The Almsgiving Tour

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I had to write about this almsgiving tour before. I missed it. The almsgiving tour in Luang Prabang is a huge hit. It has become fully commercialized. People buy items for money and put them in the bowls of monks who offer alms. After a while, the items in the bowls go back to those small shops. The monks are used to it now. I couldn't watch that scene. In the morning, my friend got up and said let's go see the almsgiving. I turned to my husband and slept.

Kuan Si Bathing

You can go to the top of Kuang Si Waterfall. Two of us went up. One of us said to go down. When we went up, we looked up and heard. The monks were bathing at the top. The monks were rolling around. As our friend who was at the bottom was going down, he fell into a deep natural basin of blue water like a tank. We missed it because we went up.

Running out of gas when we arrived

The train to Muang Xai was in the afternoon. So, thinking we would miss the train, we hurried to see the waterfall. We parked our bike about a kilometer from our Luang Prabang accommodation. The gas had run out. In the past, we always filled up the tank with a full tank and returned half of the tank, so this time we only used about two liters. The trip to the waterfall was about 120 kilometers. The gas meter on the bike didn't work. So we stopped as expected. Since it was a short distance, we pushed the bike. It was also quite fun to push the bike in the middle of the town, sweating. We were late for the train, so we left the accommodation early. We couldn't even tell that the bike had run out of gas. It wasn't directly from our accommodation, it was something they arranged from somewhere.

Rushing to the train

We caught a taxi to get to the train. We told him straight away that we had a train and he left. We wouldn't have missed the train.

Making out on the train

A beautiful girl sat next to us on the train. After a while, she asked me to send her to the bus, so she sat down with me and took a selfie. She was also a girl going to Muan Xai. So when I was going to take a selfie with her, the girl covered her face.

What is Muan Xai?

The most popular tourist destinations in Laos are Luang Prabang, Van Vieng, Vientiane. Pakse.. We have seen all four of them by now. There are other places like the Plain of Jars in Phonselay and the northern province of Luang Namtha, where there are tribal groups. Anyway, what we had seen so far in Laos were all very popular tourist attractions. And there were tens of thousands of foreign tourists eating, drinking and having fun at night.. But Muan Xai was not that kind of place.

One of the reasons we chose Muan Xai was because there were very attractive young girls in this province who were available for sex at very cheap prices, which was a very rare experience. In addition, we had been to some of the most popular places so far. They were places that were designed to provide services to foreign tourists. Everything from food, drinks, tourist services, massages, etc., were created to create a tourism vibe. The purpose of going to Muang Xai was to learn about the way ordinary people live in Laos, what a typical town is like, and what the food and drink are like.

However, we did not find as many colorful and colorful experiences in Muang Xai as we had in other tourist areas. We only got to experience a few different experiences there. But I still enjoyed it.

 

Hostel Life

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We were staying in a hostel in Luang Prabang. Two beautiful girls came in the night. It must have been two in a European country. There weren't many people in those days. There were only 7-8 of us in that hostel. The two who came were beautiful. Being in a hostel means you have to maintain a special discipline. Usually when you go to another hotel room, you throw your bags and shoes and some wild animals run to the bathroom even if they are naked. Because we are not alone. There are no other people in the room. That's not possible in hostels. You can't even make a sound, you can't tell if you can hear it. It took us a little time to get ready. At first, we came to the room half-dressed like usual, but we all got dressed and went to the room in order. Instead of talking and cursing at each other, we started communicating through WhatsApp chat while sitting on adjacent beds.

Breakfast

Where did the gardener at Luang Prabang Hostel go? It took a while to arrive. We stayed for a while. Not much. All we got for food was bread and bulsae. There were also potatoes. That was enough.. After eating that, we bought two bikes to go see the Kuang Si Waterfall.

Kuang Si Waterfall

What we see as a waterfall in Sri Lanka is a white foamy waterfall with two black rocks. This Kun Si Waterfall in Laos is different. It has a white rock. There is a large forest on both sides. The Kuang Si Waterfall, which is made of white rocks like a diamond, is truly a beautiful creation of nature. When you go to the top, you can see a huge waterfall in the middle, and when you go down a little further, you can see small reservoirs with water flowing from them. At the bottom, people go down and bathe in some of the water pools.

A woman weaving cloth

A woman was weaving cloth on the other side of the road from the roadside food stall. A middle-aged woman was weaving cloth on that handloom. So our friends bought cloth from there. I didn't buy it. It was like a shawl. Why would I give a shawl to anyone? If I had come, I would have given it to that dear woman. Why, my friends said that shawls are cheap for about two thousand rupees.

Waterfall

Tens of thousands of tourists, including Chinese, come to see that waterfall every day. There is a large parking lot so that all of them can get facilities. There is a separate electric taxi service from that parking lot to take people to the waterfall. Once you buy a ticket to the waterfall, you can use that ticket to go in that taxi.

