Luang Prabang, Laos

We have been here staying at our old favorite hotel, The Apsara, for a week.  The hotel is located along the Nam Khan river which winds past the town and connects with the larger Mekong River.  The historic area of town is a peninsula, only four streets wide and many streets long.  There is a heavy French history here, mixing old wooden shop houses with graceful French villas.   The Apsara, which is the Khmer word for dancing girl or heavenly nymph, was originally a warehouse for rice.  It retains its original plank wood flooring and lattice transoms.  Of course the romantic aspect of the design often plays havoc with modern comforts.  Our floors creak insistently and the walls are paper thin, affording you perhaps a tad too much familiarity with your neighbors!   The town has changed considerably since our first visit in 2000.   With the World Heritage designation tourism has bloomed, and this sleepy town awakened.   There used to be mostly bicycles cruising along the narrow streets, and now everyone has a motorcycle.  There are still bicycles but mostly with tourist.  So many old buildings are now guest houses and restaurants, the old families having moved out of town.  Even so, it is an ancient town and there are 32 old wooden and stucco temples on almost every street.  Every morning the "Tak Bat" ritual procession takes place.  The Tak Bat is a profound expression of generosity, and is done with a sense of beauty and affection, piety and deep commitment.  The lay people prepare offerings of cooked rice early each morning and wait for the monks to circumambulate the streets before the sun rises.  They sit or kneel on mats, in silence, waiting for the monks to approach, their heads and feet bare in humility.  They place small amounts of rice in each of the monks alms bowls, without making eye contact.  They practice this generous act with joy knowing that it will benefit them, their living or departed relatives and all beings.  I have seen this precious silent procession begin to turn into a tourist attraction and it is difficult to tolerate.  So many people with cameras and disrespectful talking.  But the locals peaceful silence and smiles, and the monks walking barefooted and serene throughout the town, is an example of tolerance for all of us here.   Somehow the beauty wins out.  

Ron and I have walked every day through the small streets, across bamboo bridges, bicycled the dirt roads just outside of town, watched the sun set behind the mountains along the Mekong, smiled at all the gentle kind people who greet you with palms together and soft "Sabaidee" and caught a picture of their lives here.  It is amazingly peaceful.  And yet it is Asia!  There is the other side of tranquil... Loud music, motorcycles, exhaust and sewer smells, cigarettes, holes in the sidewalk, uneven steps that could really do some damage if you are not watching carefully.  But this town is so small it all seems to be easy.  I will miss the sounds of the 4 am gongs from the temples calling the monks to prayer.  I will miss the golden light an hour before sunset when we are walking through the town and it is quiet, and the evening chanting of the monks.   I will miss the many cafes along both rivers!  The delicious heritage of french coffee and baguette, and the smells of garlic and lemongrass.   The food has been wonderful, starting with the lovely breakfast we receive each morning at our hotel.  Homemade jams of pineapple, papaya, and tomato!  Noodle soup!  Fresh bread!   Impossible to resist the pastries and croissant.   My friend told me my blog was more about food than culture, but I insist that food is culture!  And I am happily immersed in both.

Today was our last full day here.  We leave tomorrow in the afternoon.  We walked as far as we could trying to see everything one more time, starting at 6 a.m. with the monk's procession and ending tonight after our last sunset over the Mekong, and our last dinner in the small cafe we frequent above the river.   The game was even more fun because we only had 150,000 Kip left.  That is about $18.  We didn't want to have to change anymore dollars as we leave soon.  Since breakfast is included with our room, we went all day only spending 5 Kip on a large bottle of water.  The wonderful owner of the Apsara invited us for an afternoon drink and a last conversation before his 5 pm tennis game.  So civilized!  We went to dinner and ordered a large bottle of Laos Beer, fish cooked in banana leaf, glass noodles cooked with tofu and veggies, and a mixed mushroom and vegetable stir fry with rice.  It was a busy night with a large group of German tourist and after we had eaten our fish and noodles, never having received our mushrooms and vegetables, our total bill came to 70,000 Kip, or $8.50!   Sitting in a pretty riverside cafe with hanging paper lanterns, and multinational conversations, and beer!   Not bad!  We still have 75,000 Kip left, which is $9 and that will enable us to treat ourselves to fresh pastries and delicious baguettes to take along to the airport tomorrow.  We may leave here with no Kip left over!  

It is quiet now.  The town goes to bed early.  I have sipped my last vodka and lime while writing this blog.  The duty free bottle still has a couple of strong drinks left in it, but I will leave it behind...  Tomorrow is another flight, another country.   And with a sad but grateful place in my heart for this most charming town, I too must say good bye.