Luang Prabang, Laos

Since first committing to the Study Abroad Program in Thailand, I knew I also wanted to go to Luang Prabang, Laos. Reading about the old capital in travel magazines made it so appealing to me. Now that we are here, I have all the romantic images in my head confirmed. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the old city is maintained. The architecture of French colonial villas mingled with Buddhist temples and wats makes for a stunning fusion of East and West. The old town sits on a peninsula formed by the convergence of the Nam Khan river with the more well-known Mekong River.

Our hotel named the Belle Rive faces the Mekong River so our room looks out through palm trees and out onto the passing river. Each morning we sit at a wooden table on the hotel's narrow front porch, eat warm baquettes, butter, jam, eggs, and mangoes, drink small pots of wonderful Lao coffee, and watch Lao people pedal by on bikes and tuk-tuks park on the small street.

We also sit across the street at the hotel's cafe and watch the sunset over the Mekong while drinking Beerlao and Chilean red wine. We love this spot. It's the perfect place to spend time when you have been traveling a long time and want to surrender to another way of life. We have lost all tourist motivation to go see things.

The one thing we did do was wake up before 6am to see the procession of monks. For those of you who know me well, waking up early is a big deal, so you know I was highly motivated. Luang Prabang hosts many novice monks who come to school and live at the temples. Most Lao boys serve as a monk for a period of time. It is a way for poor families to send their sons to school. These boys and young men wearing saffron-colored robes with yellow sashes and handwoven shoulder bags are a common sight throughout the town. They often have umbrellas and walk in groups. Every morning they ritualistically emerge from their wats in single file and walk the street carrying rice bowls in their handwoven bags. Lao people, primarily woman, kneel on the sidewalk with woven baskets or bowls of sticky rice, from which they give a scoop to each pausing monk. This is the monk's food for the day. The whole stream of monks pass silently. The only sound is that of tourists' cameras.

The Lao people are very kind and somewhat timid, but we have made friends with the wait staff at Belle Rive. They work seven days a week. Most of them come from villages outside of Luang Prabang and live with friends or other family here. One day the whole staff (kitchen, reception, waitpeople) had a meeting all day under the awning by the river. The next morning Tom asked the lovely young woman who brings us breakfast what she learned at her meeting. She paused and grinned widely, saying, "to work."

We celebrated our 19th anniversary in this magical spot and have loved our time here.