Some may be wondering why did we choose to go to Luang Prabang... and where exactly is Luang Prabang??
Hmm.... a short introduction of Luang Prabang....its a World UNESCO heritage site...becoz all the ancient temples that were built in this town are still very well preserved. and how come there are so many temples built in this particular town from the past?? becoz Luang Prabang in the ancient times used to be the capital of Laos, until one of the Kings decided to shift the capital futher south to the current capital, Vientianne. hahhaa... yeah some reading i did whilst on my trip... and in this very 'colourful' town, there are altogether 32 temples. in fact, the guidebook that i was holding described that 'the 1st thing we would notice of Luang Prabang is the colours' and its 'a very colourful town'. That time when i read this phrase, i was not able to understand... hahaha.. i tot immediately when i enter the town i'll see things like flags, colourful buildings... it was only when we went down to vientianne, then i seriously understand this!!! hiaz... a little slow i admit (myself lah) but at least i finally understand... hahahaha...anyway i'll try to explain this... coz its true that Luang Prabang is a colourful town, coz as we walked around that day doing our bit in sight-seeing, we saw numerous temples which are covered with gold or with lots of colourful glass affrescos. these colourful affrescos are painstakingly stuck onto the temple walls by the builders to make some sort of designs.
that morning, we woke up at 5.30am and quicly freshen up and walked onto the streets... hahaha... u might be wondering y did u all wake up so early again... hmm... simple... the reason was we wanted to watch and do our bit in giving alms to the monks!!! yup yup!!! tat's wat we did.. coz the monks will parade the streets at 6am. when we were on the streets, some pple came up to us and sell us a basket of fruits which have to be offered to the monks. tat's wat we did, we bought a basket and sat down on the roadside and wait. =P
sitting down with all the aunties... and we learnt from our guesthouse owners that the aunties wake up as early ast 4am to cook the rice so that they can offer to the monks. =P
and the weather was really cold.... and u see the ang mohs sitting at the roadside huddling in their windbreakers... hahaha... =P
when the monks appear on the streets in a single file, everyone became alert... and offer the food.
once the alms giving was over, we trode back to our guesthouse to do our morning gongyo before heading out again... and we went to the fresh produce market. and at this market, u dun really see lots of tourists...hahaha.. perhaps they were not able to wake up tat early?? but it was at this market that we bought our breakfast... as in try as many food as we want. coz the Laos food in the north is a little different from the south. and at the markets, u see pple, mostly women and young gals, laying out their wares and selling them... and at this market, u're able to haggle the price... hmmm..in fact as long as u purchase ur items along the streets and markets, u're able to haggle the price.
after our market episode, we walked down to a very famous and huge temple, Wat Xieng Thong. and the temple was really beautiful... and because i was only able to get limited information from the guidebook, and we decided to try and follow a tour group if possible. hmmmm but there was no tour group speaking in japanese or english or chinese... but we managed to befriend a Thai professor. and she talked to us and also explain quite a bit on the temple to us. hahaha... she is not working at the temple. in fact she was with her Thai tour group. seeing us and talking all the time and puzzling over some things, she explined a little to us.. and that explanation became chit chat and we talked for about 15min or so. hahaha.... and we also took picture with her. =D
one thing we learnt is that when the temple has some spiky thing on the roof top and if they are in the nos of 11, 13 and 17, that means the temple has been built by the king.. but if not, then possible that it has been built by other royal family or govnment officials. interesting isn't it?? =P
after that temple, we walked to another temple wanting to visit it coz its the oldest temple in Luang Prabang. and along the way, we passed a bridge made of bamboo that will linked the main town with the village on the other side of the river. but we did not cross it coz a couple of tourists told us that there was nothing over there... and somemore have to pay $$$ to cross the bridge. so we juz snap some pictures and sat there to rest and get a little sun. =P
then as we were walking, we happen to come across a silk village. being curious, we went and take a look at it... and my my... it became an educational tour for us!!
hahaha... i mean we know how silk are being made... but do u kno how to tell the difference of silk? i mean the silk grade?? hahhaa... we learnt it then! the lady boss was very nice and friendly and she explain to us... i juz felt paiseh tat we did not buy anything from her shop. anyway, she told us that there are 3 different kinds of silk grade and u can tell the grades by feeling...and the 3rd grade silk is the outermost of the cocoon, 2nd grade is the middle portion of the cocoon and the best grade is the innermost of the cocoon... hahaha... very interesting right? and they haf been in the silk business for many many years... and its like transffering of business from greneration to generation. Think the lady boss is the 3rd generation.