There was also a place along the way that looked like a bear enclosure. We checked that out and went to the waterfall. With the time we had, we only had a short time to see the waterfall. But once we got to the waterfall, it was such a beautiful waterfall that I wondered why my eyes couldn't see it.

 

Temple Visit

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That day was a special festival. As the beautiful receptionist girl at our hotel told us, the festival would end two days after our stay. That girl was beautiful. But because of our Indian appearance, she did not respond to our requests.

Since we booked through Booking, the place we were staying was very close to the tourist aerial. Unlike in Sri Lanka, there are a set of temples in Luang Prabang that are adjacent to each other. Since it was a festival day, all the temples were decorated with lamps. They were spread out on the floor like bucket lamps and beautifully decorated.

Lao girls and Chinese girls dressed in traditional costumes took photos with their phones and held the lamps in their hands. Traditional costumes are available at nearby stalls. Anyone can take and wear them. We helped the two girls take photos. One of our friends even sneaked up behind the piles of girls and took selfies with them. I was such a shy kid. I wanted to keep the country's reputation, so I stood aside.

The light from the lanterns fell on the long yellow faces of the Lao women, which were beautiful. The lanterns in the temple illuminated their faces and limbs. Despite their hair, many Lao girls were beautiful in body shape.

The beauty of the festival
We passed by one temple after another where the festival was taking place. When we got to the river at the end, a stage had been set up on a piece of land a little way from the river. When we left, the festival was almost over. There were temples next to it. It was a cultural festival. So the kids danced on the stage. I had a seafood salad from there. It was delicious. There was also a beer called Luang Prabang, which was also opened.

Street
There were no colorful boards in Luang Prabang Aerial where we were. There were no big ads like Coke boards, Pepsi boards, bra ads, etc. If there were shops, their names were carved in wood or embossed in cement. They were preserved like old buildings, matching the colors. In our country, there are beautiful buildings in the fort. However, the building owners paint them as they wish and hang boards and make them ugly. But that's not the case in Laos. The two-hundred-year-old buildings were systematically renovated and were pleasing to the eye.

Massage parlor
A three-wheeler driver asked us to go somewhere else because the massage in the tourist area could be a real massage. The guy didn't speak English. We typed in and showed them that we wanted a happy ending massage. After a while, he took us to the riverbank and put us on a wheel. He went and brought a waiter who knew Bua. After he arrived, we asked again if there was a happy ending massage. The two of them talked and then came to a decision. He took us both and now the three-wheeler is flying. I don't know where it's going. He took us to a side street a little far from the tourist area where we were.

As I remember, the man pulled us a little hard as a three-wheeler rental. So we went there and had a hard massage for about an hour. There were no two therapists there when we went. Someone else called and brought us. Then, we were stretched out on two mattresses on the floor and were beaten and kicked for an hour. The massage was not much. But it was a wonderful ending. We came back on foot, wondering why we were giving money to the lakes.

When we arrived, we saw two or three more temples having the same festival. In one, there are shops selling beer right in the temple grounds, right next to the temple. There is meat. People buy meat and beer and sit on chairs and tables in the temple grounds, eating and drinking. There are cultural dances, etc., and they also enjoy that. #amila2r

 

Features of Luang Prabang

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Luang Prabang is a city where old things are still visible. We can see the Lao temples and their architecture from that time with our own eyes. Also, the street buildings built when the French conquered Laos can still be seen in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang has two major rivers, the Mekong River and another. The main tourist area in Luang Prabang is a delta between two rivers. As a city, Luang Prabang is a very rich city in terms of people and their entertainment, as well as architecture and natural beauty. There is also a special tourist vibe created by the food and tourism industry in Luang Prabang City.

How to get to Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is the most popular tourist destination in Laos. You can also go there directly by plane. There are direct flights from Vietnam and Bangkok in Thailand to Luang Prabang. Now, you can reach the Lao capital Vientiane from the China-Lao Railway and Luang Prabang from the Chinese side by train. You can also reach Luang Prabang from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, by bus or shared taxi, as in the old days.

Accommodation, food and drink

There is hardly a tourist city like this in Sri Lanka, which is close to us. There are many fun activities prepared especially for tourists in Luang Prabang, such as hotels, restaurants, massages, clubs, etc. Luang Prabang is a great destination for those who are looking for things to see and those who are looking for a rest.

Temple on the mountain

The temple on the mountain is a beautiful viewpoint. When you climb up there, you can see the Mekong River on one side, the Mekong River on the other side, and another river on the other side. You have to buy a ticket for a few days. We went to temple. Even though it was raining at that time, there were a lot of tourists. Tourists flock to this place to see the wonderful sunset and sunrise.

A temple

Even though it is a temple, there is no rule that you have to take off your sandals or wear them long. If you want to go inside the temple, you have to take off your sandals. But there is no problem with sandals to go to the temple grounds. And the white people, the white people, had come there wearing shorts.

