Tag Archives: Laos

Making Merit – Laos

It’s called "Making Merit" and it’s a way for the common Buddhist person to do a good deed. Every morning at dawn in Luang Prabang the Buddhist monks leave their wats to walk the streets with their begging bowls and receive their daily sustenance from the people. I’m not sure how long this has been going on, I know that Buddhists have had begging bowls for millennia, but the tradition in Luang Prabang at dawn is quite the tourist attraction. These monks are well-fed, believe me. And well-photographed, too.

Nice Sandwich – Laos

I loved the sandwiches in Luang Prabang. You could get them in a variety of flavors. You could get chicken, ham, fish, etc. All of them came on a really nice baguette with your choice of condiments and veggies. The best thing was the cost, a mere $1.25, and you could get one of these beauties all over town. Find a nice place to sit, pop the top on a liter bottle of ice cold Beerlao and life doesn’t get much better. Did I mention I got sucked into the lifestyle in Luang Prabang?

Fresh Veggies – Laos

It’s the market in Laos. This is just one little section. There are more markets and more sections. They are all open-air markets. There’s no refrigeration of veggies, fish, meat or anything else sold in open-air markets in Laos or any other SE Asian countries which doesn’t have supermarkets, which covers about 95+ percent of the population. I like open air markets. Everything is fresh. The only that bothers me about them is all the flies and other insects on everything. I guess it’s a good thing we cook all that stuff.

Mekong Sunset – Laos

Here’s another way to get sucked into the lifestyle in Luang Prabang. Find yourself a nice sidewalk cafe, grab a Beerlao and watch what happens to the sun.

Buddha – Laos

It was in Luang Prabang. The city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. That’s a significant list in my book. Anytime I get the chance to go somewhere that’s on the list, I go. There are a number of temples in Luang Prabang. I only saw a few of the more significant ones.

Open For Business

When I got to Luang Prabang I wanted to get my bus ticket back to Vang Vieng as soon as possible so I wouldn’t have to ride a minibus back. I went out from the guesthouse and spied a travel agency where I assumed I could get a bus ticket. When I got to the door, this is what I saw. I think they work on Laos time.

Flat Tire – Laos

Okay, we’re in a minivan with the Driver From Hell. He’s hurtling us from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang at speeds that are unsafe. There are ten passengers and we’re all getting to know each other intimately as we’re being tossed around the inside of the minivan. And then God intervenes. The driver hit a pothole too fast and popped a tire. He slowed down the rest of the trip.

Hot Water

I like this system. It only produces hot water when you want it. It’s got to be more energy efficient that the hot water tank. The problem is that you need one for everyplace you want hot water. Fortunately for SE Asians, the only place they want hot water is in the showers of hotel rooms. People often don’t have running water in their homes in Laos. Not only that, why would they need hot water? They don’t wash anything in hot water, including themselves. In India, a room with hot water cost extra and then it was a crapshoot as to whether the water would be hot or not. I think those Indians are into mind games, sometimes.

Scooters Go On The Roof

So how many scooters can fit on the roof of a bus in Laos? A lot. I thought the person I was traveling with was kidding when he told me that they carried, literally, everything on top of some of the buses in Laos, including live animals. But, after riding on one of the buses, I realized it was true. They also stop at every door that is willing to pay them and pick up anything that moves, or doesn’t move, as long as it will fit in or on the bus. Need a birthday cake delivered to grandma in the next village? No problem. I even saw some things wrapped in plastic being placed on the roof that looked an awful lot like it might be a human cadaver

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Okay, I’m going back to Asia for another two months. You might ask what I’m going to do when I go there. Well, I intend on going to Laos, India, Australia and Bali for starters. Sometime in the next week or two I intend to start booking flights with Air Asia to move me around the Asian continent. I plan on spending a few days here and a few days there and a few days somewhere in between. My goals are to spend some time in about 8-10 different counties while I’m there. If I get to ten, the count may be up to 100 countries that I’ve visited. Here’s hoping… So why do I want to spend time outside of the United States? If you have to ask that question then whatever answer that I give probably wouldn’t satisfy you. But I’ll try – the Pyramids of Egypt, Chichen Itza, Pompeii, Mont St Michel, the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, St Peter’s Basilica, the Egyptian Museum, Dubrovnik, the Uffizi Gallery, Hong Kong, the Sistine Chapel, Angkor Wat, the Louvre Museum, the Canals of Venice, St Mark’s Basilica, the Kremlin, Chambord Chateau, the Acropolis, Jerusalem and Hagia Sofia. If the mere mention of any of those terms creates a stirring of any kind inside of you then realize that there are some people in whom that stirring is more intense. I’m one of those people. The ticket is paid for. The money is in the bank for the trip. Now I all I have to do is stay alive.

Rolling Okie

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