A sleepy, spiritual last Laos day

Days in transit, travel savvy
Glad that we're traversing on
From the sky, views legendary
From place to place my soul is drawn

August 12, 2008

LUANG PRABANG, LAOS to HANOI, VIETNAM

Finally comes the day when we are able to leave Luang Prabang behind and move along on our travels to a more interesting town (although, all in all, I guess I did enjoy LP...it was just a slower pace than what I'm used to).

I awoke very early, around 5:30 am, after spending a night reading until 1:30 am. Not sure what roused me, but I figured that since it was my last day in LP and since I was already awake (though way groggy), I might as well take advantage of the early hour and go watch the almsgiving one more time.

I chose a different corner this morning, and stood across the street from two old men giving alms.


The procession was already well underway and as I observed quietly (and the few tourists around were also very quiet), I noticed the sound of the monks' feet shuffling on the ground as they processed.


It's a pretty quotidien sound, hardly one that I would ahve individually distinguised out of a veritable tapestry of city sounds at any other time. But I think that's what made its impression on me. Its very mundaneness, and the fact that this sound, above all other possible, was discernable, meant that everything had stopped except this one thing. And that in itself (and perhaps more so for me, having a religious perspective on life, with the belief that those who identify with a religion often forget to take the time out for the non-traditional, little, unexpected, non-miraculous, and ordinary religious and "miracle" moments in life) was a very powerful thing. I'm glad I got to witness the almsgiving a second time, because it felt very differnt from the first. And maybe that was more a product of going alone rather than a second view: seeing things all by yourself allows you the time to really get lost in your own thoughts...


When the procession had ended, it was only about 6:30 am, so I went for a walk, figuring Taulee was still sleeping. I visited a few of the smaller wats; LP is overrun with them, and they are literally line up, side by side on the main road.



They were all fairly unremarkable and I decided to hit the local market and find something to eat. It was nice getting to opportunity to just quietly soak up the feel of the town.


It was an interesting market, and bustling with locals (and so few tourists!). There were no stalls; all of the vendors were set up on the sides of the streets, on blankets covering the ground.




It was mostly a fresh market, and so I went looking for a snack. I found one in a banana leaf, within which was contained purple rice, red beans, coconut shavings, and coconum cream. Quite the yummy and also prompted conversation with the front desk guy at our guesthouse. (Who later, by the by, when we checked out, insisted that I take his phone number. "I have the guesthouse number already." "No, my personal number." "Uh...okay...")


The rest of the morning we spent chilling out in a coffee shop, communing with the last cup of Laos coffee in Laos that we'd have. I also ate a coconut cookie which was quite amazing. Sipping coffee and watching the town be itself...tres cool.


After leaving the coffee shop to finish packing, we took the long way around the delta, deciding to walk along the river one last time. And that was...interesting. Turned out that because of the previous day's rain, the river had flooded the lower roads down at the river side.


The flight was uneventful, and when we arrived in Hanoi, we started getting ripped off again. The shuttle downtown was supposed to be $2 per person but they wouldn't take less than $3 per person. And the travel agent at the tourist info desk called a few hotels for us but they were all "full." "But let me suggest X...I think is better for you..." We did eventually make it through into Hanoi! But the hostel in the Old Quarter we wanted to stay at was full, so we ended up in a really nice hotel instead (it actually had a fridge in the room, and a separate bathtub and shower (no asian combo!). We wandered around the streets a little before going to sleep...