Our trip to Nan and Phrae in May 2009 Part 1

Another view of the lake in Pua A view of the main street of Pua with the mountains towards Laos in the background. Those of you who know FNQ could perhaps see a resemblance to Innisfail??? We came here to see if we could find textiles and silverwork done by local Mien people. Yes, we did,... and we did. We came, we saw, we plundered, sort of. Loved this little town and the surrounding countryside is superb. Definitely a "must come back" place.

Then we headed off towards the Lao border to Pua - which no one had heard of in Chiang Mai!! They probably hadn't heard of, or been to, Chiang Mai!

This is a lake in the centre of town - where we had lunch. It was a bit cloudy and hazy but you can just see the mountains which surround the town.

Part of the gardens fronting the Palace (now the Nan National Museum). Very lush and tropical with elkhorns and palms and of course orchids.

This is the palace of the last rulers of Nan, built about 1903, who ruled until 1931 when Jao Mahaphrom Surathada died, and the Bangkok Chakri dynasty took control. Beautifully maintained with original family bits and pieces. Peter says it is very like one of the homes he grew up in, in Singapore, lucky him, or it may have been the palace of the last ruler in Phrae which you'll no doubt see soon - it was one of them, believe me - we of course know better as Peter will never grow up!!!

Now, on a different track completely, THIS is how you attract customers to the dentist!!! The Thai name for dentist is 'Mor Fun', so we thought this a very clever play on words. Mind you, the photo was as far as we went!

B admires the craftmanship but decided he wouldn't be able to hang around till late in the year when the races are on. Shame that!

Boats used in races on the Mae Nam Nan kept at this wat. Very similar to ones we saw in Laos.

We never did find out the name of this Wat in Nan. All the signs were in Thai (fair enough) and we couldn't find anyone who spoke English, or could understand our Thai. Still, we decided it is our favourite in Nan. The facade has every aspect of Buddhist teaching, and a lot of other stuff as well.

Isn't the workmanship on the front entrance just wonderful?

Demons form the base of this pillar. You can see the previous(?) photo demons in the background.

Demons on the base of another pillar at this unnamed wat in Nan

These nagas guarding the entrance to this wat were amazing - as are the ever present power lines!! The guy with the bike is not a midget, just shows how big the nagas are. There is a matching naga on the other side of the stairs leading up into the Vihaan.

The roof decoration with the white elephants holding up the symbolic umbrellas

Detail on the front of the "unknown" wat in Nan we loved. There was much discussion as to where the elephants' heads were, and to whether or not they had anything to do with the posture of the asparas. Any suggestions??

Here's Peter, Marie and Brenton inside Wat Phra That Chang Kham in Nan. Gives an idea of the height of the building.

The ceiling in Wat Phra That Chang Kham in Nan is just wonderful. The pillars again are solid teak.

This little bot is behind the main temple at Wat Phra That Chang Kham and was being used by the novice monks for their prayers and chants. You can see them in their orange robes inside the door. The decoration on the eaves, the coloured nagas, and the silver inlays on the end are quite amazing. Note the monks shoes all in a circle outside. What it means we do not know.

The main stupa at Wat Phra That Chang Kham which has elephants (Chang) around its base which unfortunately you can't see in this pic.
The logistics of having the height of the stupa, or the chang became a bit of a challenge.

And a monk's work is not all prayer!! The grounds were imaculate. Note the demon guardian at the back. Shame I decapitated him!

This is a VERY famous Buddha image. the story goes that an "art historian" called AB Griswold wanted to buy an old image from this wat in 1955. It appeared to be a crude image in plaster. The price agreed was 25000Baht ( about $1000). Griswold began to remove the image but it fell, or jumped depending on who you believe, out of his hands and smashed on the ground revealing a pure solid gold Buddha in original Sukhothai style. Griswold was made to give it back and here he (NOT Griswold) stands behind glass. And YES he is solid gold and very beautiful.

Laos, part 2 April 2009 Pi Mai

There appears to be huge spaces between some of these photos and the descriptions. Sorry about that, but the computer is playing up at the moment. Bloody gremlins. Will try and fix later.


As always, at the end of the day, there was a watering hole where we could cool off and watch the sunset. This one in SeKong overlooks the Se Kong river. A very pretty spot


. B is contemplating the view. Traditional Lao values on display, the spirit house, the TV dish and the BeerLao poster!!

At the SeKong market getting the daily supplies, the ubiquitous saungthau in the background. Everyone sits on the ground with their produce around them. The green beans were so tasty that we just ate them out of the bag.

