Alms-giving during sunrise - Town of Luang Prabang 479; Khaen music of the Lao people 01296; Traditional craft of Naga motif weaving in Lao communities 01973
What and Why
Located in the confluence of Mekong River (ແມ່ນ້ຳຂອງ, Maenam Khong), Luang Prabang (Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ, Louangphabang) is a remarkable city, so isolated from the outside world that it still possesses extremely well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritages. In particular the city is steep in Buddhism and is well known for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets performing the morning alms ritual.
Toponymy
Luang Prabang (ຫຼວງ, ພະ, ບາງ) literally means the 'royal Buddha image' in Lao. The name refers to the palladium of Laos (ປະເທດລາວ, Pathet Lao) that arrived in the country during the Lan Xang (ລ້ານຊ້າງຮົ່ມຂາວ) times during the 14th century CE. The statue is a small 83 cm-high standing Buddha casted in the then Chola Empire (Tamil: சோழர்), the present Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Śrī Laṅkā), and attributed to be sometime between the 1st and 9th century CE. The royal statue or Luang Phra Bang is regarded as the most sacred and literally started Theravāda Buddhism in Laos. The statue is currently kept in the royal palace (ຫໍຄຳ, haw kham) and is only displayed publicly once a year.
It is important to note that the actual transliteration of the city's name is Louangphabang, as the Lao alphabet r (ຣ) is silent.
See
Morning alms (ຊະິ ບະຕ)
Possibly the most important and picturesque things to see in Luang Prabang, morning alms (ຊະິ ບະຕ, sai bat) is a longstanding tradition in Laos Buddhist culture. In observing it, the devoted offer food to monks throughout the Luang Prabang every morning.
The proceeding starts from early morning around 6 am and is held in the main street Sisavangvong Road (ສີສະຫວ່າງວົງ ຖະຫນົນຫົນທາງ) in every morning. A long queue of robe-dressed monks will then march along the street to collect offering from the devoted or tourists, with most of the devotees sitting on the kerbside. Most people either prepare the local sticky rice at home or buy it from the nearby merchants. However some merchants have used the eagerness of tourists to make easy money by selling unsuitable or unsafe food, including snacks and sweets.
Naturally the first monks will receive the bulk of the offerings and hence do reserve some for the younger monks in the end of the queue. Be respectful, stay at a distance from the main route and avoid being too explicit and rampant photographies as it can embarrass the monks and there had been incidents when the flashlights blind the monks and make them extremely uncomfortable. Remember this is not a parade but a very serious religious rituals that simply takes place daily.
Royal Palace (ຫໍຄຳ)
The royal palace was built in the early 20th century CE during the French Indochina (French: Indochine française) era for Sisavang Phoulivong (ພຣະບາທສົມເດັຈພຣະເຈົ້າມະຫາຊີວິຕສີສວ່າງວົງສ໌) and his family. The palace design combines the French style with elements of Lao vernacular architecture, the site for the palace was chosen so that official visitors to Luang Prabang could disembark from their river voyages directly below the palace and be received there. The palace was converted to a re-education camp during the communist regimes and now the palace was reinvented as a national museum.
Above is the throne room.
One of the main features inside the not-so-impressive national museum is the nightly cultural performance, as picture above. The performance is called Phra Lak Phra Ram (ພຣະລັກພຣະຣາມ) and is the national epic of the Lao people. The story is adapted from the Hindu epic, the Rāmāyana (Sanskrit: रामायणम्), a popular story in Southeast Asian culture. Not too bad from a cultural point of view.
During the show, part of the choreograph is performed by the traditional musical instrument the bamboo khaen (ແຄນ), which is a mouth-organ similar to the Chinese sheng (Chinese: 笙).
The khaen is the national musical instrument of Laos and is an inscribed ICH. This instrument or its variations are found also in other parts of Southeast Asia.
Phou Si (ພູສີ)
The pronunciation of name of the main mountain Phou Si (ພູສີ) does sound like pussy, it actually means 'sacred mountain' in Lao. The hill is a local religious site, and houses several Buddhist shrines. Visitors must be dressed decently when ascending the 100-m hill and is rewarded with an exceptional view of Luang Prabang and Mekong River. The mountain can be very crowded during sunset when everyone gathers to take photograph of the river.
