Days 15-16: Laos, continued

Grab a cup of coffee, 'cause this is a long one!

On our second morning in Luang Prabang, we set out for the Kuang Si Waterfalls, which are located about 20 miles south of town.  Although it's faster by tuk-tuk, we opted for an hour trip by boat down the Mekong and a truck ride from a small village neighboring the falls.

The view from the river bank up to our hotel...

Some views from our journey ... we had the middle boat all to ourselves (plus a driver!)

Luang Prabang from the river...

A family farming in the fertile soil of the riverbank.

Water buffalo!

Fishing! 

Beach where we docked to catch a ride to the falls...

Steep climb up to the village with our driver...

The village...

More water buffalo!

Countryside...

Tomato garden...

Entrance to the park...

The park contains a bear rescue center ... whose residents had cute fluffy cheeks (ears? shoulders?)!

Cool baby swing...

Finally, the falls!  There were many gorgeous pools, and our pictures don't really do them justice.  The water was a beautiful turquoise color, but a bit too cold for us for swimming!

We had some fun experimenting with the shutter speed on the camera--same shot, but two different results!

Some guys on the rope swing...

Again, playing with the shutter speed.  Faster ...

Sloooow ...

 Some more of the park...

The main waterfall is amazing, one of the prettiest I've ever seen!  Unfortunately, it was hard to get a good shot, as trees blocked the best view, which required shooting into direct sunlight with drenching mist all around.  It's tough to see, but the falls started all the way at the very top of this picture, above the main cascade.

We decided to climb to the top -- up a steep path, in flip flops!

View from the top...

Some of my favorite flowers...Angel's trumpets! (I first fell in love with them at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.)

 Some other pretty flowers...

We finished the day with dinner at the casual sister of the French restaurant from the first night.  I had my second spaghetti bolognese of the trip--every once in a while, I just craved something I knew my stomach could handle!

Before our mid-day flight to southern Thailand, we were up before sunrise to watch one of Luang Prabang's most famous traditions--the giving of alms to the monks.  This religious ritual takes place at sunrise every morning throughout the city streets.  The monks eat only food that has been given to them, and nothing after noon. Before the sun has risen, worshippers line the streets and wait for the monks' procession.  When each monk passes by, people kneel and give him morsels of sticky rice, fruit, or other foods.  In addition to the locals, the streets were crowded with tourists and local women trying to sell rice to the tourists for alms-giving.  The folks at our hotel discouraged us from purchasing food from the street vendors because of its poor quality--the monks don't eat it.

Staff at our hotel said we were free to participate, but emphasized the importance of doing so respectfully.  We decided to pass--not because we couldn't be respectful, but because it would not be meaningful to us and we didn't want to interfere with the local ritual.  Our hotel owner assured us that we could watch and take pictures from across the street.  She emphasized (as did many posters around town) that we should take our photos from a distance as many tourists disrespectfully crowd the monks and interfere with the alms giving.  

Waiting for the monks...

Even with the hundreds of posters around town asking tourists to give the monks some space, people still crowded around snapping pictures...

I found the tourists frustrating as their disrespectful behavior destroyed the beauty and serenity of the ritual.  It was difficult to get a shot without a tourist, but I managed a few from across the street with a telephoto lens...

There seemed to be some kind of recycling system when a monk's bowl became full.