Luang Prabang - the Golden Wats

At the foot of Mount Phousi lies the National Museum in the former Royal Palace where the Laotian Royal family lived until 1975.

Three-headed elephants and the cobra symbols , same as in neighboring Cambodia, in Angkor Wat.

the royal gas station, out of order since 1975

Luang Prabang has many temples called Wats. Most are elaborately decorated with gold leaf, mosaics and carvings and house Buddha statues.  The large and beautiful Wat Mai is next to the National Museum. 

Wat Mai is centrally located and can be entered from the Night Market Road in the evening to watch and listen to the monks chanting. It is decorated with hundreds of Buddha statues.  

a beloved head monk in gold

There were 20 Wats on our map. Slowly wandering through the streets of the town, one comes across many more small temples in hidden corners. The town occupies a small area, easily negotiably on foot, probably no more than a square kilometer. 

Buddha can be female.

                                               Under the golden ashoka tree 

a depiction of hell ...

the Tree of Life

A couple in formal wedding dress paid their homage at a temple.

Luang Prabang is famous for its alms giving ceremony. Early in the morning at 5.30 a.m. the monks leave the monasteries to go out and collect alms. They walk through the streets silently - watched and photographed by hordes of tourists like myself - and collect their breakfast and lunch in large bowls. Locals, but also many tourists, sit on the sidewalks with little bits of sticky rice and other stuff, that they place in the proffered bowls. It is a strange custom - imagine you have to eat bits of cold sticky rice that dozens of hands have touched. I have seen Chinese tourists putting small parcels still wrapped in plastic with instant noodle soup into the bowls... 

Plant of the Month : Cornus mas

Cornus mas (cornel cherry or dogwood tree, unrelated to the common cherry tree) is a small tree which flowers starting in February all through March for several long weeks. It is the first yellow colour to light up our garden, a fine pale yellow, before the forsythias start to unfold their bright yellows. 

 the spiky flowers

Here Cornus mas flowers behind Camellia Dr Burnside  which shows big buds already and will come into flower next month. Above,  last year's red hips of the Rambling Rector spread; it will flower in June. In autumn the "Kornelkirsche" will display small red cherry-like fruits. Fruits are edible but sour and mostly used cooked for preserves.

Luang Prabang - Mount Phousi

Mount Phousi is the local elevation on the Luang Prabang promontory which stretches between the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers where the Nam Khan meets Mekong. 355 steps lead to the monastery and temples that are sprinkled along the path and on top of the hill. At the summit the visitor is rewarded with a bird eye's view of the city layout. The tiny Wat That Chomsi waits to be explored. 

Buddha statue and disciples

 Marigolds in banana leaf are offered to the gods

in a side cave

the Big-Bellied Buddha

These little cages with birds inside can be bought along the way. Locals capture these tiny birds, mostly scaly-breasted munias,  and sell them to tourists, who set them free on the mountain for "good luck".  These birds assemble in rice paddies in large flocks, are easy to capture and thus provide some extra income.  

View from the top of Mount Phousi towards Luang Prabang's main road.

Next to this monastery to the left is an Ashoka tree (Saraca asoca) with its beautiful orange flowers corresponding to the colour of the robes.