One of the cool things to see in Luang Prabang that you can see in most Buddhist countries if you know where to look is the monks receiving their alms in the early morning.
Beth had gone out early yesterday morning to survey the scene, and she pretty much confirmed what we had read in a lot of guide books and online forums: tourists were turning the alms ceremony into a bit of a gong show. In the old tourist centre, she saw bad behaviour: running around, taking in-your-face photos with flashes, following the monks, even a couple of tour buses following one pack of monks.
On her way back, Beth noticed lots of monks in our little residential neighbourhood doing the ceremonial walk in a much quieter, respectful, atmosphere. So bad has it gotten in "town" that the monks had threatened to stop the ceremony but the government threatened to continue it using monk "actors" so the real monks relented. Thank Buddha!
So Abby and I woke up at 5:30 and walked out our door in search of the orange clad monks. One look to the right and we saw a group headed our way. We also saw the occasional woman or grounp of women sitting on a stool, at the side of the road waiting for the monks. Not wanting to be a distraction, and knowing you should be seated lower than the monks if you want to participate or watch the ceremony, we walked away from them looking for a seat.
We watched in awe as the group passed, collecting a small bit of rice or other food from the women in the street and storing them in their alms containers strung around their shoulders. We found another seat down the road where we saw more women waiting, and over the next half hour were amazed with about one hundred more monks in various group sizes as they passed by and occasionally chanted.
It was beautiful to watch. I was amazed at how quickly they streamed by, collected their alms silently, and moved on. I also thought how incredible it was that the local women would wake up each morning to prepare and offer these alms. Every morning, every day, every week, and on and on. It is actually a bit of a social thing for them, as neighbours would sit and chat, waiting for the monks.
The monks themselves were of all ages - from about 6 or 7, to in their sixties. They were all clean shaven and dressed in orange or different shades close to orange. They really moved fast, and we were amazed that they didn't flinch walking over some tough gravelly patches of road in their bare feet.
The whole scene was very peaceful and inspiring.
We've heard conflicting reports of whether the monks subsist solely on the alms, or whether they actually collect so much that they give excess to those in need. Based on what we saw, I would guess the latter to be true.
After recovering some lost sleep, we took the girls over to Big Brother Mouse - a non profit publishing and English language education center founded by a westerner to get Lao kids reading (it's traditionally been a big problem). This center is really a resource for locals who want to speak English with foreigners. We sat down and were mobbed by keen locals hoping to hone their skills. It was a lot of fun and a great way to expose the kids to some local culture. Robin got a whole list of cultural notes from her buddy that she'll hopefully blog about. English really is the key to prosperity in Southeast Asia. It helps you get a job, mainly in tourism which is one of the highest paid industries in most of the less developed nations.
I found out that education is not free here, despite Laos being a socialist country. High school costs about $25USD a year and university costs around $200 a year. It sounds cheap but based on average incomes here, it's no wonder the literacy rates and educations levels are still quite low. Sad. But thanks to organizations like Big Brother Mouse, things are starting to improve.
It was another sleepy afternoon - some cards, a really nice lunch with my first Hoegarden, oh, icy cold Hoegarden, in Asia. Did I mention the Hoegarden? For the price of an expensive entree, it was well worth it. If you can't find me for the rest of the day, don't go looking in this cafe...... Hmmmmm....
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