Looking the other way.

I don't know if this is the "Main" street but it was the CBD. Central Business District with the market at one end and the bank at the other. It was about 8 in the morning at already HOT!!

We loved this Lao style jeep. There certainly seemed to be money around in SeKong, though in general it's very poor. As usual, a few haves and a lot of have-nots. Those are typical shops in the background.

A new Lao style building.

After a couple of hours in the bus, we arrived at a service station and everyone apart from us, got off. There were no signs we could see to say where we were and we had been told it would be 3 - 4 hours travel, so we didn't know we had arrived! . The driver couldn't speak any English or French, and we had basically NO Lao. One guy who spoke a bit of French asked where we were going and I said SeKong. He pointed and said Here! Then he asked where we were staying and I said vaguely "A hotel in the centre of town" So, off we went down back streets in this big bus and eventually we pulled up and we were made to get off and the driver pointed vaguely at this place which turned out to be the SeKong Hotel. Then it took us an hour to find someone to let us in and then it took him 3 goes to find a room with connected power and working aircon. But it was a good place, very cheap and clean.

Lonely Planet suggested a good place to buy local tribal textiles and we were to look for the blue sign. We found it!! They had moved out of the original shop to a newer establishment next door. Perhaps it was a good idea! They DID have some lovely fabrics too.

You want local iced tea?? This is how it comes. One glass comes with the hot tea and the other with the ice. The bottom half of the teaglass is FULL of tealeaves. When it is strong enough, you pour it over the ice and drink. Very different - but delicious. The coffee on the other hand, comes with about 2 inches of condensed milk in the bottom of the glass with STRONG coffee on the top, very nice - and you can have extra sugar if needed!!

This is the kitchen area. Look at the size of the pots!! and the thing on the right is the charcoal burner on and in which everything is cooked.

and outside was where the family sat, and ate, and watched the world go by. The little table beside the pushbike is an altar for the spirits. Many people in this part of Laos are animists, with a little Buddhism thrown in as an extra.

This was lunch we had while waiting to see if the hotel was actually open, and what we should do!!! Look at the variety of dishes. The spring rolls were Heaven, and the fresh vegies and herbs Mmmm. and lots of other things, and for about $2 for both of us, with Beer Lao thrown in!!

and the BIG drum

The interior of the vat. Very basic and open but festooned with banners and stuff. You get the feeling it was a reconstruction thrown together till the new one was built.

The big bell at the vat in SeKong, beautifully carved and elaborate. and YES, I did ring it!!! Three times, of course.

A completely different approach to pouring the water on the Buddhas, compared to up north, with the images here completely out in the open. Also the comparative lack of gold or gilt. Note the green on the trough. As this is a very poor area, the economic factors must come into play.How the devotees got up to pour the water intrigues me. Do they climb the frangipani??

The roof of the old wihaan with a very old fashioned PA system, though whether for party encouragement or Buddhists texts who knows. The old style Buddha with the rusty iron gives it a "je ne sai quoi" appearance.

This boat, like the ones in Luang Prabang are kept in the vat, and used for boat races on the river, the Se Kong. As we hardly saw enough people to make up a crew all the time we were there, we wondered if it happens ,but it does, we are assured. Must go back then, as we also want to go down tho SeKong to Attapeu by boat. Apparantly it is one of the last real wild river trips left.

The school in the grounds of the vat. The youngsters were intrigues by us, but especially by B and his beard. Always a popular one with the kids, again especially the babies!! They'd never seen anything like it, I think. The look of utter amazement was a joy to behold!!

The new wihaan, with the three headed nagas defending the steps. Totally different architectural style than in Lanna around Chiang Mai. Much more narrow and high here.

The old wihaan can be seen just at the edge of the picture. Very old, and looked as though it was thrown together probably after the Americans flattened everything in the bombings in the war that didn't ever happen according to them!!

and the local lawn mower He WAS tethered, sort of....

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The local cemetary, a lot more interesting than some European ones I've seen!

The entrance to the vat at Sekong.

Then it was time to explore the lesser known (to tourists) regions of the Bolaven Plateau, Sekong and Attapeu Provinces to the south and east of Pakse. We travelled by bus, and that's another story. It was so crowded with people, - no bookings, no tickets, just grab a seat and sit tight - animals, bags of rice and all the stuff the locals had bought over the Pi Mai festivities in Pakse , and us - etc, that getting the camera out was impossible!! Probably wouldn't have made good pics anyhow, but what an experience. Half way to Sekong, it was scheduled to be a 3+ hour trip, no aircon and 30-40 degrees!, we stopped at Paksong where we saw these reminders of shishkebabs and mutton curry!! Soooo cute.