Along the ascent to the peak, one will reach the Wat Chom Si (ໄັະແ້ນທຫຮ), a golden Buddhist stupa.
Tradition has it that at the site of the sacred hill there used to be a deep pit that led to the centre of the Earth. Helped by villagers, a monk went down into the pit and found a treasure. The villagers seized the treasure and buried the monk alive by sealing the entrance of the pit. However the monk succeeded in escaping after defeating the seven guardians of the treasure with magics. News of this murder attempt reached the ears of the king of Luang Prabang, who punished the villagers by condemning them to take turns in beating drums, gongs and cymbals every three hours to stop the dragons from disturbing mankind. This practice is still carried out today in Luang Prabang.
Wat Xieng Thong (ວັດຊຽງທອງ)
Probably the most ornate and beautiful of all monasteries in Laos, Wat Xieng Thong (ວັດຊຽງທອງ), meaning the golden city temple, features a set of spectacular sloping roofs. Moreover the temple, built in the 16th century CE, contains a large number of murals and plays an important role in the perpetuating Laotian art. Most of the murals feature gold stencils of mythological scenes and geometric design, especially the dharmachakra (Pali: dhammacakka) wheel on the ceiling.
Wat Mai Souwannaphummaham (ໄັະທັະຫນີໄັືືັຍ້ີທທັ້ັທ)
Built in the late 18th century CE, Wat Mai Souwannaphummaham (ໄັະທັະຫນີໄັືືັຍ້ີທທັ້ັທ), meaning new monastery was given its present name following the restoration undertaken in 1821 CE. The temple is noticeable for its four-tiered roof when visiting the temple, as well as the scenes from daily life and the legend of Vessantara (Sanskrit: वेसन्तरा) on the bas-relief walls.
Wat Visounnarath (ວັດພະເຈົ້າວິຊຸນນະລາດ)
Founded in the early 16th century CE during the of reign of King Visounnarath (ພະເຈົ້າວິຊຸນນະລາດ), this temple was a symbol of the Lan Xang Kingdom’s unity. The stupa is a dome shape and hence the stupa is also known as That Mak Mo (ພະທາດ ໝາກ ໂມ, watermelon stupa) because of its shape.
Kuang Si Falls (ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດ ກວາງຊີ)
The Kuang Si Falls (ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດ ກວາງຊີ) is a set of very beautiful falls located on the west side of the city, a mere 15-minute drive from the city centre. The set of falls look bluish due to the copper mineral deposits flowing from the top of the mountains.
The cascades of falls make the waterfalls extremely beautiful and they are also popular bathing sites for the westerners.
Adjacent to the waterfall is a bear sanctuary, including sun and moon bears, many of these bears are rescued from poachers.
Pak Ou Tham (ປະກ ໂຸຖະມ)
A great day-out along the Mekong river is the exploration of Pak Ou Tham (ປະກ ໂຸຖະມ), which is around 25 km or 90-minute boat-ride away from Luang Prabang. The boat ride is able to show a glimpse of the backward lifestyles of Laotian fishermen along the river. We saw a basketball court in the middle of river, constructed out of old bamboo fish racks.
The caves are noted for the hundreds of miniature Buddha sculptures placed or built inside the caves. These statues take all sorts of different postures and forms.
Buy and Do
Night market (ຕະຫຼາດກາງຄືນ)
The night springs to a new life during the night when the stretch outside the royal palace. Luang Prabang night market is a must-experience. While it is the usual tourist trap, it does offer the most extensive collection of handicrafts in the country, and designs are honestly quite chic. With hundreds of handicraft vendors who sell their hand-made products nightly, the market showcases an extensive variety of handicrafts made by local ethnic groups, at reasonable price. Especially worth buying are the many types of textiles, exquisite ceramics, antiques, paintings, coffee and tea, quilts, shoes, silver, bags, ornaments and cutlery made from recycled bombs.
There are a lot of interesting items on display at the night market that are hard to find elsewhere, for example the various exotic insect or snake soaked wines or stuffs of voodoo nature. Comparing to other countries in Southeast Asia, Laos can be a bit more expensive.