then we continue walking again... and along the way, we were so tired and hot that we looked for a shop and sat down to cool off! one thing great about Luang Prabang is that when u're in need of a cold drink, there will definitely be a stall that sells fruit shakes around a corner! and these shakes are really terrific! and they really do it on the spot with lots of fruits (depending wat u order lah). thinking abt this make me drool... i really miss the shakes! muhahahha... =P
after we came onto the main street, we realised tat we were back to the main street where our accomodation was... and seems like we miss the street that allow us to reach the temple... sianz... then being hungry, we bought out lunch... which was a huge omelette with lots of veggies inside... hahaha...Laotian omelette... very very nice... then we went to eat something special... 1. banana and sticky rice, 2. mango and sticky rice... hahahaha... coz we wanted to see if it taste the same as the Thai version. when our desserts came, we were shocked! it was completely different from the Thai version. Coz the desserts were served in a bowl and the rice is not like solid form.. instead its been cooked like porridge... hahaha... but the desserts tasted very nice but also super super sweet... hiaz... one thing about the people in the indochina area is, they love sweet things... so when u order things like desserts, they are usually very sweet. =(
after our desserts we went for Lao massage! hahaha... very interesting and also very relaxing... so all of us have aching bodies as we've exerted our bodies to the extreme... with all the walking, trekking, and short hours of sleep etc.
after tat we wonder around the town again... and we broke off into 2 gps. Toshiko and Nobuko went off to check their mails while Keiko, Harumi and I juz walked around and we came across 2 boys playing a game... hmmm sort of like bowling but not really bowling... anyway they called us to join them... and they were very very unsatisfied with the way tat we played... hahaha... but it was interesting... and whilst we were playing some Laos people look upon at us and chuckling away.. seems like we played very badly huh...
that night, some more walking around the selling food and shopping area to see if we've got anymore things to purchase... and i bought some prok jerky and water buffalo meat.... and they tasted great!
as this is our last night in Luang Prabang liaoz... hahaha....after tat we head back to our guesthouse with beers and snacks. before going to our respective rooms to pack and hit the beds... hahaha....
Hmm.... a short introduction of Luang Prabang....its a World UNESCO heritage site...becoz all the ancient temples that were built in this town are still very well preserved. and how come there are so many temples built in this particular town from the past?? becoz Luang Prabang in the ancient times used to be the capital of Laos, until one of the Kings decided to shift the capital futher south to the current capital, Vientianne. hahhaa... yeah some reading i did whilst on my trip... and in this very 'colourful' town, there are altogether 32 temples. in fact, the guidebook that i was holding described that 'the 1st thing we would notice of Luang Prabang is the colours' and its 'a very colourful town'. That time when i read this phrase, i was not able to understand... hahaha.. i tot immediately when i enter the town i'll see things like flags, colourful buildings... it was only when we went down to vientianne, then i seriously understand this!!! hiaz... a little slow i admit (myself lah) but at least i finally understand... hahahaha...anyway i'll try to explain this... coz its true that Luang Prabang is a colourful town, coz as we walked around that day doing our bit in sight-seeing, we saw numerous temples which are covered with gold or with lots of colourful glass affrescos. these colourful affrescos are painstakingly stuck onto the temple walls by the builders to make some sort of designs.
that morning, we woke up at 5.30am and quicly freshen up and walked onto the streets... hahaha... u might be wondering y did u all wake up so early again... hmm... simple... the reason was we wanted to watch and do our bit in giving alms to the monks!!! yup yup!!! tat's wat we did.. coz the monks will parade the streets at 6am. when we were on the streets, some pple came up to us and sell us a basket of fruits which have to be offered to the monks. tat's wat we did, we bought a basket and sat down on the roadside and wait. =P
sitting down with all the aunties... and we learnt from our guesthouse owners that the aunties wake up as early ast 4am to cook the rice so that they can offer to the monks. =P
and the weather was really cold.... and u see the ang mohs sitting at the roadside huddling in their windbreakers... hahaha... =P
when the monks appear on the streets in a single file, everyone became alert... and offer the food.