Well, we had made it to Vat Phu. This was an experience which will remain for ever. Just magical. This wonderful old tree being strangled by a strangler fig just begged to be photographed.

A final view down the ceremonial way to the holy Barays or ponds.
These three pics are of what is called The Northern Palace, or Pavilion, but there is no documented evidence that it was actually that. There is a matching Southern one. The carvings of the window balustrades(?) is wonderful and the pediment has a relief of Shiva and Parvati sitting on Nandi his bull.

We couldn't get inside as reconstruction was under way, and it wasn't supposedly safe for farang, or other devotees or tourists I suppose.

See Shiva and Parvati on the bull?? Hard to believe this is about 1000 years old.

This little shrine, called the Nandi Hall, after Shiva's bull, is being renovated by the Italian government. It dates back to the pre-Ankor period.

The guardian of the temple at Vat Phu, called a Dvarapala, NOT a Buddha.

The final climb to the sanctuary terrace!! Note the holes in the stones. A close up pic follows.

A wonderful old frangipani tree which somehow got into this group of pics!! Sorry!

Most of the stones had holes like this in them. We couldn't imagine why, and couldn't find anyone who could explain. We gathered possibly they were ground into the rock so they could be put on the end of bamboo poles for carrying! Sounds implausible but we couldn't think of any other reason. Any suggestions?

Looking down the ceremonial way, hopefully showing the series of terraces, and the wonderful sacred frangipanis.

YES!! We DID climb up these and six other lots of steps to reach the top.

This is the top terrace at Vat Phu. Reminiscent of photos I have seen of Inca ruins. We can only try and imagine what the place was like in its heyday.

Here am I, to prove that we did make it! and hopefully to give an idea of how high up we are, and how steep the climb! But, every inch of it was worth the effort. Just wonderful. The trees, so huge and majestic are frangipanis, believe it or not.

This is the sanctuary of Vat Phu, at the top of the mountain, or it felt like it was, dating way back at least 1000 years, with the 'new' Buddha images to be seen at the back, where the "old" images of Vishnu and Brahma once were. The carvings on the lintels are superb - even for their age. The blue peaked thing at the top is part of the reconstruction/renovation works taking place..

It is wonderful to see that everywhere at Vat Phu there are these huge wicker baskets for rubbish. Everyone is very careful not to litter. Quite a change from urban situations in both Thailand and Myanmar where plastic bags and wrappings blow around everywhere. Good on Laos!! We were told that there were 9th Century, or there about, rock carvings of an elephant and a crocodile at the top terrace. When we got up there, we saw this sign with an arrow and the one word Elephant. Could have been a live one for all we knew. No other directions, and after a good half an hour, we stumbled through scrub and found first the crocodile, which is apparantly Ankor era.

and The Elephant!!! To be very honest, it looks clearer in the photo. We could so easily have missed it, but we ARE intrepid travellers after all, and have to see EVERYTHING!! Note the pots of incence sticks. That's what first drew our attention to it. Obviously LOTS of devotees know exactly where it is!! I have no doubt there's a good story there, but who knows what it is.

This is where it all begins, where the sacred water comes out of the rocks, is channeled into these naga troughs for devotees to drink, wash in or whatever, (well alomst whatever)and then it's channelled down into the sanctuary to wash the Buddhas. Mind you the last bit only happens at special occasions like Pi Mai. We washed our hands and poured the water over our heads and shoulders, in the correct manner. As it was 40+ degrees, it was a blessing in more ways than one.

Not sure what this was all about, but it was a shallow cave with lots of little 'cairns' or piles of rocks with lots of incence, candles and religious objects.

We loved this carving of an elephant under the Buddha's foorprint on a verticle rockface.

Closer details of Buddha's footprint on a rock face. He was either practicing Lao Muay (Kick boxing) or some strange yoga position to get his foot like that!. Again all these centuries old and still in perfect condition.

Some of the wonderful stone carving in the sanctuary. It's sooo hard to believe it is sooo old.

This one depicts Brahma on his three headed elephant Erawan.

These carvings are about 1000 years old and show part of the story of Krishnavatara where Krishna kills his Uncle Kamsa. How do I know, I read Lonely Planet Guide!!! The carvings are in excellent condition as is most of the stone work in the building walls.

A general view of the inner sanctum. Showing its age - a bit, and yet all the offerings and banners are well maintained.

Here I am having made my wish, picking up yet another stone. Yes, the second lifting was easier, so maybe my wish WILL come true.

