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Published: October 25th 2006
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Days away 16
Massages 6
Traditional Lao Stream room 2
Marriage proposals 2
I am at peace when i live in the moment.
I am at peace when i am surrounded by nature.
I am at peace when i am appreciating the beauty in the world.
I am at peace when i can be me.
I am at peace sitting right here....
(This was written cruising down the Mekong - was that too deep?)
5 things i have done in Asia but was warned not to:
Drinking the water.
Drinking beverages with ice in them.
Leaving my bag with others.
Eating from street stalls
Talking to strangers.
Im living on the edge I tell ya!!!!
A great bar in Luang Prabang is the Lao Lao bar, you get a free shot when you arrive and 2 for 1 cocktails.... its an outside bar surrounded by huge trees and at night the weather beautful, everyone sweating just enough to have a healthy glow.. Next to that is the Hive Bar and crazily enough it is just like walking into a lounge in Melbourne. A DJ and retro decor. Laos Beer long necks for
only 90 cents.
Curfew in Luang Prabang is at 12 midnight and no one is allowed to make any noise after this time, so when the Lao Lao and Hive Bar closed on the dot of 12 midnight we were hushed off to another bar called the Vietnam Bar which is in the outskirts of town - no one knows exactly where it is as it has no signage and is just a tiny shed that sells long neck Laos beer or bottles of spirits - pretty messy place - or more to the point the patrons make it a pretty messy place!!. There is no sign just a corrigate sliding door with a lady looking out suspiciously for the police if someone comes in she locks the door behind them. I felt quite naughty with all this goings on!!!.. This closes at 4am then we are hushed away by tuk tuk to our guest houses.
The reason there is a curfew at 12 midnight is because the whole town barr foreigners wake up at 6am to give homage to the Monks. One morning i got up at 5.30am and walked up Phousi mountain - about 400 ish
steps - to a temple right on top of this mountain to watch the sunrise. There was not much of a sunrise, however at 6 on the dot Lao/Monk music started playing over huge speakers so we could hear it from on top of this mountain and the monks came walking out of their homes down the main street and as they passed another monks home a new lot of Monks would come out and join the line of Monks walking down the street. This happened probably 5 times, the Monks walking slowly enough so the next group could join the line with ease. For me it was a magical moment, so peaceful and serene and the joy they seemed to find with with this simple daily routine on their way to the temple for the day.
We made the walk back down the 400 stairs as sunrise was pretty much non existent but the view made it very worth while.
As i was walking back to my guest house the Monks were walking along side us and down the main street there were people lined up on their knees praying to the Monks and giving them a
Me Kong River
On the way to 4000 Buddah caves handful of rice in their bowls.
To watch this and to be in a Monks presence is a very profound experience.
I went out to Kwang Xi waterfall (Nigara was huge, Victoria Falls spectacular but these falls were the most beautiful i have ever seen and I spent the afternoon swimming in the cool aqua water). Anyway i was going for a walk around the Kwang Xi Waterfall area and found myself alone with 2 Monks washing their faces inthe water. Just being near them i felt i had a spiritual experience. I felt like Buddha himself has shined upon me through these beautiful young men with big smiles and gorgeous happy eyes. That was a momnet i will never forget.
Pretty much every day i have some kind of experience that makes me so happy to be alive. That brings tears to my eyes, gives me goose bumps (chicken skin as one Holland girl said - urgh...!!) or takes my breath away. I am a lucky lucky human being - i know this much.
Also while i was in Luang Prabang i went to the Cave of 4000 buddas. A 1.5 hour boat ride to
the cave where many people make the pilgramage. There are 4000 budda statues inside of 2 caves, many made of wood, sap and other stuff i cant remember. it was very very impressive.. see photos attached.
During my boat ride back from the 4000 budda cave i cracked my head on a sharp people of timber on the roof of the boat which was only about 1.5 meters high. my head bled and i couldnt see properly for the next couple of days, I slept for 2 days and felt very dizzy and i didnt feel quite right so i think i must of had a mild consciousion.... Then!!!!... As i was getting better from that i went out for Green Curry Chicken at a resturant across from our Guest House and 2 hours later i had food poisoning. Not the type of food poisoning your get so that you dont have to go to work, or the time when you had diarreah for 20 minutes and then get on with your life. I mean i was seriously poisoned. I spewed for 6 hours. in my bed, down the stairs (thank you mumma Laos for cleaning up for me)
in the bathroom. It was horrible, i have never experienced anything like it - and this might be too much info so beware, but bright yellow squirts too!!... then all my joints ached and i spent the next 24 hours in bed in a daze.
Hoping for the best last night i caught the overnight bus from Luang Prabang to Vien Tien (the capital of Laos) physically i was fine. although after hoping off the bus i found out that that route which was mighty bumping and a dirt road through bush and what seemed to be the middle of villages was a common route for guerilla to attacks - hence the man with the machettie????? Also that 27 people had been killed in the past 10 years. But dont worry i am here safe and sound.
Today i am going to cross the border back into Thailand as i stayed in Luang Prabang far longer than expected and am running out of time before i meet Damo in Bangkok on 3rd November.
Thats about all for now.
I hope everyone is Healthy and happy.
Love always, Daniella
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Aunty
non-member comment
yellow eh?
Danni, the photos of the waterfalls are spectacular....makes me think you might be right about them being the best ones. Just in case, do you have a medicine kit? something to lessen the food poisoning consequences? Dammo should be able to get something from the doctor before he meets you - just in case it happens again. Apart from that, it all sounds wonderful. Keep enjoying life Danni.