A lot of photographers swear by taking pictures during that “Magic Hollywood Hour” when the sun is setting so you’ll get the best light, but the light rapidly changes and it gets dark so fast you’ll only get a few pictures. It’s not so hot so there will be lots of people ruining your shots with their selfies, but if you go at noon when it’s super hot you’ll have fantastic light and you’ll be alone.
The temperature was 35 C (95 F if you’re American like me) and I wanted to get to the top fast so a jogged up skipping a step to save time. I thought I had developed myocarditis or irregular heartbeats from the virus and I’ve been super lazy and low on energy for years, but I feel good again after running to the top without getting out of breath or feeling dizzy. The negative effects were thankfully temporary. My dog can totally do this sprint up to the top, but he won’t even try when it’s hot so I left him at home.
I wanted to paint the pagoda on top of the hill so I gathered up what art supplies I could find. I only had black paint so it will have to be a dark painting. I can see it from my door, but it’s very small. I did line up the painting with the actual direction and view of the pagado so anyone who sees the painting will also get their bearings.
I’m not happy with it so I tried photoshopping it. They both are OK, but not what I envisioned. Maybe I’ll ask the landlord for the purple paint and touch it up after it’s dried for a few days. What do you think?
I’ve lived in almost twenty countries during my life. I teach business English to adults so I can pretty much live and work anywhere in the world. (If you’re a native speaker with a degree, it’s probably the easiest job in the world.)
I won’t bore you by list-bragging the cities I’ve explored on foot and bike, but I will say with complete confidence that Luang Prabang in the center of Laos in the mountains is the best place I’ve ever been lucky enough to call home.
I haven’t lived in America for so long that I don’t know if MINISO exists there, but they are everywhere in Asia. Sometimes I’ll regret not buying stuff here because it will go out of stock to never return.
You can stay in a five-star $100-a-night hotel or you can go the cheaper route and stay in a backpacker hostel and pay only $10 a night and get a free breakfast. It will be full of mostly younger European tourists so expect to share the room with some drinkers and pot smokers.
If you are an art lover then you’ll be happy in Luang Prabang because there are many art studios like this and hand-made crafts for sale along the street at the night market.
I won’t say where this is so this sleepy guard doesn’t get fired. I doubt their boss has even heard of the HiVe blockchain so it’ll be OK until someone else catches him asleep on the job.
This bridge used to be a lot scarier because it was dark and some of the wood was missing and you could see the long drop-down. If you’ve been to Luang Prabang before then you can’t forget this bridge. I actually jumped off it down into the Namkhan River for the Lao New Year in 2020 and the water was deep enough.
My dog was happy to see me come home, but now that his dad was around he wanted to go bark at his enemy neighbor dogs.
“Look at you in your cage, you big old losers! My dad lets me walk around freely all day.”
I feel ashamed that I’ve lived in Luang Prabang for five years and have gone past this historical site hundreds of times, but have never visited it until now. Besides the waterfalls, this museum is probably one of the first stops for most tourists visiting Luang Prabang. It’s on the same street as the night market and near the stairs to Phousi Mountain.
tickets
To be honest, I just didn’t want to pay the entrance fee of 20,000 kip which is about $1.20 USD. You can also buy a meal or a big beer for that much, plus I didn’t want to be around a bunch of tourists.
bike parking
Luang Prabang is one of the most bicycle-friendly towns I’ve ever visited, but you can also rent electric bikes and motorcycles too. The locals are used to clueless tourists so they won’t honk at you or run you off the road, but be careful of the Thai and Chinese drivers who think they are the star of the next Fast and Furious film or something.
The Royal Temple
The royal palace was built by King Sisavang Vong in 1904. It has a variety of artifacts from centuries ago as well as cultural exhibits that provide insight into the ancient Siamese lifestyle.
