ＧＲＥＧ日記 ｉｎ ニッポン

The Final Installment

And for my final installment of Lao photographs, I'll show you some random pictures of various temples.
Actually, I'm going to show the ornate work that went into parts of the temples.

In the top picture, you can see the EMERALD BUDDHA.
The photograph didn't come out as good as it could have, but I still like it.
The statue is actually made of jade, not emerald.

The next two pictures are of a door leading to a minor temple.
I just really liked the design.

Finally, this is the wall of one of the main temples in LUANG PRABANG.
It was the first one that I visited, so it made a lasting impression.

The Saffron Mile

These are a couple of pics from LUANG PRABANG, the ancient capital of Laos.
As I mentioned before, the entire city is a UNESCO site.
There are many temples here, so there are also a lot of monks.
In fact, it is estimated that there are 500 practising monks.
Each morning at dawn, the monks walk around the city and collect alms from the locals.
The sight is known as THE SAFFRON MILE because of the colour of their robes and the seemingly endless
line of monks.
Most locals give each monk a bit of rice, though other food offerings are welcome.

Pepsi, Lao-style

Yes, Pepsi is everywhere in Laos.
I took this photo along the Mekong River in Vientiane, the capital city.
Vientiane has to be the least bustling capital city in the world!
There is an official curfew of 22:30, though it is often overlooked for tourists.
There isn't much to do at night, so a curfew is a good excuse to go to bed early.
And yes, I did try the Pepsi.
It tasted like....Pepsi.

Very Refreshing

This is TAT KUANG SI, a huge waterfall in LUANG PRABANG province.
It's a series of falls at different levels.
At its highest point, the falls resemble KEGON FALLS in NIKKO.
I liked the lower levels much better, especially the colours.
It's possible to swim in some of the pools, which is exactly what some people were doing.
If you ever get a chance to go to Northern Laos, I recommend going to these falls.

The Village

I've included three pictures of the village that we stayed in.
The name of the village is BAN NAM GOY and is located in LUANG NAM THA province, Northern Laos.

The first picture is just looking in the direction of the village.
All told, there are about 50 huts in this village.

The second picture is of the hut that I stayed in.
It was comfortable enough, I guess.
We were provided with a mosquito net, though we didn't see any at all since the dry season was approaching.
The doors are left open until you go to bed, meaning that anyone and ANYTHING can enter whenver they
choose. Pigs, chickens, dogs, and spitting women all came and went throughout the day.

The final picture is of a classroom in a neighbouring village. This village is about an hour away (on foot, of
course) and is a bit wealthier than the one we stayed in.
The village where we were is now hoping to construct a similar classroon.