Doesn't look Thai or Lao to me. Sort of Chinese?? In fact it is Khmer.

Another close up of one of the Buddhas. Very flat face, and strange hat. We're told they're very very old, possibly the 9th century.

These are the boxes containing fortunes. You shake a bamboo tube with numbered sticks and the one that jumps out is your fortune. Why 13?? Who knows.... and the fortune is all written in Lao script.

The main sanctuary right at the top. VERY old style Buddhas unlike most anywhere else in the country. Renovations are happening as may be obvious!

Another reminder of how far up we have climbed. Those frangipanis in the middle are where the photo shoot in another pic was happening.. The holy barays or ponds are clearly seen and the Mekong is way in the distance.

This guy isn't a Buddha. I thought at first he is, but he's a guardian called a dvarapala, who looks after the place. He has his big mace, or truncheon. He gets as much reverence and attention as some of the Buddhas! Note the suvanaphan in front of him, the boat like object. We have a smaller version in the condo in which we light candles.

A Buddha on the way to the top

There was this monk having his photo taken at the foot of the flight of steps but we didn't notice till later that there's a nun (in the white) standing at the top watching. The trees, apart from the Poinciana at the top are Frangipanis. Huge ones. Look at the layers and layers of terraces going up and up. You should have been there climbing them!!

A naga with 5 heads at the foot of one steep climb. Aren't the blocks very Easter Island looking? or maybe Incan??

More of the ceremonial way with terraces in the background.It's amazing that these pre-Ankor era phallic symbols of the Shiva/Hindu religious times over 1000 years ago, are still in place and looking very modern.

A view up to Phu Khuai, the sacred phallic ( the Lao name means exactly that, well more vulgarly - a LOT more anyway) mountain above the temple. It doesn't look very realistic to me, but..... I gather there are very phallic rocks on the top.

The view from the final top terrace at Vat Phu where the sanctary and the sacred caves are situated. And that's the ceremonial way we trudged all the way up, and now had to go all the way down again. - and it was still 40 degrees!! but worth every second of it!

This is Vat Luang right in the centre of Pakse, a famous school for monks. It has some wonderful carved doors and pillars, and the monks were very welcoming to us when we wandered in.

It also has some interesting Buddhas in the main wihaan, including these green ones. We couldn't find out if they are glass, resin or what, but are quite beautiful. They ALL declined to come home with us. How sad!

This painting at the main vat in Pakse caught our eyes, and imagination. We felt that the Lord Buddha could well be modelling for, say, Rita Hayworth. A certain swish elegance in them there robes - and isn't the baddy a nasty piece of work!! We felt like yelling "Look out behind you", but didn't of course. Lonely Planet actually does recommend these murals and comments on the artist's "whimsical" approach to canonical art!! So it isn't just us!!

Old French colonial architecture in Pakse. Very little remains of the old town, but this Chinese organisation's headquarters was an exception.

A general view of the 'wharf'. People live in these and fish or provide ferry crossings for a living. Some are also bars and restaurants. It's a busy place, believe it or not.

and to prove that we were really there, here I am. White is soo slimming? That's our hired airconditioned comfort zone on the boat.

A variety of river craft

Yep, if you want to cross the river, this is what you have to trust! Drive on at the left and off at the right.

Another passenger ferry, little more than a few planks with an outboard at the end of the long pole.

The wheelhouse of our ferryboat with euphorbias and desert roses in pots on the prow. Real sophisticated stuff!!

This is a passenger ferry arriving from the othyer bank.


This is the costs for various vehicles, bikes etc. You work it out!! 65000?? for what??? An elephant perhaps.

Along the customer comes for fresh fish for her meal or to sell in her restaurant. Those are the fishing boats behind the fishmonger. Not quite Molly Malone but the Lao equivalent I suspect.

Are these fresh enough?? You can almost see them flopping about.

In the meantime, this lady is selling her fresh fish. She keeps them alive in the fish traps in the river and when a customer comes along, she hauls them out for inspection. Note the scales - not on the fish! - and the kid in the fish trap to keep him controlled while Mum is busy. Moments earlier he'd been in the river playing happily but got unceremoniously dumped behind bamboo bars when business called. Actually it's the lady in white who is the buyer, but she called for a second opinion! That's a bar/restaurant at the back.

This guy has his plate of goodies. We're waiting for the incoming ferry in the background to arrive before we leave. The mountains over towards Thailand rise steeply from close to the river at this part.

