A round look...

.... and a first experience. :)

 

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

 

 



Place of cult

Rules for Living

Do not worry,
eat three square meals a day,
say your prayers,
be courteous to your creditors,
keep your digestion good,
steer clear of biliousness, exercise, go slow and go easy.
Maybe there are other things that your special case requires to make you happy, but, my friend, these, I reckon, will give you a good life.

- A.L.

Children's Day

We are the future... The hope for a brighter tomorrow... We, the children of the world... Are symbols of promise... and potential.

 

International Children's Day!

Kuang Si Falls

From the entry of Kuang Si Park we can walk through a forested area where there are enclosures housing Asian black bears rescued from poachers.

At the very bottom of the falls there are several blue pools of water and small cascades (3-5 metres high); some of the falls are multi-tiered. Most of the pools are open for swimming (one is closed as being a sacred site) though the water is a bit cold because this area is shaded by big trees. This makes the falls a popular cool-off place among locals and tourists alike during the hot season.

Kuang Si Falls - Luang Prabang - Laos

There are also trails to climb to the top of the falls where there are more natural pools for swimming. The trails are steep and can be extremely slippery, especially in rainy season…

 If you climb up to the top at the left hand side (of the entrance) trails you’ll arrive at a huge and very impressive pool and its source. At the top you actually cross the top of the falls and this is a great place to get a good view down.

End of the trail... from here up is through the water..

... to get to the top!

With a tripod and lots of time and pacience, beautiful images could be taken from here.

But we were here to climb the falls  and so we did, straight to the top. The cameras had to be stored inside the bags and I was really  scared a couple of times during the process but it was well worth the effort,  after all.

The view ....

... and the shower! :)

Tak Bat - A venerable tradition

The practice of offering food to monks is most visible in Theravada buddhist countries like Laos and Thailand, where the practice sustains large monastic communities. They walk single file, oldest first, carrying their alms bowls in front of them. Laypeople wait for them, sometimes kneeling, and place food, flowers or incense sticks in the bowls.

Tak Bat - A Venerable Tradition in Luang Prabang

It's one of the most vivid images of Laos - from 5:30 in the morning onward, silent lines of saffron-clad monks walk down the streets of Luang Prabang to collect alms. The locals are there ahead of them, ready with bowls full of the Lao staple sticky rice; every monk gets a scoopful in their bowl. With almost eighty temples in Luang Prabang alone, this adds up to hundreds of monks, who take different routes depending on where in town their temple stands. The routes that walk through Th Sakkarin and Th Kamal are among the most viewed by tourists, although the ritual occurs all around Luang Prabang.

Each monk carries a large lidded bowl, which is attached to a strap hanging from the monk's shoulder. As monks file past the line of almsgivers - who are usually sitting or kneeling on the street - these containers are reverently filled with handfuls of sticky rice or bananas, incense and even money.

The best rice for the tak bat ritual is prepared by the almsgivers themselves. The locals wake up early to prepare a batch of sticky rice, which they then scoop generously into each monk's bowl as the line files past.

The ritual is done in silence; the almsgivers do not speak, nor do the monks. The monks walk in meditation, and the almsgivers reciprocate with respect by not disturbing the monk's meditative peace. For hundreds of years, the ritual has cemented the symbiotic relationship between the monks and the almsgivers who maintain them - by feeding the monks and helping the laypeople make merit, tak bat supports both the monks (who need the food) and the almsgivers (who need spiritual redemption).

The upsurge of tourism in Luang Prabang has endangered the tak bat ceremony, as many tourists approach the ritual not as a religious ceremony to be respected, but as a cultural show to enjoy.
Tourists often jostle the monks, breaking their meditation; they take flash pictures of the line; and they disrupt the ritual with their inapppropriate noise, actions and dress.

As a result, fewer local are inclined to take part, because they refuse to be part of a dog-and-pony show for tourists. Some Lao officials are considering stopping the tradition because of the deep offense caused by tourists'beastly behavior.(http://goseasia.about.com/od/laos/a/Tak-Bat-Luang-Prabang-Laos.htm)

Simple things



Luang Prabang - Laos



“The simple things are also the most extraordinary.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

It always makes my day!

Children of Laos

“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”
― Paulo Coelho

Special moments

The heat was tremendous

so I had to go for a bath...! :)

Moments of complete happiness!

These are my moments, and.. sometimes (very few)... I'm on the other end of the camera.

Time spent with animals, beasts like this one, are absolutely unique.

They don't deceive or betray us, they do not know envy, jealousy or hate.

They are Special! :)



by: Jorge Vassalo

 


by : Jorge Vassalo





by  : Jorge Vassalo




by : Jorge Vassalo



by : Jorge Vassalo




by : Sérgio Rosa



(Luang Prabang - Laos)


Have a great WEEKEND!

People (I)



Luang Prabang - Laos



Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty -

they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. 

~Martin Buxbaum