Barbara, Julie, and Audra - in front of each is a scarf and a basket of sticky rice.
The morning alms giving procession (tak bat) in Luang Prabang is one of the best known ceremonies in Laos. CW arranged the necessities for walkers to participate providing stools, scarves, and sticky rice. Toby provided instructions on proper etiquette (e.g. no shoes), and about 2/3 of the group participated while the remaining third recorded the ceremonies.
Barbara, Julie, and Audra - in front of each is a scarf and a basket of sticky rice.
Toby demonstrates how to don the scarf.
Sheri and Leah listening to Toby's instructions on alms giving etiquette.
Blessing the alms.
The non-givers / documentarians. Those white circles are droplets of water in the air reflecting the flash.
Tak bat - alms giving procession.
About half the alms givers have left their stools.
Another procession of monks.
The elder monk leading the procession.
Julie and Audra offering alms.
Gwen offering alms as the temple dog dashes by underneath.
The younger monks were generally at the end of the line.
Julie dons her shoes after the procession.
The electric wiring here was just a 'free-form' as it was in Hanoi.
Coconut shells used as orchid pots.
After breakfast, Hung and a third of the group took off to the airport to catch their flight to Siem Reap. The remaining walkers were on a later flight so Toby took us to the top of Mount Phu Si to see the temple there. The weather was a little warmer and a lot more muggy and I was dripping with sweat most of the walk. I had left my day pack in the hotel room with my spare batteries and sweatbands. I rolled the one bandana I had in my pocket to use as a sweatband, but I was still using the lower hem of my shirt to wipe the perspiration from my face.
In addition, I maxed out my camera's memory card, and the second card was back in the hotel room. So I ended up using my iPhone for the rest of the morning's walk.
Starting up the stairs on Mount Phu Si.
A representation of the Buddhist earth goddess.
One of the naga motifs - used as balustrade.
Buddha statue in grotto.
More statues.
A bomb shell casing used for peaceful purposes.
More statues.
Tuesday Buddha - there is a posture for each day of the week.
More Buddha.
Assorted statuary/shrines on the hillside.
More Buddha postures.
Offerings brought by the faithful - made from banana leaves and decorated with marigolds and plumeria.
A view of the Namkhan River from the top.
A temple cat.
The topmost structure on the mount.
A vendor assembling the offerings.
The completed offerings - also the wicker cages had sparrows in them, to be freed at the altar as the offering.
Jack and Judy.
Wat Ho Pha Bang on the grounds of Royal Palace.
Wat Ho Pha Bang.
Jonathan putting his shoes back on after visiting the temple.
Lunch back at the Villa Maly before we headed out to the airport and the flight to Siem Reap.
Returning to the hotel we finished our packing to set the bags outside the door at the designated time and then to the restaurant for lunch. We brought our daypacks with us as we had checked out, settling our bar tab the previous night. Toby escorted us through check-in at the airport and wished us farewell before we headed back through immigration and security.
Our aircraft was a propeller driven plane boarding from the rear — and of course Jonathan and I got seated in row 1 (there was no first class). The plan made a U-turn on the ascent out of Luang Prabang reminiscent of the take-off we experienced leaving Queenstown New Zealand. The broad muddy orange-brown of the Mekong reflected briefly through the airplane windows before leveling off.
We arrived in the slanting sun of late afternoon as we walked across the tarmac in the warm humid air into the terminal to first get our visa-on-arrival, and then through immigrations, the unstaffed customs checkpoint to meet Savy, our Cambodia guide.
Siem Reap sits on a flat plain patched with frequent water covered fields and paddies. The town has expanded to support the resurgent tourist trade with hundreds of hotels build in the last decade. To top that busy-ness off it was also the three-day Water Festival, a national holiday with dragon boat races not far from our hotel. The crowds in the area for the festival looked a bit daunting to me (who dislikes packed crowds — triggers my claustrophobia). Although Alan and perhaps other folks went to check out the festivities, Jonathan and I opted to check out the pool.
The refreshing drink offered to us upon our arrival at the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa.
The pool as seen from the lobby - we took advantage of the water after checking in.
Our room.
The facilities.
The view out the balcony.
Hibiscus flowers.
Amuse bouche - my faulty memory thinks it's yoghurt.
Pomelo and Prawn Salad.
The hotel cat.
Traditional Khmer Lok Lak, Topped with Fried Egg.
Chocolate torte with mango coulis.