These ladies are off to sell their wares. Wasn't sure if the one closest to us is wearing a traditional turban or her washing, to keep off the sun. The ones in the Vietnamese hats, were selling cooked fish and rice, sticky of course. The river looks deceptively quiet and narrow here.

Waiting to cross- the ferry goes when it's full - it was a good opportunity to people watch, and take some snaps. This guy is engrossed in his lunch of noodles.

Here we are setting off to see the World Heritage Site at Champasak, called Vat Phu. It is about 40 minutes drives south of Pakse and then you cross the Mekong on a ferry like this at Ban Muang. This (obviously) is a vehicular ferry made up of one large barge and two smaller ones held together with teak logs. The Vat is another 30+ minutes drive on the other side, through the town of Champasak.

A few pics to show the Mekong where we went to see the silk weavers at Done Kho. This is only one half of the river. We are viewing from the island mid st

These are the type of boats we used to go up and down the river and across to the isalnds. All very exhilarating, believe me!

Done Kho is in the middle of the Mekong just north of Pakse and is famous for the quality of its traditional silks and cottons.

Mit Mii, or Mud mee in Thai, the method of tie-dyeing silk. The silk is grouped together and then tied with dye resistant strings, then put into the dye. When the dye has taken, the threads are taken out and dried, the strings are then retied and the threads out into yet another coloured dye. When all the colours are fixed in the silk or cotton, then the weaver proceeds and weaves the material with the desired pattern. Called 'Ikat', in Isaan. Does that make sense?

This lady is weaving one of the ikat design silks, like some we bought.

This is used to wind the dyed silk on to the bobbins for weaving. The pedal operates the wheel on the right which causes the bit with the blue silk to spin. How technical is that?

A loom. What more can I say?

A slightly more modern house with enclosed brickwork replacing traditional stilts.

A typical house on Don Kho. You can see the looms etc underneath.

The vat on Don Kho

It's quite a place of pilgrimage, or seems to be, as, when we were there, there was a constant stream of locals visiting, and there were retailers selling food and drinks, as well as photographers to take 'official' pics.

All round are these smaller statues, all about life size, of the Buddha in different poses, and people go round constantly with buckets of water and bunches of leaves, sprinkling holy water on them. Cools the spirits, they say.

Just outside Pakse, they have built this new BIG Buddha!! yes even over here. Personally, I don't go for the 'modern' features. You can guage the size by the person standing beside him. In through that door, there are hundreds of Buddhas, all with bowls for offerings ($ of course) and "wish stones", - you pray and make a wish, then lift the stone, and then put it down again, and lift it again. If it's much easier to lift the second time, your wish will be granted! Actually, the main wish object here, wasn't a stone but a very very heavy Buddha. Same same.

Looking out across the Mekong. After the monsoon, all will be under lots of water.

Our hotel is such a good citizen and flies the nation's flags.Actually many indivuiduals fly the flags too. The one on the left, of course, is the party one and on the right, the country/state one. It took me a little while to get used to seeing the hammer and sickle!

NO, this isn't the river bank. It's a sandbar in the Mekong outside our hotel. The trees on the right are on another island proper, and then there's an even wider part of the Mekong. At sundown, people flock down here to bathe, build sandcastles, play cricket (yes!) or soccer, race motorbikes and 4x4s. In a few weeks when the rains come, of course, all that will end and the river will again come right up to outside the hotel.

(King) Chao Fa Ngum who historically unified and created Laos way back when. This is a relatively modern statue of the father of the nation, another incongruous bit of the Lao psyche. Here we have a Communist Lenin-Marxist state which leaves monuments to the former Kings and even raises new ones? We found it a difficult study to photograph because of locality and passage of the sun (my excuse) but we thought the upraised digit finger very interesting, as if pointing out, either the error of the present ways, or the way to the future. Who knows.

Now, who could resist this exhortation??

It looks like the left wing is on fire.

This, and another, wonderful old French colonial house is right next door to the Palace, so we assume it had to have been an important residence. No one could tell us what why where whom etc. In the guide books they are classified as Colonial Villas, nothing more. There's a HUGE corrugated iron fenced around the whole block, and we were able to peer through a hole in the gate to take this photo, only to see a guardhouse with a woman with a RIFLE sitting there, but she ignored us. When we came back past the following day, the gate was open, and the 'concierge' actually smiled, but we were denied access :-( One 'source' said that the government had started to renovate but had run out of funds. The suggestion was hinted at , that someone in power, or a member of family, wanted to live there, so they were renovating it, but that perhaps the person mentioned was no longer in favour etc etc etc. All lovely hint hint, nudge nudge stuff. Still, absolutley classically beautiful houses which it would be a sin to see fall down with neglect, but, again, there you go. Oh to win Lotto!!!!!

