After lying on my bed last nigt listening to the noise coming from wherever, I was pleased when they shut up and allowed me to get some kip. Not a lot as I was woken by the people upsatirs at 5:15am. Not happy. Anyway I was moving out so who cares.
Packed and ready I grab a tuktuk to the new hotel. I knew I was being ripped off when he told me 60000kip but had no idea how much it should be so I paid it $9, who cares. Im told it should have been about 30,000 kip.
The new hotel, Mandala Boutique Hotel, is an old colonial villa turned into a hotel, gorgeous, roomy, greenery, lovely hanging out areas. No pool which is a shame, oh well. My room is lovely, large with a great bathroom. They are doing some renovations so a bit noisy but thats ok. It is near a big wat so will be noisy at night with the festival but at least I can go and be part of it.
Settled in I walk into town, about 20 minutes but a nice easy stroll. I walk along close to the river, which I cant see as between the footpath and the river is a large park and then a road along the waterline. Thenstreet is lovely, wide, green everywhere and few vehicles. The park is beautiful, green, fun looking and bereft of people, sadly. I go to take photos with the camera that I remembered to bring with me today. Drat, not working. Dead as a bloody dodo. I play with it for a while, repeating all the tricks that I have used in the past to get it working. Nothing, not a thing. Never mind I have my spare back at the hotel.
As I walk I go past a few stalls selling street food, one had a pile of peanuts in their shells and the passing birds were swooping and pinching the nuts as they went by. I wonder if she sold any. Next to that stall was a lady selling BBQ'd meats. She had a clever fan (hanging like a ceiling fan) powered by a battery contraption. It worked and she had managed to get rid of the flies and send them to the stall next door.
Another stall was selling bags of tiny spotted eggs. Dozens of them. I have bern told they are eggs with foetuses inside and if that is the case I won't be trying them.
I pass the back of the palace and the cultural centre and make note to self to return, what magnificent buildings. Along the way are some lovely artisan shops with beautiful crafts. I buy a loofah made from coconut husks but from the same shop could have gone crazy with body oils, soaps etc, all with the most divine scents and made from natural ingredients. Luckily I don't have space for shopping as it could get dangerous.
Lunch time and I stop at Jama Cafe for a toasted sandwich and a passionfruit drink. Oh so yum both of them. Feel like a new person now.
I check out some hotels for my return hotel visit in January and then sit at Khop Chai Deu again and have a Virgin Mojito. Excellent and did the trick. As I sit I notice the directional sign pointing out the roads leading to Seoul, Hanoi, Shanghai, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Russia New York. Most of those places are accessible by road from here and that for me coming from an island nation is very odd.
I gaze at the wires. Everywhere just like every other place I have been to.
Walking home I stop at Ho Phra Keo, a magnificicent Museum set in the most beautiful grounds. Gorgeous. Sadly they havent documented any of the items on display so I dont know what I am looking for but the building was magnificnet and I am able to figure out that it is about 600 years old. Wow. I read later that many of the items have been salvaged from old Wats and many are in thr thousands of years old category. A narrative would have been nice and made it more interesting.
Further along I get to the Wat opposite the hotel, just stunning. It looks very new and looks like they are building another or supplementary buildings next door.
50 metres along further and there is another larger wat; Wat Si Luang. It is the festival of Phat That Luang at the moment and people are buying ornate flower decorations as sacrifices. I watch one guy attaching strips of polystyrene to three long green leaves and then watch as he decorates it all with yellow flowers. Further along I see 4 utes and in the back of each a woman with a shrine that looks as though it has been made from yellow wax and indeed it has.
I check out the story on line and guess what? The Wat just along the road is the one referred to in this wiki explanation.
BOUN THAT LUANG FESTIVAL OF THE GRAND STUPA
The That or Stupa is found in different shapes and sizes in every monastery in the world, especially in Laos. The Stupa, which is composed of three levels: the base, the body and the spire, is the symbol of the Cosmos. The most important ones are shrines to relics of Buddha. That Luang, The Grand Stupa, in Vientiane Capital is sanctuary to the Lord’s hair and bosom bone. It was built over an ancient stupa in the 16th century, by King Setthathirath when he moved the capital of the Lane Xang Kingdom from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. It has since become the symbol of Laos and is profoundly revered by all Lao People.
The That Luang religious festival last three days It starts with the wax castle procession at Wat Si Meuang and end with a procession around the stupa. Thousands of monks and ten of thousands of pilgrims come from all over the country and even from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to attend the festival.
