Loving Laos

The Pra Bang Buddha, for which the city is named, is on view in the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum, which we visited after breakfast (I had boiled chicken with rice, and now have more appreciation for hotels that have Asian breakfast as an option). The same royal line lasted for centuries until the communist overthrow in 1975, and the palace preserves some of that legacy – most interesting to me were the throne room, with mirrored mosaic walls, the clothing, and the room full of gifts from other heads of state (the one from the U.S. had something to do with the astronauts, I think – but I may be getting it confused with something I saw later in the trip). Once a year, the Pra Bang is paraded around the city. On the museum grounds there was also a photo exhibit of a monk retreat and an exhibit of drawings of Old Laos.


We then went to several wats, each slightly different, and each magnificent examples of Lao architecture (the roofline is the most noticeable difference – I can’t tell you much because I was experiencing rather than studying). The most historic was Wat Xiang Thong. We also went into a few shops – perhaps I should have bought more, but I had in mind that Chiang Mai would be my shopping-for-other-people location. I did buy a small Buddha for the day of the week when I was born (Sunday – standing, hands clasped in front of body, representing the time after the Buddha realized enlightenment) and a small sticky-rice basket.







We didn’t climb the sacred hill to see the golden stupa on top – had to leave something for next time, after all – and we left the daytime markets and a handicraft center unexplored. There’s also a waterfall for those who have time for another cruise, and the village right across the Mekong has its charm. One of the initiatives of the Lao government is called “stay another day.” It’s a shame we couldn’t (Marilee had to get back for work) but seeing how much more we could have done in Luang Prabang and in Laos just helped to elevate it to its award-worthy status! We had time for a Lao-food lunch (I can’t tell you what spices and recipes make it different from Thai food but it was delicious! I had a Lao version of tempura and chicken with basil) at a place called Indochina Spirit – and all too soon it was time to fly home. When we got back, we had Thai massages – for Marilee, two hours; for me, one hour and one hour on the internet, making plans for the week ahead.