Eventually, here's a pic of our new holiday home !! Built for the French Governor, and used by the King after Independence, and subsequently the Presidential Palace, This massive building in the heart of the city is VERY Versaille, or actually Trianon. It is HUGE and the grounds are beautifully manicured, as one would expect for the residence of a Communist president! They could house half the starving poor in it, and turn the grounds into productive market gardens, if they truly believed in the Lenin-Marxist doctrine they are supposed to expouse! However, enough of that. Personally, I do really like the architectural style, however inappropriate for Laos. So there!!

This is That Dam, a very old and famous Stupa. The story goes that a naga was supposed to live under it and protect the city from invasion and destruction, but the Siamese (Thai) invaded and the Naga's defences didn't work! The Thai stripped all the gold plates from this That, but didn't destroy it. Because of the poor performance of their defence naga, - it saved the city but not the gold :-( - the Lao stopped worshipping here, so the That became old and decrepit and mouldy - very black, in Lao, "Dam", so the Stupa is now called the Black Stupa, That Dam. there you go!

We thought the name quite funny, but we didn't try out 'that damn wine house', perhaps we shall next time. There's a BIG French influence still especially in and around Vientiane and I was amazed so many people, even young ones, wanted to speak French and some speak Russian.

And so they should!!!! Especially in a left-wing country like Laos.

At a famous fountain in the middle of the city, NamPhu, we saw this sign which amused us! The actual fountain is very large and to the right off screen. All concrete and paving, But NO grass!!

A view of the work room with the ladies at their looms.

This guy is dyeing.I believe it is indigo, but it goes green before it ends up the deep blue. we couldn't get any closer to check out exactly what was happening. They use all natural dyes here.

A lady working on an upright loom. Each of them does their own special district styles. The company has them all in Vientiane, and , to their credit, has a lot to do with saving and promoting old styles and techniques.

One of the silk textiles being woven in a Sam Neuea style.

Then we went to Carol Cassiday's, a famous person in the textile trade in S-E Asia. Her quality is unchallenged and her prices go with it! Here we have skeins of silk drying after being dyed in natural dyes.

This 2CV (Citroen??) deux chevaux - 2 horsepower, was on the street in Vientiane advertising a tour and textile company. I hadn't seen one since about 1963 in Scotland when I used to 'hoon' (sort of) around in one with a friend. You can imagine our success rate in the pick up stakes with a drawcard like this!!!

Another closer view of the bell and drum toweer at Vat Mixai, showing the elaborate architectural styles, a mix of north and south, with influences from Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

Again, here we have the wondeful wrought iron grills showing the Buddha and the drum tower beyond at Vat MiXai Doors in the Vat, showing very Chinese or Vietnamese influence.

and back to reality in Vientaine. This is a famous Buddha in Vat Mixai

and in case any of you didn't get the message about Pi Mai, we added this postcard to the blog. NO!! we are neither the guys in the top middle. They are the city's defensive spirits and lad the parades, nor are we in the bottom right corner. cerrtainly neither of the guys, or the one in the background quaffing the BeerLao.

In the middle of all this Vientiane stuff, somehow there's this photo, not a good one , of Luang Prabang, but it does give an impression of what the town is like, rather than a lot of individual buildings. The main drag on the right and the Nam Kahn on the left. The Mekong out of sight on the right.

Across from the hotel, on the Mekong banks, there was a bar here, but they're replacing it with all the same timbers they tore down. Beautiful teak mainly. By the time this blog is done, I have no doubt it'll be open for business. Guys working on the new building next door. Bamboo scaffolding, no safety gear, nothing. Oh well, I suppose if they fall, there's plenty willing to take their place.

Every afternoon, everywhere in Laos (perhaps only at the hot time of year, who knows) you will find people out there with hoses, watering concrete paths, dust strips, roadways, plants, whatever. We saw a security guard outside a jewellers' who looked decidedly 'iffy' until I loked again and saw the hose surrepticiously held between his knees. They say it's to cool the spirits - and to keep down the dust. Yeh, right!! This guy is the security guard at our hotel, and again I had to double check on what he was doing!!!! Left the photo till it as more obvious.

Isn't this the cutest bunny. The hotel we stayed at in Vientiane obviously had some affinty with rabbits and they were all over the place. This one on the stairs near our room, i found very attractive for whatever reason.