One week before the religious festival, a huge international trade fair features goods and exhibitions from all over the world. The religious festival starts with the procession at Wat Si Meuang to worship the City’s foundation pillar and pay homage to Nya Mae Si Meuang or Lady Si Meuang, a pregnant woman, inspired by the divinities, jumped into the hold in which the city pillar was about to be planted and was thus crushed to death. She has become, since, the protector of Vientiane and inhabitants devote a special cult to her. The procession gather Phasat Pheung (wax castles) of banana trunks and decorated with flowers made of wax. The Phasat, which re commissioned by families or villages in and procession around Vientiane, are carried three times around the Sin and then offered to the temple. This procession is very spontaneous and colourful and ends with fireworks, which symbolizes an offering of flowers of light to Lord Buddha.
The next day, at 01:00PM, a bigger and more elaborate procession brings more wax castles through the Eastern Gate of the That Luang cloister. The wax castles are carried three times around the Grand Stupa and offered to the shrine.
On the last day of the festival, as early as 05:00AM, thousands of devotees gather in the cloister and around it, on the esplanade for the Takbat, the morning offering to the monks. After the ceremony, each family gather at stalls to eat Khao Poun, the national rice noodle soup and Tom Kai, chicken soup.
Early in the afternoon, there is the ritual game of Tee Khee, a polo game traditionally played in the Kingdom of Vientiane and believed to be exported to Burma and later to England. In the past, the game was between a team of officials and a team of villagers.
Not being able to resist I cover my legs and shoulders and walk over the road to join the festivities. It must be day 1 as I watch the castles doing three circles of Wat Si Mueng before being taken inside and offered to the shrine. Once that is done a group of people remove all the money that has been pinned to it and dismantle the towers.
The castles/towers take many different forms. Some are just a tall decoration of flowers and wax, others have three insence sticks, others candles etc. Quite magical.
I took the opportuntiy to light a couple of candles for the Dobbos and the Cotsys but didnt have much luck getting them to stand until a lovely lady showed me that I had to melt the bottom of the candle to make it stick to the step where I wanted to leave it.
I stayed for ages just watchimg and couldnt help but notice how beautiful all the women looked. All wearing the traditional wrap around skirt and an over the shoulder strip of ornate fabric. The traditional clothing is called xout lao. The xout lao for women consists of a sinh; a tube skirt which can identify the woman who wears it in a variety of ways. In particular, it can indicate which region the wearer is from. In Laos sinhs are worn more regularly in daily life although in Thailand they are generally only worn for special events.
The diagonal cloth is called a Sabai or Pha biang and is described as a shawl-like garment, or breast cloth worn in Mainland Southeast Asia. The term Sabai is used for a woman's silk breast wrapper in Cambodia, Siam, Southern Siam, Isan and Laos. Sabais can also be used by men in Lao weddings or when attending religious ceremonies. The type of sabai typically worn by Lao men often has checkered patterns. Sabai also well known as a long piece of silk, about a foot wide, draped diagonally around the chest covering one shoulder with its end dropping behind the back. So elegant and so beautiful.I couldn't help but stare when a group of beautiful ladies were posing for a photo. Make our scruffy people look like total slobs. I check out the story of the Sabai/Pha Biang later and find it is a hostorical thing with the sash always being worn over the left shoulder. Thinking back its not just an Asian thing as the greeks and the romans also have thier togas over ine shoulder. I continue my search to see why the ine shoulder. The best I have found is a wiki saying basically it is because someone else wore the one shoulder thing and it has been copied but I am sure it has more reasoning than that. Watch this space!
I stay for a while and love being part of the celebration but cant help wondering what everything means. Right about now I wish I had a local with me to explain.
Hoardes of tourists in singlets and shorts started arriving. I left and went to a wee place virtually next door and had a very good pizza and a not so good glass of wine. On wandering off afterwards I realised that there was freshly BBQd street food available further down the road. Blast and I am full.
Back at the hotel I try my spare camera. Two cameras, two dead cameras. Annoying to say the least but both have been through hell and back, heat, dust, humidity, tuktuk rides, aeroplanes. Why do they wait till you buy new accessories for them though. Oh well I suppose I have found a use for iPhone 5, which till now is along for the ride in case anyone is desperate to get hold of me on the NZ number. Not the end of the world.
What a lovely day. Poor Bianca is not well so hope she is feeling better tomorrow. I will sleep very well.
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