The King’s HomemapsMap of the National MuseumMap of Luang PrabangTaking a picture of someone taking a picture
Whenever I go to an interesting place I like to take pictures of people taking pictures or of them just walking around rather than posing. It gives you a better feel of what things are really like. This guy asked me why I took his picture and I told him it was for my travel blog. I showed him my TravelFeed and HiVe accounts and explained that it’s decentralized social media blogging where you can earn crypto and then he was cool with it.
Steve and Lawan
I hadn’t seen my friends from San Diego since 2012 so it was good to catch up with them and play the tourist for a few days.
King Sisavang Vonglockers
They must have had a problem with tourists stealing ancient artifacts from the museum in the past so they ask you to secure your bags and cameras before entering. It’s disrespectful to enter with a tanktop on so they asked my friend to rent a nice shirt before going in. It only cost him 5,000 kip which is about thirty cents.
No taking pictures inside.
It’s a shame they don’t let you take any pictures inside because there are some cool and ancient things to see. I thought I could sneak a few in, but they had staff watching in every room so I didn’t try it. I think it may be because the flash could damage the old paintings or it could be from old Lao culture that believes taking photos is bad because it traps the spirit or soul in the photograph.
cannon
I wonder if this old cannon ever saw combat. Laos was once a French colony so it probably came from there.
coconut vandalism
I guess there’s no harm in tourists writing things on these coconuts because somebody will just eat them eventually.
gift shopelephants
I’m glad to see that tourists can no longer ride elephants in Laos. It probably wasn’t fun having random people riding on your back every day. Luang Prabang used to be called, The Land of a Million Elephants, a few hundred years ago.
Thanks for exploring just one of the many sites of Luang Prabang with us today. If you want to visit someplace cheap, but safe and clean and full of natural and ancient wonders then you won’t be disappointed with this secret gem of Asia.
So many people tell me they want a dog, but their situation won’t allow it. If you don’t have a yard or a nice outdoor place then maybe it’s better not to put a dog into your human jail, but if you can and want a dog then I highly recommend it. They bring so much joy, companionship, security, and health benefits to your life. I love my lovely wife and children, but there is a special place in my heart for my dog, Rapper. It takes forever to see your human children grow up, but dogs get big so fast. Rapper went from a scared little puppy to an alpha male with many puppies from several different bitches in only one year.
If you already had or have a dog then I’m not writing this for you because you already know how great these little creatures are and how much happiness they can bring into your life. I’m writing this to convince those of you who are thinking of or have never thought of K9 parenthood.
I don’t like cats at all, but they seem to like me for some reason. This alpha scrapper of a cat was named Trump because he was orange. I’m guessing his original owner was a Democrat. Well whoever she was, she abandoned Trump here in Laos when she went back home so he just stuck around the only house he ever knew. It took a long time for Trump and me to bond with his bad and aggressive attitude and my dislike for his species, but it got to the point where he would go on walks with me and scratch at my door to be let in. I totally forgot that there was a person named Trump so I was confused a few times as to why the news was talking about my cat.
Trump was not happy at all when we adopted Rapper. I had to keep my eye on him because I was really afraid he was going to murder my new puppy, but I learned something interesting from his hatred: All dogs are scared of hissing cats swiping their claws so I tried it on big dogs who were aggressive towards my baby Rapper. I even got a pitbull to tuck tail and run when I cat hissed and pretended to scratch at it.
Sometimes animals are shocked or confused the first time they see their reflections, but Rapper didn’t seem to care at all.
Even though I give Rapper a bath every few days, never get the warm water or shampoo in his eyes or nose, and blow dry him, he still acts as if it’s the greatest injustice in the world. If I ask him, “Do you wanna take a bath?”, he’ll run away.
Even though I love Rapper with all of my heart, trained him, taught him two languages, feed him, and spend a lot of time with him, he still loves Mom more than me. Maybe it’s because she only gave him a bath a few times. I don’t blame him. I would choose her over me too if I were him.