After all this, I find this action photo of Pi Mai with the water throwing and all. The best that could be done, as we didn't have a waterproof camera - next year we will! - and couldn't risk damaging the one we have so stayed at a distance and took hasty shots! It sort of give the feeling and atmosphere of the 'watery' side of Pi Mai with the guy throwing the bucket of water at the truck full of people!.

Brenton outsdide Pha That Luang. Sort of pronounced like on Ilkley Moor 'ba t'at' for those of you with an English background! This is the most important national monument in Laos and in November they have a HUGE religious celebration - so much for a communist regime? - and a trade fair and carnival games. Thousands come from all over Laos, and many thousands of monks congregate on the morning of the Full Moon for tak baat, the alms giving ceremony. That evening there's fireworks, and as they say "everyone makes merry till dawn"!! No idea what they could mean but, it sounds like fun!

This is a stupa, a solid building supposedly containing, or once contained, holy Buddha relics. It's not like a wat or a temple where you can go inside. Even now, visitors are restricted to the first terrace. It's still a pretty inspiring place. AND the ice cream seller gave us our icecream FREE as he wanted to go home!! Wasn't that nice? Mind you, minutes later we saw him with friends testing what looked suspiciously very much like a new batch of laolao!!! The Lao equivalent of working late at the office perhaps? The statue of King Sethhathirat outside the Stupa.

Vat That Luang Tai

The main entrance to the Pha That Luang. It looks deceptively small.

A friendly Buddha. Aren't they all, apart from our grumpy looking friend?

Looking through an opening in the wall and trying our camera skills, looking at a Buddha across the way. Trying to give an impression of the height of the building

On the first terrace of the Pha That Luang

They really go in for their wrought iron grills on their gates. We loved them.

Looking up at the stupa.

These are of the two vats - NO sorry, there's no #69, or a malt one either- which are on either side of Pha That Luang. This is Vat That Luang Neua which is the residence of the Supreme Patriach of Lao Buddhism. Nice sort of spot which we thought we might offer to house sit.

This is part of Vat That Luang Tai on the other side. Definite Northern Thai/Lao influence in the architecture here at this particular one.

We loved this poor old Buddha, as he looked particularly grumpy. Not at all like the usual serene faces.

We thought these are all the Buddhas for the different days of the week, but I think there turned out to be about 12 of them.

This is 'my' one, the Saturday Buddha with the Naga protecting him, as I've no doubt told you so many times :-) with me myself and I enjoying the company. Don't really look as though I've lost all that weight do I??? Perhaps just a good day!

Isn't this door just fabulous??? Not sure the story, or who's winning.

This is the main hall where lessons are given, sermons to the faithful and generally people gather. When we were there there was a group of monks enjoying lunch with friends - you can just see them at the back - and children happily zoooooming around on pushbikes, yelling 'Allo' at us. My thoughts were "Sistene Chapel eat your heart out!!"

Another Saturday Buddha with the monks having a chat and a cheroot.

A general view of the gardens with the ceremonial water trough in the front.

Pratuxai, Lao literally for Arc du Triomphe, a cross between Moghul India and the original Arc in Paris............. well, there 's only one word in English for it, and that's TACKY!!! From half way up the place is full of cheap souvenir stalls, the place is falling to bits and the stairs smell, where do I finish, let alone start! The apparantly correct story is that the CIA donated the concrete to Laos in the 1960s to build a new runway (probably for THEIR planes) and the Government promptly went and built this thing!!! Nice way of telling the Yanks what they thought of them?? AND of course the runway still hasn't been built. I couldn't resist putting this plaque on the blog. It is sooo true!! If I were a proud nationalistic Lao, this is the last thing I would publish to the world!!

and to prove that my comments about the graffiti were not exaggerated, this is what ALL of the interior of this supposedly important National Monument looks like! Maybe just as well, I can't read Lao, but perhaps the bottom one with the phone number reads "For a good time? ring....?" Who knows. Not quite up to Pompeii standards but....... This is looking up the main drag from half way up the building

The view from the very top of the Patuxai, looking towards the Presidential Palace. To be honest the wrought iron grill is the most exciting bit about it!

and, as in Luang Prabang, but on a smaller scale, they build sand pagodas on a sandbank in the Mekong. and these guys are working on one of the rooves. Not much care taken re O H & S!

As you can see Vat Mixai is under restoration!! This is the main front of the wihaan.

Well, we made it Vientiane. This is at one of the main temples attached to the former palace, now the President's Residence which is Tres Versaille!!! This demon is a guardian at Vat Mixai.

Sai looking very contemplative. They all were amazingly quite upset that we were leaving! and seemingly genuinely so. Very un-Australian in being demonstrative.

