Of course a busy day had to be followed by an early start. 😊 Up at 5AM, finally I realise there really are two 5 o’clocks per day.
Today we were off to see / participate in a daily routine, the giving of Alms to the monks. The monks walk from the temple along the streets of the town with large bowls, collecting offerings of food. Primarily this was sticky rice and rice cakes. The food is then taken back to the temple and a meal is provided for all the monks. Going off topic slightly, our guide was a monk for 10 years so gave us some insight to their life. In the Buddhist faith all males are expected to attend the temple as a novice monk for a period of instruction. This can range from a few weeks to many years. Our guide completed most of his education this way. Unlike western monks they don’t “sign up” for life, but they may continue as a monk for as long as they wish.
Above are the monks collecting the Alms. Those who have one bare shoulder are novice monks.
Once you have given your offerings, a small amount should be left over to give to the spirits of the animals. Three (or 1,5,7,9) small rice balls are placed on the Temple walls for them.
Once the ceremony had finished we headed off to the morning market. Even though it was just 6AM the place was pretty busy, both with tourists and locals doing there daily shopping. Some of the things on sale were pretty bizarre (to me any way)! Dead squirrels and rats for stews, frogs alive and dead, catfish alive and dead, large black hard shelled beetles etc. etc. There were a variety of fruits, previously unknown to us and every where people were selling buffalo skin in various guises to be used for food.
Below are a few shots of the market.
Once back at the hotel we had breakfast, then it was off to pack. We will be taken to the train station to catch a high speed train to the capital of Laos, Vientiane, about two hours away. The it’s onto a plane heading to Hanoi in Vietnam.