I promise you that owning a dog will improve your physical and mental health. Recent studies have found that owning a dog has been linked to improved cardiovascular health, increased levels of physical activity, and lower stress levels. I would never in a million years go on three walks a day if it weren’t for my little buddy.
This is one of the first pictures I took of Rapper. I imagine he was missing his real mom and wondering why these humans kidnapped him. I brought him back to see her at six months and one year old and he remembered both his real mom and dad and they him, but he still choose to walk back home with me.
Puppy photography can be a real challenge because they never stay still and if you try to get close for a good shot, they get all excited and try to lick you. You should take as many pictures as you can while they are small because they will get big and not so cute super fast.
Have you ever seen a puppy watching puppies on YouTube under the pale moonlight? After doing a YouTube search for: “TV for dogs”, I was surprised that he actually was interested in watching it. Most of the videos are like eight hours long so if you do have to leave your dog alone at least they have something to look at while you’re gone. They’ll still most likely destroy at least one thing though.
Rapper is your typical deadbeat dad. He’s all lovey-dovey with the girls until they get pregnant then he’ll completely ignore them. He must know that these are his kids because of their scent, but he always seems freaked out and afraid anytime he sees his own offspring. I’m pretty sure that memories or at least familiar scents are passed down from the parent dogs to their puppies because Rapper has gotten about 7 bitches pregnant and has dozens of kids and they all seem to remember me and run up to me even the first time we meet. Has anyone else noticed this too?
I’ve found it is a lot easier to get dogs used to cats than cats used to dogs. Cats just hate dogs deep in their soul. If cats were bigger than dogs they’d surely kill them all. This is one reason why I love dogs more than cats. Imagine if your dog woke up tomorrow ten times their size. They would still love you the same. Now, what would you get if your cat was super big? You’d have a tiger or a lion and we know that is not an animal you could trust.
Take your dog to the beach or let them see snow for the first time and it’s like their inner wolf is released like a kid going to Disneyland.
Thanks for reading about my dog Rapper who can’t rap. If you are a dog lover like me please share some stories, pictures, or parenting tips. If you are thinking of adopting one of these wonderful creatures I hope that my words here may have convinced you to do it. I promise you will be a different person after you do.
I’ve been to about twenty countries, but Luang Prabang, Laos is my favorite spot so far. I’ve been lucky enough to call it home for the last four years and I’d like to share my best photos of it with you today.
Even though it’s a small town it has a very diverse amount of visitors. I’ve met tourists from almost every country, even ones I’ve never heard of before. They love watching Thai shows and listening to Thai music and Lao is very similar to Thai so they can understand Thai, but most people can speak English. Laos was once a French colony so some people can speak French. A lot of people can speak Chinese as well.
Vietnam
Not a lot of people have heard or know about Luang Prabang or even the country of Laos, but everyone knows Vietnam which is next door. Laos is a landlocked country that also borders Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and China. It’s about a 45-minute flight from Bangkok, but you can also take their new high-speed train from China or Thailand.
When my old Navy buddy invited me to visit him in Hanoi, Vietnam, I had to take him up on the offer so we could talk about our time in Vietnam when we are old men. These guys invited us to drink beers with them. They were some of the best beer drinkers I’ve ever met. When they’d pour a drink they’d always say, “Gombai”, which means buttoms up. When I puked in the street and said, “No more Gombai”, they all laughed heartily.
Kuang Si Waterfall
The first thing we did after arriving in Luang Prabang was visit this fantastic waterfall. If the Garden of Eden were real I imagine it would look a lot like Kuang Si. I recently made a HIVE post and a Youtube video about it.
I’ve spent most of my life as a teacher but realized how much I like working in hospitality after I got a job at Pullman Hotel. It’s an expensive five-star hotel on the way to the waterfall, but there are also many nice guest houses in town that will only cost about $10 a night.
Temples and the King’s House
This beautiful house that looks like a temple was once the king’s home but is a museum today.