Even though they are Buddhists, each country has its own traditions. Although there are similarities, there are also some differences. In any case, we, as Buddhists by birth, went there and worshipped and came back as Sadhus.

 

Enter Luang Prabang

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The capital of Laos used to be Luang Prabang. There was a king there. Later, the capital was moved to Vientiane. I think Luang Prabang has a scene like our Kandy in Sri Lanka. Luang Prabang is the most popular place among tourists.

Station and accommodation
We got off at Luang Prabang and went to a shop to have something to drink before going to the airport. We asked for a watermelon, which cost seven to eight hundred rupees in Sri Lankan money. Why would we drink watermelon for that much? We selected a random juice and drank it.
It was delicious.

After drinking something from the stall outside the station, we went back to the station to get a taxi. I heard that Laos is a budget taxi service. They took us for a reasonable price. It was a high-roof dolphin taxi service right at Luang Prabang station. The price was reasonable. Also, since it was AC inside, the dust from outside didn't fall.

But it was like an oil tanker. It was time to leave. Four groups of people going to the city got on like us. Four groups got off at four different places. We got off at the end. This is one of the few places on the China-Lao Railway that is a bit far from the city center from the station. It was about a kilometer from the station to the city center in Luang Prabang.

Hostel accommodation
This time we had booked a hostel. Even that was getting used to. It was too hot when we left. We left that trip with our bags and went for a walk. First, we looked around, exchanged some money, and looked for a place to buy something. We found a place right by the river. We stopped there because we could eat while looking at the river. That river was the Mekong River. We had seen the Mekong in southern Laos before..now we see the Mekong, but there is a distance of more than eight hundred kilometers between those two places. It must have been even more. The river does not flow in a straight line, right?

Snake wine and food
After ordering the food, two people came and brought two bottles of wine from the shop. They were a type of whiskey infused with snakes and lizards. We only saw them and took pictures, but we didn't go to drink them. But our friends were a little surprised when they saw the place.

Next, we went to see the boats on the Mekong River. They charged 400,000 Kip per hour for the boat trip. The boatman explained to us with gestures and a little bit of a laugh that he would show us around here and there. We got off at 3 o'clock again. But our friends didn't seem to be very interested in the boat trip. A jockey came and asked for a small boat for two laks. I was happy to go on one leg. But our friends were a little scared to go on the small boat without a jacket on the steep road. That trip was a waste of time.

When we walked back to the accommodation, we saw a temple. Knowing that we were in Sri Lanka, the ticket office at the temple was happy. It was a monument, or rather, an old temple near the royal palace, and tickets were sold for it. So when we went there, I was shocked to see that my glasses and hat were missing. I had forgotten them. I went back to the village and brought them back, and I had forgotten them where the snake whiskey I had drunk earlier was.

When we got back, we saw people busy getting ready for a night market on the main road where we had booked our accommodation. As soon as the sun had risen and the sun had set, the people were preparing big box tents and setting them up on the road, getting ready for the night market.

 

Breakfast at Vang Vieng

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Eating breakfast at the hotel is fun. There are delicious food and delicious views. Sleepy people staying at the hotel come to eat in shorts and even in their night clothes. We can see not only the surrounding scenery, but also the food while eating breakfast. Also, since there is a buffet, we get the opportunity to eat fried rice and fried chicken. So we ate as usual.

To the train station..

I don't remember how it went. But I remember a scene I saw at one train station. We were in line to enter the station. Before entering, they checked our tickets and passports. For the Lao people, they probably showed their identity cards. So, the place where they checked is where an outsider has the opportunity to see someone entering the station. This is a two- or three-hour journey, but before the railway was built, some took seven or eight hours. Even on the train, there are also five or six-hour journeys in Laos.

Sensual vision

In our house, there are two pairs of sandals that my father used to wear to work in the garden. Sometimes, when they get dirty, my father himself fixes them with two pieces of rubber lace zippers. There was a mother wearing a simple dress like a cloth top and wearing two sandals, coming into the station. She also carried a small bag. The daughter, who had the same face as her mother, was holding her mother's hand with a very calm face. A little further away, there was a boy who could be suspected of being her mother's son-in-law.

So, that must have been the moment when that mother said goodbye to her daughter. If you look a little deeper, there is a good bond between a mother and daughter, no matter where they are in the world. After that, when the daughter grew up and settled in her own place, the mother could only come and see her. The daughter could not go back to hanging on her mother's arm like before. They both had to hug and cry for a while. The son-in-law also came and comforted the daughter.

No matter how big the newly built concrete floors and the creations are, such human scenes are more impressive than anything else.

The queue to enter the station was like a refugee queue. Western tourists going from one tourist destination to another with big and small bags hanging from their hands, Chinese who had returned to their motherland by train, Laotians who had come to travel from one city to another in their own country, etc. Many colorful faces were seen in the station queue.