Anyway, not today I decided and so I rolled over and got another half hour kip before I ambled into town for my coffee. Along the road I saw many young monks all headed in the same direction, going to their Temples for the day. Today I walked alongside the Khan River (which joins the Mekong further down). It was a cool misty morning and the fog was rising from the river and over the streets as the Monks in their bright robes walked through the mist like an orange cloud. Gorgeous.
Coffee at Banneton was accompanied by just a wee butter croissant spread with pineapple jam. Their croissant really are something special. A very crisp outer with fluffy insides; you can separate the layers of fluff inside, layer by layer. Too good, far too good. Croissant will never be as good.
Now time to grab the tuktuk and head off to my weaving class at Ock Pop Tok. I arrive early and have time to check out their store. Similar to the one in the city and again they have the wall hanging I want. A semi translucent long maroon strip woven with solid diamond shapes. Absolutely stunning. I want, I want, I want. But where do I put it.
I sat for a while and gazed at the view outside. Through the trees I could see the Mekong gliding by. It was as smooth as glass but with a really strong current it looked as though the glass was moving over the top of the water. Just beautiful. Shame about the colour.
Oh well, time for the weaving class to start. There are two of us students. Mary a lady from New York and myself. We both chose different designs and firstly sat with our teachers who showed us how to load the bamboo bobbins with our chosen thread from the skein. I chose a limey colour (surprise, surprise) and a pinky colour for contrast but once woven the pink lost its impact. I should have gone darker. Too late.
Once our bobbins were ready it was time to start the weaving. The looms are somewhat makeshift. A solid wood frame but all the other bits need to be adjustable so are tied on with various bits of string. First we do the plain bit. The loom is already set up with the pattern and the black warp threads all in place. While holding our right foot on the left bamboo peddle we thread the bobbin through the warp threads from left to right. Once the threads are level we then change our foot to push on the right peddle and while holding the bobbin in the right hand take the beater in the left and push into the fabric to squash the threads together. And then repeat the exercise going the opposite way.
It took a while to get the tension right but once I got that right it was easy to get into a rhythm and my piece started growing quite quickly. Before we started the weaver had created a pattern in the heddles of the loom. This is done with a series of threads woven line by line into the threads hanging from the heddle. It is too difficult to describe and although it looks complicated it is quite a logical and well thought out process. The weaving of the pattern is not too dissimilar in actions as doing the plain part but the order of things changes a little.
Pattern part over we revert back to the plain part and finish our piece. We had run out of time so the weaver did the last few inches. I didnt want it to stop as I enjoyed it so much and was so proud of my finished product, which will be a new cushion cover for my couch.
Weaving finished I sat and watched a very young lady making one if the wall hangings I want. No wonder they are expensive. What a labour intensive process with each fine thread having some manual intervention. Now I understand why the hand made ones are so so so much more expensive that machine made items. I just wish that i knew how to tell so that I don't pay hand woven prices for machine made stuff.
The sun started to come out. My stomach was compaining so I stayed at Ock Pop Toks Restaurant and had a super meal of grilled fish salad with mint and sticky rice. The staff were very impressed when they saw me eating with my fingers and I told them how much better it tasted this way.
My morning was regretfully over. I enjoyed it so much and might give it another try in Vientiane. I'm not sure of the set up there, but here it was just lovely.
The tuktuk bought me back to town, where I went to check out the Amanata Hotel just along from me. It is just a tad more expensive than where I am staying, it doesn't have a name in the entrance to give you some idea, but it was gorgeous. Colonial, polished, posh and oh so sterile. Could have been anywhere. We did so many of the best hotels when Les and I were away on business and without exception found them all sterile and seldom a good representative of the country they were in. Food was homogenous, decor homogenous and people so polite they had lost any semblance of individuality and character.
So I carried on to MY neat, homely, comfortable, welcoming hotel where I was intending checking out the inside of my eyelids, but some #%^hole next door decided it was time to do some DIYing with his power tools. The last 5 weeks on the go constantly, late nights writing blogs, strange beds, many new beds, are starting to catch up and I am feeling shattered. Time for a few restful days I think but how can I rest when there is so much to do and to see, and only two feet to do it with. I was going to hire a bike and venture out of town but there is so much I will miss that I will stick to the walking where I ca easily stop off for refreshmemts when I smell the aroma of coffee coming from a secret little corner. At least while writing my feet will get a rest.
Just before sunset i wander down to the river side for my sunset on the Mekong shot. Totally stunning to watch the sun slowly move down behind the mountains. A haunting sight and I am so glad I was there to capture the vision.
I watched boats crossing the river and saw the tide moving them sideways as they tried to come across.
I wandered a bit along the river side taking in the sights and checking out the restaurants. I just want to,see one that has a local menu before the international menus, or even better one with no international food.
On my travels I heard chanting from a temple an dfollowed the noise to find a temple in which there were about 20 young monks chanting/saying prayers. It was haunting listening to them, but quite calming and serene. One weird thing though was that an elderly Monk sat, without moving, in a glass cage at the front of the temple next to the buddahs. Why the cage I dont know but must find out.
To get back down the other end of town sadly the most well lit way was through the night market. It was fun the first time, now it is tedious. So many stalls all selling similar type souvenirs, better quality than most places and some of it superb, but over and over and over. Too much.
I went to go to the bun shop to admire the scenery but firstly couldn't find it then I realised that I had passed it and not realised as it was closed. Bummer, I was looking forward to the ceviche and a beer.
Dinner was on the trot from the little food market down the lane. I could go mad in there. Whole bags of riverweed, dried meats, freshly cooked nuts, roast pork, coconut cakes the mind boggles. I settled on roast pork, a bag of it, and four of the yum rissoles like I had the other night. $3 for the lot. The pork was divine, tender, moist and lots of crackling. The rissoles not as good as the other day but nevertheless still good.
Definitely an early night for me, tucked up with my book I think. Tomorrow I move rooms. I booked an extra night after my first booking and as the room I was in had already been booked I was to move to a twin room. No problem there. I subsequently booked another night and today when I went out they told me that the next two nights they would put me in the deluxe suite so I don't have to move again. Pretty awesome if you ask me. Thanks.
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