You can’t miss Phousi because it’s on top of a hill downtown and can be seen from almost anywhere in Luang Prabang. It also serves as a good marker if you get lost.
La Pistoche Pool and Bar is a great place to bring the kids, have some food and drinks, or just get out of the sun.
They take a lot of pride in their local beer, Beerlao, and rightfully so because it tastes great and usually costs less than a dollar.
Thanks for checking out Luang Prabang today. If you are planning on visiting South East Asia it’s really worth a visit.
The first time we took our dog, Rapper, to the top of Mt. Phousi he was a scared little puppy, but this time he led the way like a boss. We take him everywhere with us.
Buddhist countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos like to buy homemade good luck offerings for the monks. Since we had to carry them to the top I didn’t think we should’ve bought these in town, but mom’s the boss.
It’s a little hard to see in this picture, but if you look at the very center you can see the top of Phousi.
There are many ways to the top, but I prefer taking the steps by a large temple in town which is the fastest way up. Rapper kept looking back wondering why we didn’t run up the steps like he did.
Almost to the top now. I really like this spot where you can pray to Buddha and get your fortune by shaking a large bamboo cup full of chopsticks with numbers on them. The first one that falls out is your fortune; you can take the paper with your fortune.
Let me know if I got this legend wrong, but I think these statues represent an ancient Hindu belief that a mighty Naga sea creature came out of the river and married the most beautiful woman who was a goddess of life and fertility.
Buddhas along the way…
They have a different Buddha for each day of the week and various appearances. Some are young, some are old, some are fat, and some are lazily taking a nap.
At the top
Once you make it to the top you can enjoy a 360 view of the whole town.
I don’t remember at how many months Rapper went from a terrified little puppy to a security guard, but I’m happy to see he’s socialized well and is a confident little guy.
See? I told you we could buy this stuff at the top!
The best time to take pictures is early in the morning or right before sunset, but we went at noon when it was hottest for some reason.
I like taking pictures of people taking pictures.
Rapper hates being told what to do. Teenagers like to roll their eyes at mom and dad, but Rapper yawns to show his annoyance with us. Does your dog do the same?
I love ringing these old bells at the temples. I’ll give em a hard smack for the loudest sound. I think you’re supposed to do it three times.
Stay hydrated baby.
I hate how other dog lovers are always taking pictures of their dogs’ asses, but this one captured Rapper’s leadership both up and down the hike well.
Are you coming, dad?
Thank you for reading about another great hike up to Phousi in Luang Prabang, Laos with us today. Have a great day and may the Buddha be with you.
There are many ways up the hill called Phousi Mountain, but we decided to park at Miniso so I could grab some water because Wan’s strawberry shake was a bit too sweet and it’s always good to hydrate before exercising. Do you have a Miniso where you live? Here in Luang Prabang, it’s the only chain store that exists and it’s also the only place to buy anything of some quality. Since Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site there are many rules protecting the historical look. Their goal is to keep the mix of French colonial and Lao architecture look which means new construction is almost impossible. Buildings can not be over two stories and most corporations are kept out. This means there isn’t any 7-11, Mickey-Ds, KFC, or any other corporate crap. It’s kind of like being in Westworld. I’m not sure how Miniso got past the rules, but they are a great shop so I’m glad they did.
Stop!
At first, we went up the wrong steps. It led to the monks’ quarters.
There were these three buddhas sitting together, but not a path up the hill unless you are willing to climb over the wall and hike up the dirt path which Wan and Rapper weren’t willing to do.
Other than a few monks, we were the only people going up the hill on this beautiful day. It’s possible to come here and be alone in the middle of the night, but I doubt there will ever be another opportunity to have a private hike like this ever again unless there is another pandemic or World War.
The steps up to Phousi are behind this temple. There are many signs leading the way. There are a few ways to the top, but most people will go this way.
