Day 73 (Thu 26 Nov): Luang Prabang (monks, cafe crawl)

Today unexpectedly turned out to be a highlight of my trip.  Not in a spectacular, UNESCO, once-in-a-lifetime way, but in a chilled, content, “I’m really lucky to be alive” kinda day.

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Every morning, Buddhist monks throughout the country leave their temple and walk the streets collecting alms.  Luang Prabang has many monasteries within close proximity to each other, and the sight of so many monks has become something of a tourist attraction:

I try not to go into things with too many preconceived ideas, else you spend half your time getting over something simply not meeting your expectations, rather than appreciating it for what it is.  But there’s no way I could have imagined something like this – a strange, and yet at the same time completely normal, event which happens every day come rain or shine.  Strange because of the sight of so many orange robes with a large urn-like container slung over their shoulders, solemnly walking the pavement past lines of seated givers who dutifully deposited various edible gifts.  There are, of course, rules.  For instance, givers can’t look at the monks and you can’t hold your pot of offerings between your legs (as one tourist found out – she’d obviously decided to get down with the locals, but just ended up offending them).

Sticky rice was a favourite present, along with sweets bought from street vendors.

It struck me that this was not the ideal diet of a monk. I also wondered how hygienic all this sticky rice was as it was scooped and deposited bare-handed into the monks’ urns.

And then I noticed that, at the end of each line of people there was, in effect, a rubbish bin.  As they passed, most monks would reject some of their offerings – almost exclusively sticky rice.  Yeah, I thought, I probably wouldn’t want to eat that either – don’t know where those hands have been:

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Next to our breakfast stop at a street cafe the schoolgirl pulled her bowl of noodle soup towards her.  She then reached for the chili sauce and proceeded to squeeze an eye-watering amount of it into the soup, followed by a tip of a teaspoon of sugar.  Rudy and I stared.  She must only have been about 7 years’ old.  Spice tolerance training obviously starts early round here.

And then it was off to the morning market:

Animal welfare, or lack of, was on the shopping list.  Hens squashed into a bamboo holdall:

Or laid out, looking a little worse for the wear:

Frogs climbing over each other:

And I’m pretty sure the these are bats, or squirrels, or something like that (on sticks, Dibbler-style again):

Fish lying unrefrigerated on the mats:

And wonderfully colourful displays of fruit and vegetables:

I loved this scooter driver’s hat:

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Then I spent the rest of the day on a cafe crawl with my wonderful, new travel companion, Rudy:

Starting in the Old Town…

… we ventured over the bamboo bridge:

… and ordered a “fondue” in the cafe hidden enticingly in the trees.  But fondue in Lao isn’t what you’d expect.  We knew we were in for a treat when the waiter brought us a bucket of burning coals:

You melt the meat fat (which melts slowly, unlike butter) on the central section and use it to quick fry your meat (we’d chosen buffalo):

And pour the stock into the moat around the edge into which you place the vegetables, which cook with the meat juices:

Absolutely delicious, and the combined acts of both cooking and eating kept our attention pleasantly occupied for quite a while 🙂  Cushions on the floor and mats surrounded low tables.  Perfect for wiling away the afternoon.

Then back to the main side of the river for sunset.

The view was much better than last night at the mount, and we weren’t charged 20,000K for the privilege of a tourist scrum.  In fact, we were completely alone apart from the boats, fishermen and locals going about their business:

After another street food dinner…

… and a random sighting of Rolf Harris…

… we wandered back to our hotels via Wat Xieng Thong.  It’s probably the best temple in the city, but at 9pm was totally devoid of tourists taking selfies and getting in the way of other people’s pictures:

We strolled around the complex, and watched in amusement as young monks ran excitedly to the sim with their bedding under their arms – off to the guard the temple for the evening.  Basically, they were having a sleepover.

A wonderful, relaxing, thoroughly enjoyable day.  Thanks, Rudy 🙂