once the alms giving was over, we trode back to our guesthouse to do our morning gongyo before heading out again... and we went to the fresh produce market. and at this market, u dun really see lots of tourists...hahaha.. perhaps they were not able to wake up tat early?? but it was at this market that we bought our breakfast... as in try as many food as we want. coz the Laos food in the north is a little different from the south. and at the markets, u see pple, mostly women and young gals, laying out their wares and selling them... and at this market, u're able to haggle the price... hmmm..in fact as long as u purchase ur items along the streets and markets, u're able to haggle the price.
after our market episode, we walked down to a very famous and huge temple, Wat Xieng Thong. and the temple was really beautiful... and because i was only able to get limited information from the guidebook, and we decided to try and follow a tour group if possible. hmmmm but there was no tour group speaking in japanese or english or chinese... but we managed to befriend a Thai professor. and she talked to us and also explain quite a bit on the temple to us. hahaha... she is not working at the temple. in fact she was with her Thai tour group. seeing us and talking all the time and puzzling over some things, she explined a little to us.. and that explanation became chit chat and we talked for about 15min or so. hahaha.... and we also took picture with her. =D
one thing we learnt is that when the temple has some spiky thing on the roof top and if they are in the nos of 11, 13 and 17, that means the temple has been built by the king.. but if not, then possible that it has been built by other royal family or govnment officials. interesting isn't it?? =P
after that temple, we walked to another temple wanting to visit it coz its the oldest temple in Luang Prabang. and along the way, we passed a bridge made of bamboo that will linked the main town with the village on the other side of the river. but we did not cross it coz a couple of tourists told us that there was nothing over there... and somemore have to pay $$$ to cross the bridge. so we juz snap some pictures and sat there to rest and get a little sun. =P
then as we were walking, we happen to come across a silk village. being curious, we went and take a look at it... and my my... it became an educational tour for us!!
hahaha... i mean we know how silk are being made... but do u kno how to tell the difference of silk? i mean the silk grade?? hahhaa... we learnt it then! the lady boss was very nice and friendly and she explain to us... i juz felt paiseh tat we did not buy anything from her shop. anyway, she told us that there are 3 different kinds of silk grade and u can tell the grades by feeling...and the 3rd grade silk is the outermost of the cocoon, 2nd grade is the middle portion of the cocoon and the best grade is the innermost of the cocoon... hahaha... very interesting right? and they haf been in the silk business for many many years... and its like transffering of business from greneration to generation. Think the lady boss is the 3rd generation.
then we continue walking again... and along the way, we were so tired and hot that we looked for a shop and sat down to cool off! one thing great about Luang Prabang is that when u're in need of a cold drink, there will definitely be a stall that sells fruit shakes around a corner! and these shakes are really terrific! and they really do it on the spot with lots of fruits (depending wat u order lah). thinking abt this make me drool... i really miss the shakes! muhahahha... =P
after we came onto the main street, we realised tat we were back to the main street where our accomodation was... and seems like we miss the street that allow us to reach the temple... sianz... then being hungry, we bought out lunch... which was a huge omelette with lots of veggies inside... hahaha...Laotian omelette... very very nice... then we went to eat something special... 1. banana and sticky rice, 2. mango and sticky rice... hahahaha... coz we wanted to see if it taste the same as the Thai version. when our desserts came, we were shocked! it was completely different from the Thai version. Coz the desserts were served in a bowl and the rice is not like solid form.. instead its been cooked like porridge... hahaha... but the desserts tasted very nice but also super super sweet... hiaz... one thing about the people in the indochina area is, they love sweet things... so when u order things like desserts, they are usually very sweet. =(
after our desserts we went for Lao massage! hahaha... very interesting and also very relaxing... so all of us have aching bodies as we've exerted our bodies to the extreme... with all the walking, trekking, and short hours of sleep etc.
after tat we wonder around the town again... and we broke off into 2 gps. Toshiko and Nobuko went off to check their mails while Keiko, Harumi and I juz walked around and we came across 2 boys playing a game... hmmm sort of like bowling but not really bowling... anyway they called us to join them... and they were very very unsatisfied with the way tat we played... hahaha... but it was interesting... and whilst we were playing some Laos people look upon at us and chuckling away.. seems like we played very badly huh...
that night, some more walking around the selling food and shopping area to see if we've got anymore things to purchase... and i bought some prok jerky and water buffalo meat.... and they tasted great!
as this is our last night in Luang Prabang liaoz... hahaha....after tat we head back to our guesthouse with beers and snacks. before going to our respective rooms to pack and hit the beds... hahaha....