Buddha’s Footprint
Local legend claims that this is the footprint of a giant. Wan told me that the monks pray to keep the giant in check and from destroying the town, but I doubt some young boys in orange robes are going to be much of a match for a giant. If there really was a giant and I saw it, I would try to be his friend, but I’ve never seen anything to convince me that giants were ever real. Maybe there were some freakishly tall people back in the day, but where are the bones? I think they just heated up some steal in the shape of a foot to melt this volcanic rock back in the day to scare bad people away.
Wan told me that the giants are not actually physical beings, but supernatural. They are demons that will possess and curse people. That is why the monks are always beating on the drums. It keeps the giant inside the mountain and from hurting anybody. It’s like how the Jedi temple was constructed on top of an ancient Sith temple in Coruscant suppressing the dark side.
Another thing you will see a lot of in Laos and Thailand is the Naga. He was half serpent half-man who lived in the river and came out only to marry a most beautiful woman. This legend is older than Buddhism itself and I can’t help but wonder if it was passed down way back during the Egyptian times.
There are also legends of the Cam people. That is where Cambodia got its name. They were black people with advanced technology that came here a long time ago. They sure sound like Egyptians to me. Luang Prabang is a truly beautiful place with lovely weather. If there was an advanced ancient civilization back in the day, they surely vacationed here as well.
We took all of these pictures with my Samsung Galaxy A12. I wonder how many DSLR cameras are getting sold today now that almost similar results can be captured on cheap phones. I’m proud of the beautiful pictures we took but most proud of getting good ones of Rapper here. Puppies are almost impossible to take pictures of because they never stay still, but you should do your best because they only stay this cute for a very short time.
Pray for Good Luck and Fortune
When you pray at a Buddhist temple you will sometimes see this cup full of chopsticks with numbers on them. Shake it until one falls out to reveal your fortune.
I got number 13, so I found the fortune for my number in the box.
It says:
Number thirteen is lucky. If you desire anything, you will be able to manifest it into reality. An elder will bring you happiness and fortune, but you will have a bit of suffering in your heart. You will have good karma. Your life will be comfortable. If you have a child it will be a boy. You will have an easy time your whole life.
I always pray that today will be the day that our Earth finally makes contact with benevolent extra-terrestrial life that shares their technology with us ending our wars, politics, and capitalism, but I’ll take what fortune Buddha has given me. Wan didn’t want to shake the cup of fortune for some reason.
At the Top
This is where most people will take their photos from. Since we were alone, I put my phone up here, put it on a ten-second timer delay, and ran back to take a selfie with Wan and Rapper.
Back Down
Rapper took a little protest nap not realizing that the journey is only halfway complete. After some rest and a bit of water, he was ready to go down all the steps.
Thank you for reading about our puppy’s first hike up Phousi Mountain in Luang Prabang, Laos today. May you avoid any giants or bad luck and have a wonderful day.
This horrible pandemic bullshit is finally coming to an end. Can you feel it? For the already mega-rich billionaires and tech companies, it was a dream come true. I’m not one of them, but I must admit, I enjoyed the whole staying at home playing Splinterlands and watching Jocko Podcast all-day thing. Maybe I’m a bit agoraphobic. I enjoy being an introvert, but I miss my extrovert life too. I doubt few people in the whole world were as lucky as me during Covid because I’ve been stuck in the wonderful town of Luang Prabang, Laos. Winter has come and it was a beautiful day so my girlfriend Wan and I ditched her motorcycle and went for a good old-fashioned walk around town today. I really like this old red car, but have never seen anything like it before. Do you know what kind of car it is?
I started our walk with a dark Beer Lao while Wan went for the original Beer Lao. Laos has some of the best things in the world in my opinion. I find the women to be the kindest and most beautiful and I’ve been to America, Mexico, Canada, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, South Africa, Burma, and Cambodia. The food is definitely my favorite and the weather is great all year except for the few months it rains all day. The beer is also my favorite in the world and it only costs $1 for a big bottle.
