Luang Prabang #4
Posted by Stuart at 08:01 PM on October 13, 2005Nursing a Beer Lao on the banks of the Mekong in Luang Prabang, my mind is remarkably blank. This is my fifth time to my favorite little Lao town; my 3rd to stay at the Bougnasuk Guest House on the river.
I feel like I should have something profound to say, but I don't. Five trips in three years and this place almost seems like home. In fact, I have stayed in the same room at the guest house the last three times. Checking in and dropping off my bag felt so familar, it was almost like coming home.
In many ways, this trip is a mirror of my first visit to Luang Prabang. The first time, Rupert and I took the bus up from Vientiane. At the time, I am sure I swore I would never take that 9 hour roller-coaster ride through the mountains again. Three years later, I found myself back on the bus.
Luckily, I enjoyed most of it. The AC worked, the bus driver was quick but not reckless, and the scenery was breathtaking. There must have been 50 times that I thought to myself, "Now, that would have been a great picture." Kids chasing chickens in a dirt yard; a young guy strumming a guitar and singing to himself in his thatched hut doorway; bright red chilis, brown rice, orangish-yellow corn kernels all out by the street to dry; a group of school girls in a Lao silk skirts waving and giggling as we passed. Where as Luang Prabang seems very familiar to me now, the Lao countryside is still facinatingly exotic to me.
Not only does the bus ride remind me of my first trip to Luang Prabang, the time of the year does as well. I didn't realize it on the way up, but I am here on the exact same weekend that Rupert and I visited the first time. The moon will be full in a few days, which means its time for Boat Racing and much merrymaking. Last time though, we left early and headed back to Vientiane to see the festival there. This time I will stay for the Lao version of the Loy Kratong holiday in a few days.
A Lao Loy Kratong
Posted by Stuart at 02:32 PM on October 20, 2005One of the best things about Luang Prabang is its festivals. They tend to be more beautiful, more traditional, and more reserved than the ones I've seen in Thailand. They also tend to be a lot of fun. Last night's Loy Kratong was no exception.
All week, people have been busy decorating their homes, shops, and temples with "Christmas" lights and 3-D hanging lanterns. The lanterns come in all shapes and sizes, but cylindrical and star-shaped ones seem to be the most popular. People have also been busy building small boats out of thin slices of bamboo and lit with candles. Hopefully I got some good pictures of all of the activity that I will be able to share when I return to Bangkok next week.
Also as the week has gone by, more and more firecrackers and fireworks have been going off around the streets of Luang Prabang. Even the monk novices seem to have gotten into the spirit. On a slow bike ride around the city a couple of nights ago, I noticed that more than a few BOOMS, BANGS and CRACKLES were coming from inside the centuries-old temple walls.
The culmination of a weeks worth of preparation culminated last night with a night-time parade down the main street of Luang Prabang. Villagers from all over the province paraded their lit boats and sang and danced and lit firecrackers and in general, made as much noise as possible as they made their way down the street.
At the end of the street, at the Sang Thong temple, the boats were launched in the Mekong along with hundreds of handmade, handheld baskets of flowers and candles. After witnessing all of this, we headed back to my guesthouse and watched the small lights float down the river.
All of the lights and all of the noise and all of the boats are in honor of the Naga who live in the river, and to the river itself. It is a celebration of the mae nam -- "river" in Thai and Lao languages -- but literally translated as "Mother Water". It's a good reason to celebrate, for without her, life would not be possible.
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Last Twelve Days
Posted by Stuart at 07:49 PM on October 23, 2005Twelve days after I left Bangkok, I am now back. The trip didn't turn out at all as I was expecting, though. My original plans were to cross the border at Vientiane, spend a few days there, and then come back to Nong Khai for the Naga Fireball show. I was then going to travel around Isaan by bus, hitting as many provinces as I could.
I've been wanting to see the Naga Fireballs for years, but I guess that experience will have to wait, because instead of following my plan, I only stayed in Vientiane one night, and then continued on to Luang Prabang. Except for the 3-day trip to Muang Ngoi Neua, I spent the entire rest of the time in Luang Prabang.
Not that I didn't do my share of travelling. Over the past twelve days I have been in a plane, a mini-bus, several tuk-tuks, a songtaew truck, a few motorcycles, and a boat. And to top it all off, the 800 KM trip back to Bangkok was in a BMW SUV, compliments of a new German friend I met in Luang Prabang.
Not that I am complaining about any of this. It was a wonderful trip, and I got to see a lot of new things and have several new experiences. Hopefully I will be able to post some of the pictures I took soon...
