The Royal Hook
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2006
1
22
33
Trip End
Jun 11, 2007
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Saturday, December 9, 2006
From the Thai border, I took a two-day boat ride down the Mekong River. Although it's pretty low now, its current is still quite dangerous, full of little eddies swirling around. They plant crops on the exposed riverbanks. All the shrubs have bits of debris--plastic bags, clothing--stuck in them, as if they've been tied there as prayers or sacrifices, although in reality they were caught there when the shrubs were underwater.
Spent the night in Pakbang, a tiny town. I met a guy who was finishing a solo ride on a motorcycle from England to Laos, across Khazakstan and China. Pretty awesome.
Finally we reached Luang Prabang. This city is possibly the best I've seen so far. It's a former French colonial town, a UNESCO World Heritage City--this means that it is vitally contained.
Alms-giving ceremony, 6 AM, Luang Prabang
It does not grow or develop in the way that unchecked cities do, which leaves it free to just be a laid-back place, something more than a tourist town in an indescribable way. Especially along the Mekong, on the peninsula separated from the rest of the city by a huge mountain with a small temple and a golden dome on top, from which you can see the whole city.Life in Luang Prabang is slow. The Lao are famously laid-back, laconic, quiet. They never get angry, ever. Not even a frown. This can even be mistaken for scorn toward tourists--I suppose you can't be sure. Most of the tourists are French, English, etc. although there are the usual international mix, and most people take on the laid-back attitude. More people make the point to learn the language--sabaidee is hello, khob jai is thank you--than in Thailand. You get the feeling that this culture is teetering on the brink of Westernization, of being lost to modernization, but is not there yet. Which makes it precious and holy in a way.
One of the rituals of the Buddhist countries that is especially prevalent in Luang Prabang is the morning alms-giving ceremony. Monks of all ages from the many wats (temples), wearing their orange robes and barefoot, walk down the streets in loops and collect their food for the day--they are prohibited from preparing food, or some such thing. This occurs at 6 AM or so, just when it is getting light, and it's a magical time to be awake
Amazing glass inlays in a temple, LP
. The mountains surrounding the city are obscured by foggy clouds, which rise off the river. Clouds don't lift until almost noon, so the sky is an appealing grey. Women and shopkeepers and children line the streets, usually in a line of a dozen or so, and sit on mats. The monks walk by, and these people silently place handfuls of sticky rice, or banana leaves full of food, or pudding bars into the bowls. When the line of dozens of monks has passed, people say a prayer and just walk away into the French Colonial style buildings, never more than two stories high, and life begins.I've been seeing this ceremony every morning, and writing most of the morning afterward. Afternoons are devoted to bumming around, evenings to food, nights to beer (but not too much). All the time is devoted to conversations with interesting people--I'm meeting new people every day. Presently rooming with a woman from California, a former Yosemite ranger, now working for California State Parks. She's a blast, a classic Californian (that is, she doesn't care at all about Wisconsin).
Life begins early here, and ends early too. In an alleyway there are lines of buffet-style vegan food for 50 cents, long tables to sit at and chat with falang (foreigners). Lao people are a little shy, they only know basic English usually, but people here are mostly real friendly. There is a night market as well along the main street, in the shadow of the mountain and in front of the former Royal Palace (interesting story about the last royal family)
Buddha in temple, LP
. As always the market is lit by bare bulbs which makes it seem Christmasy. But the bedspreads, silk scarves, clothes, art, and jewelry sold along the market are extraordinarily beautiful, with a huge range of patterns and colors in everything. The Lao make the most breathtaking scarves, for example, that I've ever seen. And it's quiet--no yelling, only quiet haggling (which is expected), women stooping over a stool looking up at you with a serene look. The people, both men and women, have this austere beauty that I find pretty unique--women are always covered up, usually in long elegant skirts that are designed for walking slowly and contemplatively. A few features they share with Thais. They are extraordinarily adept at riding side-saddle on a scooter or a bike. When sweeping--they always keep very clean floors--they use a broom that one holds in one hand, a light broom. They usually say hello, in Lao of course, if you walk by.
There are only a couple bars on the Old Town peninsula, one being decorated with a big Christmas tree and a guitar that hangs on a pole for anyone to play. Another is above a bookstore called L'Etranger, which has an extensive rental program. You get the feeling that some people just get stuck here. People drink whisky, but mostly Beerlao, the one beer company--it's actually really good beer, especially the dark stuff. It might be a matter of national pride in a way, how good Beerlao is. The bars close at 11:30, people are in bed soon after midnight--almost without exception. I admit I really enjoy this a lot, it adds to that feeling of containment, of discipline that exists here.
Yesterday we took a trip to a waterfall--there are a lot of these in the gentle mountains around northern Laos. The mountains are covered with green, dozens of different leaves competing for space on one tree, vines that look as if they've melted onto the trees
Classic Lao vat, or temple
. All vegetation near any road is stained brown up to about 10 feet from dirt kickback--if the obstacle to civilized driving in Egypt is aggressive drivers, in Laos it is bad roads. Often unpaved and bumpy. The waterfall was enormously high, and the water had some kind of calcified element in it that made it perfectly bright blue, like the color of a swimming pool only natural. This element caked on all the limestone rocks and made them grippy, very good for climbing up the tiers of the waterfall. We were fortunate to run into an old guy from Oregon who took us to a secret swimming hole, essentially on top of the middle tier of the waterfall. Above us, another 50 feet of cascading water. Below us, even more. In front of us, the scenery widened out into the sun on the mountains, trees shading us. The water was pretty cool, and very deep--you could dive in. Pretty idyllic. In this area there was a big cage as well with a tiger in it, who had been rescued from hunters, named Phet. I watched him for awhile, got only a few feet from him through the fences of course. It was as if I'd never seen a tiger before, such a beautiful animal. On the way back to the city we drove through villages full of dust and little kids running around and chickens in the road and people herding water buffalo back from the fields. Life as, I am increasingly believing, it was meant to be.So that's the story on Luang Prabang. They say that in the summer, the slash-and-burn agriculture makes smoke blow into the city so thick you can't see well, but all it means to me is that the city would smell like a campfire, my favorite smell. I'm off to the Royal Theatre now for some traditional music and show. I am already thinking of how I can come back here in the future, even if it is already irrevocably changed by then. It just feels lucky to be here--I have this feeling of gratitude that a city like this can exist on earth. So there you have it. Love to all.
Comments
Sounds fabulous....
I can't wait to see all the pictures! (hopefully you'll take some...)
I have to ask though, I've been following your trek around the world and you have yet to hit Central/South America. Is that yet to come? If so, try to be in Brazil for Carnevale! I hear it's the best party on the planet.
L'Etranger!
I spent a good deal of time in Laos last year, much of it Luang Prabang, because my traveling partner and I couldn't get away from the carrot soup, baguettes, and awesome atmosphere of L'Etranger- when you mentioned that place in your writing, words cannot describe how great it was to be able to picture something so familiar and wonderful...I'm glad you picked up on the greatness of the serenity of Laos.