Our bus tickets to Luang Prabang were booked. After a long wait, a van finally came to pick us up at our hotel. There was a further wait in the bus itself but at last it left around half an hour late. For the first time in my life I found myself not shivering in an AC bus as the temperature was just right. In fact I had to take off my sweater because I was feeling quite hot. I slept fitfully and surprisingly we reached here by 5 in the morning.
A freezing ride in a tuk-tuk later I sat around in the city centre waiting for guesthouses to open up. I noticed a few people beginning to show up and sitting on the pavements with cane bowls in their hands. I realized that it was time for the early morning ritual where monks from nearby monastery line up in silence to collect alms. I decided to wait and witness this ritual before I went searching for a place to stay.
After some time the monks came moving in a silent line. I clicked some blurry pictures in the early morning faint light. It was fascinating to watch but spirituality is lost in this mayhem of tourism as many people stood around eager to click pictures than just watch.
Some scouting around and I was ensconced in a guesthouse, which offered free wi-fi. But I later discovered that it was a very bad connection in the room. The day was spent in cycling around (15,000 kip a day) and discovering the town. Visited the palace and a temple at the top of some 200 steps. It was searingly hot in the afternoon and the only good thing was a lunch that concluded with strawberry jam crepe. Yum! Crepes are commonly found in many flavors and they make them quite well here. Well worth more than a sampling.
In the evening we roamed the night market, which was set up quite suddenly on the same road that we cycled along. I found the people again quite endearing as there was no calling out time and again pestering us to buy things and nobody harassing us. All in all a tiring and hot but quite a packed day.
As for the fabled magic of Luang Prabang, yes indeed I experienced it first hand. I met a guy from England who is teaching in China and who had taught in the same place that I had! Surprising because I taught in a very small town, which is hard to find even on a Chinese map. Small world. And just as magically as I met him on the bus to LP, he melted away into a early morning when we reached. I don’t even know his name.
Although much more touristy than Vientiane the goodness of the people remain intact except for the tuk-tuk drivers who are a rowdy lot anywhere. The ones in Laos are however the best I have seen so far, much well-behaved than in other places. Hope to experience more of the magic tomorrow…
