Travelling to Luang Prabang will not be complete without witnessing the Tak Bat or morning alms giving ceremony, an ancient Buddhist tradition. At dawn every day, hundreds of barefoot monks clad in saffron robes walk the streets in single file and locals kneel by roadsides to offer food to the monks (mostly sticky rice) as a way to seek spiritual blessing. Tak Bat can also be witnessed in other Buddhist countries but nowhere else do the scenes look more spectacular than in Luang Prabang. Perhaps it's the amalgamation of French and Indochinese architecture of the wats and buidings, gilded roofs, stupas and all, that form a majestic backdrop to the monks procession. Or perhaps it's the absolute peace and tranquility of the streets of Luang Prabang.
At the ungodly hour of 5.30 a.m, we bundled Snufkin who was still sleeping into the pre-arranged tuk-tuk. It was that time between night and day, when the diminishing darkness and the increasing light combined to create an almost magical feel. We thought we were early enough but as we got to the roundabout before Joma Bakery, we saw a small procession of monks walking in silent. Our tuk-tuk sped on until right after the primary school where we got off. Sadly, the first thing I saw there were flashes from tourists' cameras and groups of tourists standing so close to the monks procession. I had read before about the way the tourists were turning the sacred tradition into a circus show but I found it hard to believe that people could be so inconsiderate and insensitive
Now, it was all there in front of my eyes. Tourists shoving their cameras into the monks' and almsgivers' faces and blocking the way of the procession. I understand that many travel agencies offer the opportunity to be part of the ceremony in their travel packages and have seen such itineraries. The upshot of this is tourists who kneel by the roadside with baskets of food in their hands, waiting for their next monk to feed - much like buying bananas to feed the elephants at the zoo. It is perfectly fine if this was done for a spiritual purpose. But to do so just for the sake of having some photos to brag about is totally wrong and to do so with two fingers raised in a peace sign while looking smiling at a friend's camera is a nothing short of a crime. It demeans the purpose of the whole ceremony and reduces the authenticity of it.
I do not mean to be self-righteous as after all we were there too to witness the ceremony. But there is one major rule you have to abide to show some respect. Maintain your distance - we stood across the road and took photos as discreetly as possible. In fact, because Snufkin was still sleeping and one of us had to carry him, half of the time we were sitting on the steps of an ATM booth. After a while, when the main procession had passed, most of the tourists trooped back into their vans presumably back to their hotels to continue their slumber. This is the best time to watch the alms giving. There were still monks walking in single file and we could see the synchronized way each of the monk open the lid to his basket for the alms giver to put a scoop of sticky rice in.
It was at this time that Snufkin decided to wake-up, bleary-eyed, with the question "Where are we now?". I explained that we were out to see his friends "the men in orange t-shirts" and that we could have our breakfast now. And thus a few steps away we stepped, into La Banneton which was just opening its doors. So that was how, at 6.45 in the morning, we found ourselves having breakfast of croissants and yoghurt with fresh fruits in a French bakery in Laos. A new day has dawned and across the road at the grounds of magnificent Wat Sop, young monks were quietly doing their daily chores. Both of us took turns taking Snufkin to explore the temple grounds and the surrounding areas (and took turns having a quiet breakfast!)
After a long and leisurely breakfast, we decidevd to take advantage of the early start and visit Wat Xien Thong, before the crowd descended (Opening time: 8.00 to 17.30, Entrance fees: 20,000 kip). This wat is also called the Temple of the Golden City and it is located towards the end of the peninsular near the confluence of Mekong River and Nam Khan River. Travelling with a young child, I thought it was more important not to get templed-out and this meant visiting not more than 3 temples. And Wat Xien Thong has got to be one of these. Built in the 16th century, it is a beautiful piece of Lao architecture - with a sweeping two-tiered roof, ornate carvings and gilded facade. The pièce de résistance is the tree of life mosaics/murals at the rear temple wall. We sat there for quite some time, admiring the mosaics and trying to tell a story from all the intricate sequence of pictures.
Being out and about so early also meant that we could see the Luang Prabang Morning Market, a true feast to the senses and more so for a 4-year old boy. Located in the alleys off Sisavangvong Road, there were stalls selling everything from fruits and vegetables from the surrounding hills and fields, spices, animals (dead and alive), handicrafts, coffee, meals wrapped in banana leaf for breakfast and an assortment of other things that I could not quite recognise.
As we stumbled out of the morning market feeling tired and sweaty and with aching feet, we breathed a sigh of relief when we came across Saffron Cafe, much like a person lost in a desert would feel at the first sight of an oasis. After tasting the coffee, we agreed that it must have been heaven-sent. Until today, the coffee we had there set the benchmark of what good coffee should taste like and more importantly, it was a perfect ending to our early morning jaunt.
No comments:
Post a Comment