We had our Day in the Life experience in Laos. The day started at 5:00 AM. We participated in in giving alms to the the monks. We were given sashes to wear and a basket full of sticky rice to fill the bowls of the monks walking through the streets. You had to be fast! Prying the rice out of the basket and getting it into the monks bowl is not as easy as it may seem. They do not stop. People come out every day to provide food for the monks - this is the only food that they get. We also purchased some vegetables and took them to the temple for the monks to enjoy as well.
The temples provide education, not just Buddhist studies but traditional studies as well. Children leave their families and go to temple to learn, for some this is the only education available. They are called ‘Novices’ and are not really Monks. You are a Novice until age 21 then you can decide to become a Monk. Monks have 227 precepts they have to follow, Novices only have 10. You can tell who the Monks are because they have both shoulders covered where the Novice have only one shoulder covered.
We were given a piece of paper with Lao words written in English and we went into the the market to buy ingredients for our community lunch in the village. Ok, yeah, we don't know what we were supposed to get - Souk our local guide told us it was the main ingredient. Rice? No. After meandering through the market and reciting our ingredient to the vendors in Lao we finally got it right - noodles!!
The village we visited was about an hour from town. The Grand Circle Foundation supports the school and has provided concrete pathways in the village. A simple little thing like paved sidewalks makes all the difference during the rainy season. We met the village chief, a blacksmith and his wife and her husband who makes wicker fish baskets. We sang songs and did some origami with the school children. We met some of the Mung people (Mongolian descent) who also live in this village. Erich and I tried our hand at shooting the traditional cross bow, Erich hit the bullseye on the first try, I barely hit the target. We talked about the unexploded ordinances that are remnants from the Secret War and how it is still a great danger to all those who live here.
We helped make lunch in an outdoor kitchen, stir fired noodles with chicken and fried Cicadas - yum! Crunchy on the outside and meaty on the inside. We also had typical village entrees; sticky rice, clear noodles with a little bit of chicken wrapped up in banana leaves. I am hear to tell you, you cannot eat sticky rice with a utensil, you just can’t do it. Eat like the locals, with your hands!
After our visit in the village we took an optional trip to the Kuang Si Falls. It was a short hike through the jungle and a zoo like feature that housed some black bears just hanging out watching the tourists. The waterfalls were spectacular - clear turquoise waters, nice change after the muddy Mekong river.
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