A nice breakfast at my friend’s guest house and restaurant ain’t a bad way to start the day. I really feel bad for all the restaurants around the world. They provide such a great service for us all but have all been hit so hard by this pandemic. When are we going to have a global crisis that ruins all the lawyers’, bankers’, and politicians’ lives?
Xiengtong Temple
Usually, you have to pay the monks to enter here, but now that things have shut down into ghost-town-land, it’s been free every time. It’s interesting visiting spots that have been places of worship since before your own country was a nation. Ancient kings were crowned and married here in the past. I imagine there are many spirits roaming around this holy and ancient place.
We came here to pray for my dying dog Spot.
He was such a cute and sweet boy, but he sadly didn’t make it. There was nothing the vet could do for him. I believe he died of Covid because he had all the symptoms and went from strong and healthy to dead in just three days. Only God and Dr. Fauci know what really happened. I feel like he must have been an angel because he led me to find the sweetest girl I’ve ever met and brought so much joy to my life when I was in a very dark place. I hope that he is in heaven relaxing on an air-conditioned cloud full of pizzas.
This was the king’s house before 1975 when the Americans pulled out of South East Asia and the communist took control of everything. They moved the capital of Laos from Luang Prabang to the southern city of Vientiane. They gave the king a wonderful job in a labor camp, but at least they preserved his house. It is a museum today and you can check it out if you ever visit.
This bridge is a total piece of junk. If you ever cross over it on a motorcycle you will know true fear. It’s got wood for pavement. There are also two pedestrian paths on either side that are even scarier because the wood looks old as hell and it’s a long dropdown. I’ve jumped off the bridge into the water before so you won’t die as long as you hit the water where it’s deep if you do fall.
It was about 16:00 so we went to Big Tree Cafe for dinner. Most Asian locations are total noobs when it comes to cooking western food like Spaghetti, but Luang Prabang used to be a French colony so they can cook it pretty well in most locations.
The Mekong River is so beautiful. I hope the god-damned Chinese don’t screw it up like they do everything else with their hydroelectric dams.
Thank you for reading about our Wednesday walk today. I hope you have a wonderful day and the chance to visit Luang Prabang one day. God bless you and my dead dog Spot and may the CCP burn in hell!
I didn’t plan on falling in love with Spot, but he’s my best friend now. He follows me around everywhere. He’ll scratch at my door to let him in every night and gets really jealous if I give affection or food to his sister or any of the other dogs at my apartment.
The first couple of days we went on a walk it was just Spot and I. Now it seems all of the dogs in the neighborhood follow us around. There’s an ATM across the street where I live. There was this old man with the scariest-looking eyes I’ve ever seen and two of his young punk-looking friends who seemed like they were about to jump me when I got some cash out at 1 am. When I did my best dog bark, all of the dogs in the neighborhood came running to me and surrounded me. At first, they looked at me like a dumb white boy they were about to rip off, but when all my dog friends showed up, they just smiled and went away.
Spot found this bug. At first, I thought it was a child’s toy. Then I thought it was like a royal cockroach or something. I think it’s some type of wood beetle. I don’t know, but it looks cool. Do you know what it is?
Spot followed me around town for about 10 km. He was very good about staying on the sidewalk and not running into the street, but I did have to carry him across a few intersections.
Spot likes temples. He’ll lead the way in, look around a bit, then leave. Maybe he was a Buddhist in his last life.
I gave him plenty of water along the way, but at one point he just wouldn’t have it anymore. He laid down near a bank to cool down in the shade and close to the cool air-conditioned air blowing out the door.
I remember when I was a kid it seemed like everybody had these old World War II Army jeeps. This one is US Army, USMC, and Laos. Is this even a US Army version? It looks a little off to me. I think it’s a Russian or Chinese version but painted like an American one. They still look cool today. Imagine how cool they looked back in World War II.
This is Mano Temple about halfway to the center of downtown Luang Prabang.
