Lovin' Luang Prabang -- Happy New Year 2548
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2005
1
10
24
Trip End
Aug 02, 2005
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Friday, April 22, 2005
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We arrived in Laos on the most important day of the year - the first day of the New Year. This day is not only a big party, but also has religious significance in this City of the Wats (Buddhist temples), Luang Prabang. Shortly after we checked into our hotel, we walked down to the main street and watched as the locals celebrated. Part of the New Year's tradition is to cleanse themselves and the Buddha statues that they venerate to start the new year fresh. Part of this tradition for children includes dousing each other (and ESPECIALLY tourists) with buckets of water or Supersoakers.
After a few buckets of water over the head, we saw an amazing parade, where the most important Buddha statue, a gift of the Khmer King in the 1300s, called the Prabang, is taken from its perch in the Royal Palace Museum and proceeds to a central Wat
Climb stairs - dump water - wash Buddha
. This parade also featured a procession of Monks, their apprentices (called Novices), bands, and tribes dressed in their traditional garb. We also think we saw "Miss Happy New Year" atop an elephant in the parade. It was a blast!Later that night, we saw another significant cultural tradition: the procession of the Naga. As part of the traditional dance performance we were attending, a giant mythical snake called the Naga was carried down from the Wat atop the city's central hill under the light of hundreds of lanterns. After the snake was carried around the stage, we watched several dance performances that were rooted in Hindu and Buddist teachings.
April 17
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For us, Laos was quite a change from Vietnam. The people are extraordinarily chilled out and friendly. In Vietnam, we were hounded by touts selling motorbike rides and handicrafts, many of whom did not take "no" for an answer. Laos is the complete opposite. The night market down the street from our hotel was absolutely charming, with its dim white light bulbs illuminating the silks and traditional garb of the sellers. We chatted with some of them and spent almost every evening browsing the market
Inside the Pak Ou Caves
. In Vietnam, we would have been surrounded and drowned in competing sellers!During the day, we rented bicycles (the bicycle fashion in Laos is akin to Pee-Wee Herman's bicycle) and cruised around this lovely town. We had a drink by the shores of the Mekong, shopped, and rode over to another street that parallels a tributary river. The entire town can be biked in one hour but at our pace it lasted a few!
That evening, we had a leisurely dinner at the Indochina Spirit Restaurant by candlelight and were serenaded by local musicians.
April 18
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Luang Prabang's 32 remaining Wats make it a significant center for Buddhism. To be sure that we got the full explanation of what we were seeing, we hired a tuk-tuk and a guide for the day. Our guide was exactly what we wanted -- he studied to be a monk for 7 years, lived at one of the Wats we visited, and spoke English fairly well.
In the scorching heat (over 100!) we toured the Royal Palace Museum, which used to the King's palace before the Communists took over
Kuang Si Waterfall
. "The King went to another province and never came back," said our guide. At the Wats we visited, the tradition of washing the Buddha statues continued. Buddhist devotees as well as monks poured water into the end of a long gutter, which was decorated like the Naga. At the other end of the gutter was a gold encasement that held some of the Buddha statues or images from the Wat. Water, often scented or including flowers, from the believers would wash over these images as a means of starting the new year fresh and pure. Sometimes the water that washed over the Buddha statues would be collected to be sprinkled around houses as it was now considered holy water.
Our second stop of the day was the top of a hill at the center of the city and required a long, sweaty climb. The view, however, was remarkable. Phu Si hill was named after the hermit (a man who lives alone, but has some special Buddhist significance) named Si, who lived on the hill (called Phu). The wats on top were recent constructions but there had been other temples there in years past.
The interior of wats were often decorated with gold paintings of Buddhist traditional designs and figures that were hundreds of years old. We had to take off our shoes to step into the cool, refreshing, incense-filled rooms. In these Wats, there were sometimes dozens of gold Buddha statues for veneration instead of a single image. As you stand in the middle of the Wat and spin around, you can see hundreds of Buddha faces looking peacefully at you from the walls, statues, and murals. Amazing.
Meditating?
In total we saw seven temples. The most magnificent was Wat Xieng Thong. In addition to a beautiful temple, it stores racing boats that are used in a festival in September on the Mekong River. It also included the funery carriage house that houses the golden Naga-shaped funeral carriage of the second to last king. We then walked through Wat Si Bun Heuang, Wat Sirimungkhuh and Wat Sop. At this last wat, there were several young Novices who were napping on mats or learning Japanese from a visiting tourist. We struck up conversation with a 19-year- old Novice who was interested in practicing his English with us. He would have talked to us forever and we enjoyed learning about his interest in languages and future plans.
We also visited Wat Wisunalat that has a stupa (like a mound in front of the temple that looks like a spire and can be a grave marker) that is commonly known as the Watermelon Stupa due to the melon-shaped dome on top. We stopped at Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham where the Prabang was in residence during the New Year festivities down the street from its usual home in the Royal Palace Museum. Our last stop was Wat Manolom where our tour guide lived for several years as a Novice and is the oldest temple site in Luang Prabang.
April 19
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After meeting up with our friend Jules, who was on the Kayak-hell trip with us in Halong Bay, we decided to hire a tuk-tuk and head out to the Kuang Si waterfalls about 30 km from town. The waterfall was impressive and had several tiers of fresh water dropping between the trees to pools below
New Year's Procession
. We made a sweaty, dirty climb to the top, which made swimming in one of the high pools that much more refreshing. Before our trip out to the waterfall, we watched the monks and town officials take the main Buddha statue from where the locals washed it to the main Wat. We released a bird from a cage as a typical act of good karma and ate some more delicious curry and sticky rice.
April 20
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One of the reasons that Alex wanted to go to Luang Prabang was the Pak Ou caves. In these dark caves beside the Mekong River, the former King, as well as locals have placed hundreds of Buddhas. The effect was amazing. In the lower cave, you ascend a few sets of stairs and are surrounded by thousands of Buddha statues. Then climb higher to the upper cave and enter a dark cave. Everywhere you shine your flashlight there are Buddha heads, burnt incense sticks, flowers, and thousands of statues. Turn out your flashlight and your are in pitch darkness. Light a lighter and there is a peaceful yet eerie array of Buddha images everywhere you turn. Very cool.
The ride down the Mekong to Pak Ou takes about 2 hours and 1 hour to return
New Year's Supersoaker Brigade
. We spent about one hour haggling with boat owners to try to get the best deal and eventually found a lone Japanese tourist to come with us to defray the cost. The boats we took were just wide enough for two skinny people and were about 50 feet long.In the evening, there was a thunderstorm that knocked out the power in Luang Prabang, so we had our final dinner of chicken with curry wrapped in a banana leaf by candlelight. We topped off our visit with a three hour massage (one hour each on the face, body, and feet = $13 each). Limber and full of Laotian delicacies, we are ready to tackle Chiang Mai, Thailand.
To anyone considering a trip to Luang Prabang -- do it. The people are kind and laid back, the scenery is mystical, and the town is still undiscovered.
April 21
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Next up: Chiang Mai, Thailand. Stay tuned for elephant rides, a full day Thai cooking class that includes a trip to the market to pick out ingredients, and mountain biking through the hill tribe villages of Northern Thailand...
