On October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao stood at Tiananmen Square in Beijing and declared the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) - a communist country and government that he would lead. To commemorate this day, China celebrates October 1st as National Day (like our 4th of July).
The best part of National Day is a WHOLE WEEK off! All businesses close and everyone in the country celebrates the holiday, which also means that many people travel. (over 210 MILLION people were expected to travel within China during this week -- that's equivalent to 68% of Americans all traveling at one time! Doing anything in China at this time is outrageous - buses are so crowded, you can't find a taxi, businesses aren't open, etc etc). So.... several friends and I decided to make a short trip to Laos during our time off.
Laos (pink color on map) borders Yunnan (the green region on the map) to the south, and there are direct busses from Kunming to Luang Prabang, Laos (the second largest city in the country).
The countries on the map are all united because of the Mekong River, which flows through Yunnan and down into Laos. Each of these countries in the region are dependent on the river for its many resources.
My friends and I took the bus from Kunming to Luang Prabang, where we spent 5 days touring the area. We enjoyed kayaking down the beautiful Mekong River, hiking in the jungle, swimming near the waterfalls, and experiencing many of Lao's Buddhist customs and traditions. It was a great week of relaxation and another opportunity to explore more of Southeast Asia.
Laos is known for its traditional Buddhist culture. Luang Prabang is filled with wats (temples); they seem to occupy literally every street corner. And in a city of just over 66,000 people, there are over 1,000 monks. The above picture is the entrance to one of the wats near our hostel.
One the most famous wats in the city. The low-scooping rooflines show Buddhist architecture that is unique to Luang Prabang.
The front entrance of one of the wats (notice the large statue of Buddha through the doorframe).
Buddhist designs stenciled onto the walls of the wat
Elephant heads carved into the outside of one of the wats
....Roll Tide! : )
Sign for a laywer's office - isn't the Lao script beautiful?!
A monk waiting to get in his boat and row to the opposite bank of the Mekong.
A monk's robe hanging out to dry at the monastery.
Buddhist shrine
Statues and monuments like this are all over the city
Because Laos was a colony of France, there are many French influences in the country... the best one being FRENCH BREAD! We ate french bread at least twice a day! I would move to Laos for this sole reason, seriously. My question is, why haven't Lao people taught the Chinese how to make bread!?!
Second best thing of Luang Prabang: fresh fruit shakes for like $0.60! In case you were wondering, fruit shakes are a healthy addition to breakfast, lunch, AND dinner!
Kunming Friends! Will, Erin, me, and Roldy. On the back of a truck, on our way to kayak.
Loving life and sunshine!
Kayaking down the Mekong River
Laos is known for its natural beauty, which includes many waterfalls. We visited two major waterfalls around Laung Prabang. Above is Kuang Si Waterfall.
Hiking in the jungle, we reached the top of the waterfall, where the water sits silently.
Every morning Buddhist monks perform a ritual of walking around the city to collect alms or food for the day. Because they don't work, the monks are dependent upon the local believers to donate their food. Each monk carries a small pot and walks in a single file line down all of the major streets in the city; the city people wait for them to pass and put food in their bucket.
The monks walking down the street to collect alms for the day.
Women sit and donate sticky rice to each monk as they walk by.
Monks in Laos are often very young (usually ages 10 to 18). The length of commitment for a monk can last from 3 months to multiple years, depending on the person. These young boys will probably only be monks for a short time. However, much respect and honor will come to the families because their young boys served as a monk and learned traditional Buddhist ways.
Ancient caves on the Mekong River that were designated at places to worship Buddha.
Thousands of statues of Buddha in the caves
Boat ride down the Mekong River.
The type of boats used to navigate down the river, with the Lao flag.
