Monks, Monks, Monks

 Not sure if the sign is legible but it includes "CHEA  PEST PRICES" and "WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?". This is our restaurant from last night overlooking the Mekong. It was cheap, it had a great view and we didn't get sick.

 This morning at 4 am we heard drums from somewhere in the neighbourhood. We got up and went out on our balcony but there was nothing happening. We assumed later that it was the drums to get the monks out of bed. We went back to sleep but at 5:45 we could hear some ladies out on the street. Some of them arrive with food for the monks and some with food to sell to the tourists to give to the monks. It wouldn't be unusual for a lot of families to have a family member who is currently a monk.
Anyway, at dawn here every day the monks from all the different wats (temples) go out and walk down the streets in long lines carrying big stainless steel pots with lids harnessed in a sidestrap kind of thing. People give them balls of sticky rice as well as some modern foods in plastic packaging. This is their food for the day. If the monk wants what you're offering, he'll open his pot lid and you toss it in. If he doesn't want it he'll just keep the lid on and walk past.

 They came from all different directions right past our guest house. With our corner balcony, we had the best view in town. Monks are all ages from about 10 years old up.

 This goes on for close to an hour. A man can stand and offer the monks food but women must kneel. We discreetly took pictures from our balcony but some tourists get right up close to get the perfect shot. It seems disrespectful and some of the monks didn't look that pleased. This is a solemn daily ritual, not a circus parade. Everywhere we go, we always see a few tourists who seem to think that the world is a pageant created just for their viewing. Some think that getting the perfect shot supercedes all rules of civility. Most people have some sensitivity but there's always a few who don't. Kind of embarrassing sometimes.

Every morning we get a free breakfast ticket at the front desk for breakfast across the street. There are 4 set  breakfasts and the one we chose was omelette, baguette, butter, jam, orange juice and coffee. Not fancy but adequate.

 This is our guest house. Our room goes right around the corner on the second floor with 2 windows and 2 doors out to a long balcony. We're right in the heart of town. Town consists of 4 parallel streets on a peninsula between the Mekong and the Nam Khan which runs into the Mekong. Where they meet is the end of the peninsula and the end of downtown. Our guest house is 1 block off the Mekong and 2 long blocks off the Nam Khan, so we're within walking distance of everything. It's great.

 We decided to just walk around town this morning. When we were watching the monks at dawn it was actually cool and we wore our fleeces. This is the first time we wore them since we were on Bokor Mountain in Cambodia about 3 1/2 weeks ago. As soon as the sun comes up though, it starts to get hot and dry. Tourist activities are best done before 1 pm. This is the view to the northwest where the Nam Khan enters the Mekong. Both rivers have some current here, unlike in the Mekong Delta.

This is one of 2 bamboo footbridges across the Nam Khan.

 This is a typical street along the Nam Khan River.

 This is the 2nd bamboo footbridge. These bridges are only used in the dry season. This one is weighted down with rocks to help keep it in place during the rainy season. I'm sure it needs repair or replacement some years. There are gardens in the floodplain on both sides of the river.

 This is a ferry across the Mekong. Not real sophisticated but it works.

 These are Mekong tour boats. It seems that the family that owns and runs them lives in the back part of the boat.

This is the busiest main street of Luang Prabang about 1 pm this afternoon. There are no tall buildings here. Languid is perhaps the best word to describe it.
We found lots of good restaurants this morning and stopped at 1 pm to have a pizza and beer on the main drag. Now we're cooling off in our room before we go out to dinner this evening.