Hey there my Steemit friends! I just finished spending a month in Laos. Wow was it fun, exciting, and very interesting. My last stop was in Luang Prabang in the north of the country. The town has a population of 56,000 and being located along the Mekong River makes this an extra special place. Unesco listed Luang Prabang as a world heritage site for it's well preserved Buddhist traditional culture and architecture.
Luang Prabang is an old town, I mean real old! Archeologist found evidence of people living here dating back to 8,000 BC! Some of the first recorded history dates back to year 698 when Prince Khun Lo was rewarded the town by his father King Khun Borom who is associated with the Lao legend of the creation of the world. This is one ancient historic town!
In more recent times the country and the town has been invaded and occupied several times over. It's most influential occupation was in the late 19th and early 20the century by the Vichy French. You can still see the French baguette being sold commonly throughout the country today. From 1779-1893 the Siamese or Thais occupied the country. During WWII it was a real free fall mess of different occupants including, Chinese, Japanese, Thais, Americans, and French.
Then came the Vietnam War which spilled heavily into Laos. The area around Luang Prabang was carpet bombed by American forces. I met an American War vet the other day who lives in Laos and has devoted the rest of his life to helping clear unexploded bombs that he as a bomber pilot dropped during this human disaster. After that was the Lao civil war, then peace has generally fallen over the land. Today Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world yet their values and traditions hold firm making it one of the safest low crime places in the world as well.
I had a great time observing everyday life in this historic town. Walking through the markets is like taking a step back in time. Besides that every few blocks there seems to be another Buddhist monastery. Every morning around 6am about two hundred Buddhist Monks walk through the streets of the town and collect their "Alms", or their one meal of the day traditionally given to them by the community.
The monks are held in very high respect by the locals and it's considered an honor to participate in the daily Alms ceremony. Often rice, fruit, or traditional Lao sweets are given in a highly respectful manner. This is one of the most unique and heartwarming daily community rituals that I've seen in my years of travel; so we'll start off with this photo taken at 6am of the Alms ceremony. Hope you enjoy the photos! -Dan "World Travel Pro!"
Not To be Missed!
Adventure in Laos Resulting in Emergency Flip-Flop Repair! Part One
With over 10 years of travel experience I answer travel and international lifestyle questions. Leave a question in the comments and I may make a video just for you!
