave me a banana and a small basket of sticky rice, lay a bamboo mat down for me to sit on and waited for the monks to walk pass me with their caskets. I put a bit of rice in each and the first monk was lucky as he got the banana!

Pretty good experience and glad I did it. Although the lady made a profit from it (you didn't think she helped me for free did you?)

So, I was up early and everyone was still asleep so I chilled out. Some of the guys we hungover again and looked like death once up. We made our way to the Pak Ou caves, on the mouth of the Nam Ou river so had to make a crossing on a long boat. The first cave was quite small and contained many Buddha images. Like a big shrine or as the Lonely Planet says, 'a kind of statues graveyard where unwanted images are placed'. There was also a second level where we walked up about 175 steps to the top. This cave was dark so needed a torch. Slightly bigger, but too dark, also containing Buddhas.

After making it across the river, our tuk tuk took us to a small village called Ban Xang Hai, also known as Whiskey village (known for its rice whiskey). We got to sample some and also bought a small pot of rice wine. Looking round the village, it was quiet with a few stalls with hand made goods. There was also a local temple.

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