Arrival at Luang Prabang. You are surprised that something as mundane as an air strip, can coexist with the spiritual beauty of this jewel of Northern Laos. The city revolves around the confluence of rivers, which is a fitting metaphor. Daily life unfolds about you in colourful markets and historical sites. However, there is also an intense life of the spirit, that gives this unique city, an accent and a rhythm, difficult to find anywhere else in the world.
This is a city that is best experienced on foot, or on a bicycle. It is such a small and lovely place, that quite often you find yourself hiking in the countryside, crossing bamboo bridges, and getting a taste of Laotian nature. You simply turn around and resume your exploration. Luang Prabang is a place full of flavours and colours, and the markets are the best place to see them all together. You have heard about the properties of scorpion and snake liquor… maybe next time. For now, you buy food for the ceremony tomorrow morning.
When the sun rises, hundreds of Buddhists Monks walk through the streets of Luang Prabang, carrying small baskets where they receive their sustenance from the townsfolk. It is a moving ceremony, a giving of alms, where the locals partake in the spiritual involvement of the monks. It is, at the blending of the lights, a blending of the secular and spiritual worlds. Tourists have made a spectacle out of it, rudely taking photographs and interfering with the ceremony. Fortunately, Andrea tipped you about where to go. You participate in the ceremony, and learn of the spiritual power of giving. The day continues in the temples of the city, which are full of beautiful art and peace.
You could stay in Luang Prabang forever, and the city would never lose its charm. However, the lush nature around it has piqued your curiosity. Your brief excursions out to the countryside have revealed only glimpses of what could quickly become a memorable adventure. First, you decide to ride an elephant and soon befriend one of the giants of the jungle. The rice farmlands near the city offer you an unique experience: to learn the millenary agricultural techniques that have kept the tables of Northern Laos well supplied. The cultural value of this knowledge is not lost on you.
Your thirst for exploration is finally sated as you embark on an overnight hike in the dense wilderness of Northern Laos. As you soon discover, the conflicts of the last century reached even this remote corner of the world. Your English-speaking guide takes you deeper into the jungle, and into the domains of the Khmu. They receive you as a friend. Their culture is passed down from generation to generation by the telling of stories by the evening fire, and their animistic worldview renders them inhabitants of a world full of magic. As you sip rice wine with the villagers, you feel contented with the day’s journey. You sit back and enjoy the story, it is as if in the shadows of the jungle, the words are coming to life.
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