Amantaka

Day 5: Laos

~ tanlandia ~ 1 Comment

Thursday, March 10, 2016

We rose early and met up with our guide to see more of Luang Prabang. We started at the morning market which was mostly vegetables and meat – with a lot of live animals as well!!  Ducks, chickens, frogs, snails, moles, and raccoons were just some of what we saw!! Even a small owl!

From there we visited the Royal Palace, built in 1904 by the 42nd king of Laos.  When the monarchy was evicted from the country, the new government converted the palace into a museum, and in it were housed many artifacts from the royalty, including thrones, garments, furniture, accessories, and a garage filled with old heritage cars (including a Citroen, Edsel, Lincolns, and a Toyota FJ). Unfortunately no photography was allowed.  After the palace, we hiked up 328 steps to the top of Wat Phousi Hill, which is what it sounds like, a temple on the top of a hill. The views all across Luang Prabang were magnificent! We then hiked down and did some shopping in the boutiques on the way back to Amantaka. Including walking across a bridge made of bamboo! Scary thing to know, this gets washed away and rebuilt each monsoon season!

At 1:00pm we then boarded a river boat for a cruise along the river to the Pa Ou Caves. It was a relaxing 2 hour excursion upstream and we also stopped off at a small nearby village where we tried the local whiskey – $#^&*@! (our reaction to it). Women were weaving beautiful tapestries, something Laos is known for. Once we climbed into the caves, we were overwhelmed by the thousands of statues of Buddha! Because an image of the Buddha cannot be destroyed, for hundreds of years Laos’ damaged Buddhas have been sent to these caves, so these caves held these centuries of retired Buddhas!

That evening we ventured out of the hotel and found a great restaurant with proper Lao cuisine, which surprisingly, are hard to find. There is a strong French influence in Luang Prabang – baguettes and pastries are excellent here – but the local food isn’t as popular with tourists. Tamarind, the restaurant we went to was opened to help showcase Lao food and also has a cooking school! Our server was excellent and helped us to order a good spread of food, and even taught us the best way to eat – with your hands. I loved it! Sticky rice is used to scoop up your food and is used in place of utensils. Thai cuisine would be the most similar, but some main differences would be the sticky rice found in Laos, and dishes that are not as brothy but instead thicker so that you can use the rice to scoop up the food. Chopsticks are only used for noodle dishes, which generally aren’t as popular in Laos.

After dinner we walked back to Amantaka, stopping at the night market to see all of the trinkets the locals were selling.

On our last morning, we woke early and got out onto the streets where just the night before we had been for the night market.  At the crack of dawn was the alms giving to the monks of Luang Prabang, who in their rich saffron-colored robes and number in the hundreds, make their way through the city on this centuries-old ritual.  The procession of monks passed by quickly, stopping at each of the kneeling alms-givers to put a dollop of sticky rice into their bowls.  All of this was done in silence, interrupted only by the noises of several tourists…  Now, for the most part, tourists were well-behaved.  However, there were several exceptions to this, with certain individuals elbowing their way in and being generally obnoxious.  If you’re going to watch, watch from a distance (bring a zoom lens), and don’t be disrespectful to the monks.  Nevertheless, this was a highly moving experience to watch a ritual that has such a deep, rich history.

Days 3&4: Laos

~ tanlandia ~ Leave a comment

Wednesday, March 9th, 2016

We left Vietnam in the morning and flew to Luang Prabang, Laos. It was one of our fellow travelers birthdays, so we had cake on the plane to celebrate!

We’re staying at Amantaka, which is set up on a garden estate that was a former hospital and now a beautiful colonial hotel, reflecting the town’s French colonial history. The scent of lemongrass surrounds the Amantaka, a smell that will continue to remind me of this special place long after we are gone. It also works as a great natural bug repellent, which is a life saver out here. Luang Prabang is a picturesque town on the banks of the Mekong River, and is the home of the former Royal Palace and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, helping to keep the culture alive.

Upon arrival we grabbed some bicycles and went out with a guide to explore Luang Prabang.  Biking through the narrow streets of Luang Prabang is definitely an experience, as there are no traffic lights and it’s a “hope for the best” affair.  Our first stop was the Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City), the first and still one of the most important of the Lao monasteries.  It was constructed in 1559, and sits near where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet.  The brilliant decorations and stunning colors of this UNESCO site definitely stood out, and it was fascinating hearing the history of the kings and monks of this sanctuary.

After that, we stopped at several places near the Mekong and also in the shopping districts, with our guide pointing out several of the best restaurants, shopping sites for locally-produced goods (such as textiles and other souvenirs) and a great spot for massages.

We made our way back to Amantaka to prepare for the evening festivities. Our guide for the evening was Prince Tiao Nithakong Somsanith (“Nith”), who went over the history of Laos, and interesting stories of his life and family. He also oversaw a traditional Baci ceremony which we were able to participate in, followed by a presentation of a few traditional dances and then dinner. One of the interesting points we learned was that while UNESCO preserves these sites, it is up to people like him to help preserve the culture and traditions of the local peoples.