In Luang Prabang, a ceremony happens every day. The monks line up and come out to receive alms. These come in the form of rice, the main meal of the day for them. Locals line up before dawn along a main street to give the alms. In return, the faithful receive a blessing.
Sounds simple and solemn, right?
Wrong. It’s awful. Loads of tourists cram along the route, standing in the way, following the monks, interfering with the monks getting the only meal they’ll be eating all day.
I’m sorry to say I was part of the crowd this morning. Standing back, across the street. Talking quietly. Not flashing my camera flash in people’s faces. Not too intrusive but still there nonetheless.
Read into it if you’re interested.
Awful for the poor monks. I hope it stops happening.
Anyway, after breakfast and a nap, I took a hot little walk and got some errands done. Time for the boat ride!
It was kinda questionable at the start, but ended up lovely. We (me, Naoko, Siobhan) ended up talking to Dee and Peter, a delightful couple from Australia. Very fun.
Back to the hostel for one more bonfire.
Looking forward to traveling on to Vang Vieng. A small city in Laos, it’s just kinda on the way to the capital. I’ll spend 2 nights there. Hot air balloons are a thing there…hope that works out!
Goodnight