Who looks likes a Yogi?? Because it was very dark with the lighting provided only really by candles, good clear pics were difficult, especially with the little digital.

Self explanatory. They all love a photo shoot!

Sai, and I think, the love of his life! or it could be his assistant at the Guesthouse.

Us with Sai, from the guesthouse, not to be confused with Say the teacher, and his friend and our driver when we needed one. B has his shoulder cloth on. This is still at Wat Xieng thoing whichj glows in the background.

These devotees are along the front of the platform holding the image. I tried to get the atmosphere across of complete absorbtion and devotion, the clouds of incence and the general noise of chanting and people milling around. Close up view of his back!! It was the closest I could get, without being the pushy farang voyeur.

The crowd adoring the Pa Maan. See all the shoulder and body scarves. I was given a beautiful blue silk one to wear while pouring water, but it was whisked away before I could get a photo of me wearing it :-(

and a beautiful spirit house at the wat, making sure that all the spirits are kept happy. They don't mean incence!!!!

Again, like the structure they build to house the Pa Bang, this is the temporary building to hold the Pa Maan, and after the celebrations are over, it's gone the very next day.

We came down to Wat Xieng Thong in the morning to get photos of Pa Maan. They make a big issue of Pa Bang, the ancient Buddha image, meant to protect Luang PraBang but the majority of the local population put more trust in the Pa Maan image with gets paraded at the end of the Pi Mai celebrations. At night you can't get near. Once again, like Pa Bang, he has his hands up in front of him in protective mode, deflecting all evil.

and here I am in my glory, Yeh right!, reliving a previous incarnation as a DEET trainer!! I actually enjoyed it, and look forward to doing more in the future. None of the names apart from Miss Sysomphon seemed to tie in with the people we met!

Brenton explaining who he is, and where we come from. I think they were more interested in his beard, as they asked many questions about it! How long did it take to grow?? They are fascinated by us "hairy farang".

Say looking very much the teacher. We plan to assist with reading material for the students which we should be able to get in Chiang Mai. Explaining the finer points of days of the week and weekends, a concept they find very hard to grasp, as weekends don't exist there. Every day, same same. The question in their reader was to find out who worked weekends. They just couldn't grasp the concept.

Doesn't Professor Brenton look happy with his new calling as a teacher?

Class is in!!
Here we are with Say's group, who were working on conversational English, though the books are in more American than English, or Aussie, English. Three are monks from various wats and the other two, fee paying students. All of about $20 a term, a fortune to people in Laos.

Peng.

Here's another teacher we didn't get to know, with Peng. Their school could do with lots of renovations and it is obvious we're talking, very sad to say, Third World here. They do have up an up to date computer (1) and DVD/CD/tape machines I gather donated by a generous benefactor. Peng took me under his wing at the Pa Bang celebtarions and showed me what to do, and what not to do! He's a devout Buddhist. Say, on the other hand, didn't go for that sort of thing at all!

These, believe it or not, are the English teachers we went along and "assisted". We didn't get the name of the fellow with the 'bunny ears', he just popped in for the photo shoot, but we have Say and Peng, Say in blue and Peng in pink(ish). Both appear a bit camera shy and look as though they have funny eyes, but in reality, not so much to be obvious!

Here we are at the school at Wat Sop. They have this sign above the door, and at first glance it would appear that the first two words had been whitewashed out. Peace and Independence are no longer legible!! Further scrutiny would suggest that rain running down the walls, could be the culprit.

This house is at the back of where Noi's Mum lives and is either about to be 'renovated' or demolished. All made of bamboo and plaited palm fronds. Of course the corrugated iron is traditional too.

Now.... this is how you prepare traditional Lao buffalo skin 'jerky' for lack of a better word.

First you get the charcoal burner - every one uses these, and in fact one? may actually follow us home to Oz - and get the charcoal glowing red hot. Then you add the strips of buffalo skin direct into the coals.

Then when they're BLACK, you take them out and attack them with the machete! Seriously.

Get down on the floor and scrape all the black off and chop it into bite sized bits, and there you go. Saep lai, as we say. Yummy too much!!! Very chewy but oh sooo flavoursome. Had, needless to say with chilli sauces and.... sticky rice. Our friend Sai is the chef extraordinaire.

Our final farewell photos with Noi and Daniel

As always Noi comes up with some local delicacies. This is sticky rice (what else?) with all sorts of additives. All served of course on banana leaves. This all on the street outside Noi's Mum's place.

At the Shwedagon on Full Moon Night, March 2009