LAOS - Luang Prabang - magic!

What a wonderful day. On reflection almost quite difficult to take it all in.

We got up early this morning to see the monks. It's dark this early and quite cold so donned the fleeces. It's also incredibly misty which comes from the two rivers either side of the town. We wandered up the dark street, tuk tuks slowing as they passed in case we wanted a ride. As we approached the edge of town, locals and tourist alike lined the street, kneeling on mats with bowls of fruit and hot sticky rice in little bamboo pots in front of them waiting for the monks and novices to arrive. And then they did, about 200 of them filing by quite quickly in the poor light. With their silver food pots swinging they disappear off down another street to collect some more food then they disappear as quickly as they arrived, as they go back to their congregational homes for breakfast. Probably quite hungry as they get up at 4.30 for chanting and meditation before they appear for the Presenting of Alms.

Later in the day we came across a lovely young novice monk called Fan who was sitting in the window of a Wat halfway up Mount Phousi, studying. Chatting to him we learnt he is originally from a small very poor farming village in north Laos where there are only 50 families and no school, so he came to Luang Prabang 3 years ago. Each family is allowed to send one son. He will stay here for another 5 years and then he hopes to go to university as he wants to work in a bank! They all learn English at school and he speaks pretty well, probably because he practices on foreigners like us whenever he can. We said we would try and speak to him again tomorrow afternoon. If not he has asked for our email address presumably so he can write, and possibly we'll get an email in about 5 years time asking if we'll sponsor him at university.



The town is not very big and because of there being a river flowing down each side you can't really get lost. We wandered down towards the Nam Khan river which is quieter than the Mekong as doesn't have any motorboats, just people fishing or swimming. There's a narrow bamboo bridge where you can cross. A lady since in a makeshift ticket office where she charges 4,000kip (30p) to walk across and you get a ticket! It's very rickety but appears well maintained so we gingerly walked across and up the bank the otherside to a little restaurant. It exists of small individual salas with cushions on the floor and table in the middle. An old lady constantly walks up a down with a small broom and pan sweeping the dirt. We chose a platter of lao food which included the infamous river seaweed, which comes in crispy sheets and generally used for dipping in something. This one had peanuts, and bits of lemongrass and chilli on it. Sounds weird but was delicious. It's a very tranquil place but they kept playing "we are the cheeky girls" which seemed particularly ambiguous to the surroundings.

After lunch we ambled some more before heading back to the hotel pool as we'd done enough sightseeing for one day and it was quite hot. Still haven't been in a Wat (temple) but there's always tomorrow.

For dinner we'd booked onto a longtail boat for a sunset dinner cruise so off we tuk tuk'd for a departure at 5.30 as it's dark by 6. We were almost late and they were waiting for us and then we realised, they were only waiting for us because we were the only ones on it. The whole evening was simply amazing and one we will remember for a very long time. We were shown to a beautifully laid table and immediately the boat cast off and head downstream towards the setting sun. Two vodka and tonics were brought by a lovely smiley young ladythey . We drifted downstream with the current - the silhouetted shadowey hills as the backdrop and the golden light bouncing off the rippling water. Local villagers bathed and played at the waters edge. As the sun set and darkness fell the captain headed back upstream with the twinkling lights of Luang Prabang in the distance. We then moored alongside a small landing stage which had been transformed by some of the local boys and girls into a wonderful setting with candles and a carpeted floor. They live in a very poor village just above the river where there is no school or industry. They had come to tell us the stories of their village through song and dance. It was a truly magical experience. One girl in particular caught our eye - she smiled and smiled and danced with such grace and beauty that she took our breath away. Totally enchanting!
As the boat withdrew they all waved and wished us a Happy New Year.