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China - SE Asia 2011Cycle TouringLaos

Around Luang Prabang

By June 19, 20112 Comments

A few shots from three days in and around Luang Prabang, Laos.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Buddhist Temple at Haw Kham (Royal Palace) complex, with the nightly craft market stalls in the foreground.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
We took a trip up the Mekong for 1.5 hours to the Pak Ou cave, an ancient site of worship, only accessible by boat.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Upper tier of the Pak Ou cave.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
The two caves at Pak Ou are famous for the thousands of buddha figurines placed inside.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Buddhas in the lower Pak Ou cave. Mekong River.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Wanting to get off the tourist trail a little more we took a guided day trip mountain bike ride to visit some minority villages across the Mekong from Luang Prabang. Jewell Travel Laos (who I would do some photography for later) provided a great English speaking guide who was able to give us a customised and highly insightful few hours biking into the hills and checking out villages. They got further back in time the further we went.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Hmong woman, lips smeared with betel nut juice, in village near Luang Prabang.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Boy collecting tamarind seeds – the ‘prize’ for winning a game that involved hurling a jandal at a bottle of seeds on the ground.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Family in Khmu village.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Kids in Khmu village (about 1.5 hours ride from Luang Prabang).

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
We were something of a novely in this village (especially once the big camera came out) and the kids became totally hyper – especially the 10 year old boy with the knife and staff!

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
And sometimes a bit more relaxed…

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Monks pray in one of Luang Prabang’s many wats. A day alone can be spent wandering around the wats in the peninsula area of Luang Prabang. Photography is not a problem if kept discrete and the monks like to take the time to chat.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Monk robes drying.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Sandals outside wat.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Each morning between 5.30-6am Luang Prabang’s hundreds of monks practice Takuhatsu (alms) to collect donations of food or money from the town’s citizens.

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
The procession…

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Nope, not a drum, but a extra capacious food bowl!

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Goodies on offer…

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Bizarre food chain: once the monks passed those donating food, there was a small row of kids begging for food from the monks!

Around Luang Prabang, Highlux Photography
Cradled by mountains, Luang Prabang was not long ago only reliably accessed by boat on the Mekong River. It’s over these ranges that the next leg of the trip will take us down to Vang Vieng, about three days ride away.

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