Today is our first full day in Luang Prabang, after arriving here late yesterday afternoon. Today we have to be in the lobby by as we have several places to visit this morning before we head off to visit the Kuang Si waterfalls this afternoon.
Breakfast at the hotel is included during our stay and, Ted and I headed to the dining room at about 10 to 8. We had a minimal selection of choice and there was a mixture of western and Lao food, on offer. Orange juice (super sweet), eggs, little sausages, pork, I think, bread (no toaster), butter and jam. There was also a small selection of Lao food, which I didnt even contemplate so, just went for the eggs and sausages.. As usual, Ted and I had our Vegemite and peanut butter with us, so also just had that on bread to round off our meal – not much other choice anyway.
We were one of the last of our group to have breakfast but, were still there in plenty of time before we had to meet in the foyer. The only others there were Dave and Anita, Joe and Rory.
Katy had arranged for the hotel shuttle bus to drop us at the Morning Market where we spent about half an hour just wandering through it with Mr Kit, our Laotian guide, pointing out different things. This market is mostly only food – fruits and vegetables, meat, fish etc.
We saw some weird and wonderful things there apart from the ordinary. Many of the vegetables we recognised but, there were also a lot that we didnt so, Mr Kit explained them to us but, it was the meat side of things that I really had difficulty with – live toads in a huge dish with a net over it so that they couldnt escape, bamboo worms in a big dish that are mostly used as bait for fishing but can also be cooked and eaten as a snack!
But, what I really couldnt cope with, was the huge chunks of meat just lying bare, out in the open, on long trestle tables. This is what I had the most difficulty with.
buffalo, at around $USD40 per kilo (very expensive), big chunks of it; pork, chicken (had seen live ones just previously) and other types of meat, and also fish, all just lying on top of the tables in the baking sun, with blowflies crawling all over everything which made me cringe, just looking at it. 😞
From there, we walked the short distance to the National Museum. This used to be the old Royal residence (their last king died in 1959) and the nearby Wat Mahathat or, Temple of the Great Stupa, close by in the grounds, which is one of the more ornate temples in Luang Prabang
Wat Mahathat was built in 1548 during the reign of Setthathirath, King of the Lan Xang Kingdom. In 1900, the sim (temple) collapsed during evening prayers as a result of a devastating typhoon. Many people were killed in the destruction as well as many other buildings of the Wat being destroyed. The sim was rebuilt between 1907 and 1910 to replace the original. It was restored again in 1963, with more restoration work taking place in 1991.
and only a short walk away. The day was hot and humid and, as I wasnt feeling 100%, we soon found a shady spot out of the sun, and it was while we were sitting here in the shade in the grounds of the temple, that daughter, Jenni, rang me from home, for my birthday. The line wasnt the best and there was a long delay when you talked, which reminded me of when we used to phone her in Costa Rica when she was there on student exchange many years ago. 😊
Anyway, we chatted away for about 10 minutes. Little did I know then that it was going to cost ME the $14 for the privilege! I have a Global Sim card in my phone that now, I always use when we travel overseas but, being new to this technology on this trip, I didnt know then, that I would also be charged for receiving calls, as well as making them! 😊 However, it was still lovely to hear from Jen, as she sang happy birthday to me whilst also wishing me a great holiday experience in Luang Prabang - which was proclaimed a UNESCO heritage site
on 9 December, 1995 – and is one of her most favourite places in the world.
