A page from a Lao/English ABC book
One of the cultural highlights of Luang Prabang is the ceremony of alms-giving known as pat bak. Each morning between 5:30 and 6 a steady stream of orange-clad monks quietly move through the streets and receive offerings of sticky rice, fruit, and what one woman called "desserts for the monks."
Visually the procession is beautiful and as such it has become a bit of a tourist spectacle. We're glad we went and participated, but it did feel odd to be surrounded by so many camera-wielding farang and so few Laotians.
Ever-stylish monks on the move
In India we'd hoped to volunteer somewhere--an environmental NGO, a Tibetan refugee center--but it never seemed to work out. Here, we had the chance to work with some young people at Big Brother Mouse, a volunteer-run literacy project that publishes books in Lao and English as well as offers informal tutoring. I went twice and Z went once (she's wasn't anti-literacy, just sick). There, we got to know a great young man named Phia. After I worked with him on some very difficult and confusing phonetics lessons (why anyone would teach a second--or third--language learner the International Phonetic Alphabet is beyond me), he gave me a ride on his scooter. He also offered to take us to his village.
The next day, with sturdier stomachs and hired bikes, we toured a Hmong weaving operation, learned about the life cycle of the silkworm, (Z can't get over the fact that they're blue) and even saw a pig being prepared for a shaman's healing ritual!
Phia and Marty at Big Brother Mouse
Phia's friend and young cousin joined us back at his house
I also got a chance to tutor a novice monk named Khankeo at Wat Visoun. It was a lot like teaching back home, only under a tree and with the smell of incense wafting in the air.
Khankeo and Marty in the shade of a tree
Ever a sucker for critters, I had to take some time on the way home to make friends with this little fella: a very fine tortoise-shell manx like the ones I had as a child.
Perhaps it will make friends with the Ladakhi goatlet we planned on absconding with
Aside from the experience of becoming an instant (kip) millionaire at the ATM and having a bowl of (maybe deep-fried?) rooster heads stare at you in the night market, Luang Prabang offers beautiful Buddhist temples and a wealth of textile finery made by the many ethnic minorities of the country. The mosaics at Wat Xieng Thong were particularly charming.
Everywhere, critters on the go!
You make me feel like dancing...
The enormous Tree of Life at Wat Xieng Thong
Gentle bend in the Nam Kahn River
Elizabeth, built for speed
Laos: Korp jai lai lai! (Thank you, very much!)
How inspiring! I would like to volunteer with Banco del Libro (the Venezuelan literacy org) someday.
ReplyDeleteWaking to monks sounds way better than waking to drunk girls trying to go swimming.