Naga weave (ນາກທໍ)
When one walks around the streets of Laos, one will definitely notice the fabric everyone wears contain a common motif: the naga (Sanskrit: नाग, nāga). The naga weave (ນາກທໍ, nak tho) motif exists in an elongated repetitive pattern as a form of a tessellation art and is a common theme in Lao fashion. The naga is featured in wall hangings and general decorations.
The naga, as in traditional Southeastern mythologies (see our blog in Bōdh Gayā (बोधगया)), is a mythological water serpent with magical powers. In Lao tradition, the naga assumes a relationship between humans and this legendary animal. Naga is seen as a benevolent being that protect and save humans from illness, hunger and bad spirits. However when they are angry, nagas use their powers to create floods, storms and other natural disasters, or inflict illness and even death.
Women will wear naga motifs on their traditional skirt for blessings, while young brides or newly-weds wear this naga motifs as a symbol of fertility. The weave is now an ICH.
Eat and Drink
Lao cuisine (ອາຫານລາວ)
One notable observation, or lack of, in Luang Prabang, and Laos for that matter, is that there is no multi-national food chains around. So all food are essentially authentic and local.
Amongst all Laotian food, or lam (ເອາະຫຼາມ) is the main representation of Lao cuisine (ອາຫານລາວ) and is a spicy and slightly numbling meat stew of Laotian origin, which is extremely popular.
During the night, the night market also becomes a major fanfare, and the most popular of all food is a gumbo of all: a eat-what-you-like street buffet. Costing usually LAK 10,000₭ (less than USD $1), one can take as much staple as one wants, while other food like meat, drinks, fish will cost depends on how much one takes.
There are that not many brands of Laos that are known internationally, but perhaps one of the few that can make themselves famous is Beerlao (ເບຍລາວ). The beer is made from local jasmine rice and is exceptionally popular in Southeast Asia.
Stay
There are plenty of guesthouses, mostly converted from traditional shoplots. We stayed in one called the Sita Norasingh Inn (ສິຕະ ນໂຣະຊິງຮ ີນນ). The host is very friendly and helpful. Basic amenities. The main income of Luang Prabang is after all, tourism.
Getting There and Around
As mentioned earlier, Luang Prabang is not the cheapest place to visit and entrance fees to various places can be a bit high by Southeast Asian standards. The entrance fee to Phousi, Royal Palace is all around 20,000 to 30,000₭ (equivalent to USD $2 to 3 approximately). The price of the royal performance is 150,000₭. Luang Prabang city centre is very tiny and the entire city can be completed within two hour's walk.
Luang Prabang has a lot to offer as a small town and it is recommended to stay there for at least three days.
Travelling to Luang Prabang can be an adventure of its own, and we probably took the most difficult of routes, as we travelled with a shoestring budget during this trip. We flew to Vientiane (ວຽງຈັນ) and got a chartered car and drove an entire 18 hours up north to reach Luang Prabang, spending a night in Vang Vieng (ວັງວຽງ). The road conditions are not the best in the world and one can imagine the drive we experienced. There are many scenic spots along the journey as we had to meander across mountains and rivers and one can experience the lifestyle and culture around Laos while interacting with the people in the back country. So it is always the journey that counts. Flying within Luang Prabang is very costly and that was the reason why our group took a cheap route.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape illustrates a key stage in the blending of these two distinct cultural traditions.
The khaen music of the Lao people is played with a mouth organ that resembles panpipes but made with bamboo tubes of varying lengths, each with a metal reed. The player blows into the instrument through an air chamber and the sound produced depends on the size of the tube. Khaen music is popular in all regions of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic due to its harmonic richness. It is usually part of village festivals and it is customary for people listening to it to become active participants in the songs and dances, rather than merely spectators. Khaen music is an integral part of Lao life that promotes family and social cohesion. Thanks to the use of bamboo, the practice is also linked to natural agriculture and healthy lifestyles. Families play an important role in transmitting the art and khaen player associations exist in many local communities where young people can learn the art. To maintain the practice in spite of lifestyle changes – including urbanization – several local communities, associations and groups have begun various initiatives to consolidate and promote it through formal and non-formal education. In 2005, the Association of Khaen Arts was established and various festivals are organized to promote and enhance the art.
References
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