Destination: Luang Prabang – Accommodations: Parasol Blanc Hotel
This morning we woke up at 4:30 am, showered, and then boarded our jumbos to participate in an ancient Buddhist tradition: alms-giving to local monks.
Feeding monks in Luang Prabang is part of a sacred daily ceremony that begins at dawn. People line one side of the street and offer food and sticky rice to the monks as about 100 or more monks walk silently past with their bowls.
To participate respectfully, we all dressed modestly and we covered our shoulders with a shawl. We took off our shoes and sat on chairs so that our heads were lower than the monks’. We offered sticky rice to them, making sure not to touch them as they walked past. We did not take any photos until the monks had passed all of us and we were not allowed to use a flash once they passed. Without the generosity of lay people during the alms ceremony, the monks would go hungry.
Among the monks were child novices. These young boys, some as young as 7 years old, live with the monks and go to school. The families of the novices rely on the Buddhist tradition of the temples taking in their sons, usually from rural villages, and offering them education and housing…their only ticket out of poverty. Girls in Laos are not granted the same opportunity.
The monks only eat the food gathered in the morning for breakfast and their lunch is their last meal of the day.
After the ceremony we went to the monks’ canteen and offered more food, provided by OAT and the hotel, of cooked vegetables and raw fruit to the young novice who was there to accept the food on behalf of the other monks. It was a very special morning and one we were very glad to be a part of.
After the ceremony, we had local coffee and a type of donut at the outdoor market. Then we were each given, (written on a piece of paper), the phonetic pronunciation of the ingredient that each of us had to search for at the outdoor market. We were given money by Lao for the purchases, and up and down the stalls we went in search of our ingredients. It was a lot of fun trying to pronounce what we were commissioned to buy, but we all succeeded. The ingredients will be used for our lunch with a village chief later today. We handed in our ingredients and then we rode the jumbo back to the hotel for breakfast.
I am really loving the homemade yogurt they serve for breakfast. With fresh fruit, it really is a treat.
After breakfast we again boarded our jumbos to board the bus (don’t forget the other day I mentioned buses cannot enter the local village where we are staying) that took us to the neighboring village, Tin Keo. O.A.T. has donated more than $30,276 as part of the World Classroom initiative, to this school to date. The donations have been used to install electricity, add ceiling fans, paint the interior and exterior of the building, build toilets, and add a playground and a library room. It was wonderful to see.
Today’s learning experience is called A Day in the Life. This is always a wonderful way that O.A.T. provides for the tourists to learn about the people, the food, and the culture by speaking directly to children and residents of villagers.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the mayor, as well as another man, who was second in command and in charge of finance. We also met two ladies… One who was an official and one who was a helper for the day.
We got acquainted with the folks and the men were able to read our names in Laotian that Lao had written on our badges. It was interesting to note that the women could not read our names in their language. Lao said that learning to read was not encouraged for women years ago, but thankfully, the girls are learning to read nowadays in school.
The mayor of the village took us on a walk around the village and then we went to the school to meet the children. The kids were adorable and spoke English fairly well. Two little girls talked with Allan and me and they sang the ABC song for us. I recorded then singing and played it back to them and they were thrilled. We all gave the teacher presents for the children that we had brought with us from home and they were very grateful.
After the school visit, we made our way to the chief’s home and we were able to ask him questions and Lao translated his answers. He told us about his life, his work, and then he played an instrument for us and accompanied the music with a dance. After that, he showed us how he shoots with a kind of bow and arrow and he invited many in our group to try… Some with great success hitting the bull’s-eye.
I wish I could tell you more about what the chief was talking about during the talk in his home, but I was starting to feel a little shaky and weak. I made it through the bow and arrow demo but when everyone took off to cook the lunch with the ingredients we had purchased in the morning, I told Are that I needed to sit down. Fortunately, there was a platform nearby and I just laid back on it and closed my eyes. Are was wonderful… Bringing out smelling salts and letting me rest. This was exactly what happened when I was in the Amazon and I believe I was dehydrated. After awhile, I felt stronger and we walked over to the luncheon area and I was given ice cold water and cold cloths which really helped. I ate a bit of lunch, drank a lot of our electrolyte water, and felt much better. Everyone in the group was concerned and so kind to me and I truly appreciated it. Allan was as always wonderful – staying with me and making sure I kept drinking water.
Before we made our way back to the hotel, we stopped to see some beautiful textiles the ladies of the village made and then it was back to the hotel.
We rested for a few hours and then we went with 3 other couples to a French restaurant L’Elephant. It was a French restaurant that got good reviews, but unfortunately, the food wasn’t stellar. Then… It was back to the hotel for a much needed night’s sleep.
Allan wearing his shawl to go to the alms ceremony
The monks walking in a line receiving the food
The novice accepting our food. Before we gave it to tvhim, it was passed around to each of us and we put it to our foreheads and made a wish for our families happiness and health.
The donuts we had in the morning. They were served with very strong coffee that had condensed milk in the bottom. If you wanted unsweetened coffee, you didn’t stir it.
Searching the food market for the ingredients we were asked to purchase.
At the village.
The children at the school
The Chief’s ceremonial garb
The chief’s home
Allan adding his ingredient to the meal the group cooked for the chief and the others
This was what Allan bought. It was written for him (and for everyone else) phonetically and so he had to say it to the venders to find out if it was something they sold. The sellers were wonderful and if they didn’t have the item, they sent you to the seller that did have it. His item was cabbage.