One of the things I’ve loved about living here is that for all of 2020 and until now, nothing was shut down. They didn’t bother with restrictions except for closing down the borders, but recently everyone’s gone paranoid. All the restaurants and dance clubs are shut down because an American and Korean have died of the virus.
I love the bamboo barricades they’ve all put up here to protect their neighborhoods. It reminds me of when I was a 10-year-old boy with a fort in the woods and a sign that said, “No girls allowed!”
I was a hotel manager before the virus came. Now I’m just a Hive blogger and the guy who hangs out with the dogs all day. It’s sad to see these nice hotels being neglected like this. A lot of my friends who worked at the hotel with me are now delivery drivers. I can’t wait for this stupid virus to end and the world to come back to normal.
The first bath we took together Spot was acting like it was the greatest injustice in the universe. Whenever you give a dog a bath you have to be very careful never to get the shampoo or water in their eyes or nose or they’ll have a very bad experience and won’t ever want to take a bath again. Now he will stand up on the toilet and let me shampoo him without moving. I just have to say the same thing several times. “Don’t move!”
Why do dogs love getting up on the bed? I don’t like him doing this because he is a tick magnet. Can you see the guilty look on his face? I feel sorry for Spot because it’s so hot outside, so I’ll let him stay in the room to enjoy the cool air while I’ll walk to the shop to get a beer. He knows it’s wrong, but he’ll always sneak up there when he can.
I grew up in Seattle and was in the army so the rain ain’t no thing for me. Especially in a tropical environment. When I was in North Carolina for my job training, I remember it raining, then freezing, and having icicles on my hat, so I now feel this warm rain is refreshing and relaxing.
I find it quite amusing when it starts to rain and everyone runs away for cover like ants. What are they afraid of? If your clothes get wet, just wash them. You get completely wet when you take a shower so why is it so horrible when you have your clothes on?
I also don’t have a problem swimming in this dirty brown Mekong River. The only time I won’t go in is if I have any open wounds. (I don’t want to waste money on antibiotics to kill the cellulitis and not be able to drink for a week.) Everyone always warns it’s dangerous and that I’ll die. From what? Is there a giant anaconda down there? Crocodiles? Maybe the story of the fire-breathing river monster is true. Most people think I’m weird, but I find their always living in fear and slaving away for fiat weird.
This statue of Buddha appreciated the rain. It helped clean it and look good for this picture. I like the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment. One day while he was praying or meditating it started to rain very heavily and a giant king cobra came around him and expanded its hood flared neck to protect him from the rain.
I’m sure that the monks can see me from their rooms but it feels really cool to come to an ancient temple and be all alone.
One of my favorite temples in Luang Prabang is hidden on a hill on this corner. It’s not something you can see from the street, so I was living here almost two years before I found this gem.
If you leave the city and go into the jungle, you’ll see people using these old American bombs to build their houses. The CIA led a secret war here that saw more bombs dropped than all of WWII. They were made of high-quality metal so are still a threat. Cluster bombs still kill and injure 300 people a year. As an American, I feel very sad that my government did this to these wonderful people and never took responsibility for the damage and death it’s still causing today.
On an opposite note, peace. Can you spot the PEACE ☮️ bricks in the center of this picture? All buildings in Laos display their construction year. I’ve noticed almost every building from the 1970s used these peace bricks.
Even when I ask my friends, who’ve spent years as monks, what all these paintings mean, they always don’t know. There’s a meaning and history in each scene. Good luck finding out what they are though.
I do know about the giants though. Almost every temple will have them somewhere to protect it from evil.
Which is your favorite Buddha image?
I treated myself to a long-overdue massage. It felt so good because I’ve been wanting one for over a year. It only costs $6 for an hour oil massage that was one of the best I’ve ever had. I had hurt my back a bit doing wild slides at the water park so the oil massage was just what I needed to end this lovely rainy day.
Thanks for enjoying this rainy Wednesday walk around Luang Prabang with me today. Have a good one!
