4 December 2014. An early start and off to Vientiane

I got up early to see the morning alms-giving ceremony before I left Luang Prabang. The streets at 05.00 were quiet with hardly anyone around apart from people selling bowls of fruit to give to the monks. It was intersting to see the gradual build-up which reached its crescendo just before 06.00 when three minivans of tourists sped up and disgorged their occupants.

Then the first line of monks came, accepting the alms into their bowls from the, mainly kneeling, offerors. There was a gap of about 5 minutes before the next line of monks arrived and then it seemed quite a constant line for maybe twenty minutes.

Generally the crowd was not too bad, though people seem unable to resist the temptation to get into the faces of the monks with their cameras. The problem is that the ceremony is entirely unstewarded and I imagine the changing of the guard would be far worse mayhem if toursits were left to their own devices and instincts. Of course, you could say stewarding would be a shame and ruin the ceremony; but it's ruined already and has become a major tourist event.

As the monks left, I was amused to see a tourist minivan speed by with people clicking their cameras through the windows. A drive-by spectacle!

So now I'm packed and off to Vientiane on the 13.05 flight. I'm looking forward to a change. I loved the countryside of Luang Prabang and the UNESCO town is certainly quaint.I also felt deeply moved by the quiet dignity of the people in the night market hoping that someone would make them an offer for their beautiful wares/  But I didn't like the feeling of  domination by the tourist industry; the ready supply of croissants and the bars a vin; the more loud tourists who cannot seem to accommodate themselves to being in a non-western country; those locals who seem to have adopted a cynical 'take them for what we can' attitude to tourists. It's not entirely surprising but does not create a very positive environment.

I was also underwhelmed by my accommodation which decidedly failed to live up to expectations created by its description and price tag. I tried not to let this affect my overall feelings about Luang Prabang but maybe some carry-across was inevitable.

........And now I'm in Vientiane and the hotel is a very different kettle of fish - though at more than twice the price of the excellent hipster inn in Chiang Mai, so it ought to be. I certainly realise that I am a relatively very affluent Westerner and do not wish to drive a hard bargain with people far less well off than I am. Equally, I do want to be treated vaguely fairly.