LAST DAYS IN LAOS

Luang Prabang is the perfect place to end this trip through SE Asia. It's a beautiful UNESCO recognized heritage town, full of colonial style mansions turned into guesthouses, it has a great tourist area with lots of places to eat, drink and be merry, and temples galore. It's still really hot outside (37-39C), so I've been spending afternoons out at Kuang Si Waterfalls, a beautiful swimming hole that looks like something out of a movie set.

Orange, green and blue are the colors that I'll think of when I remember this trip - and there's an orange parade at 5:30 a.m. every morning right outside my guesthouse when about 200 Monks and Novices walk through town accepting alms (cooked rice, fruit, cookies) from the faithful Buddhists and some tourists that maybe aren't Buddhists but want to be part of the ceremony. It's a lovely sight - quiet and respectful - at least from my viewpoint. Apparently business of tourists zoom in each morning and often act like papparazzi - trying to get the perfect picture. There are posters all over town asking tourists to please be respectful, but some people never get it.

I also saw a few Monks giving some of the alms they received to children from poorer families - so they give as well as receive.

At the end of it all, before the Monks go back into their temples, they gather and chant a thank you/blessing/prayer for the people who've provided food for their daily meal.

Nice way to start the morning.
Great way to end a trip.

I'm heading back to Bangkok on the 16th and back in Canada on May 18th.
It's the end of this part of the adventure...