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It has been awhile since I blogged, I’ve been busy working on putting a Laos Trip photo album to share with my family. I’m glad that I didn’t try to tackle it right away since I have many editing to do and I didn’t know how back then. I had very little knowledge several years back. I purchased my camera that year and understood very little about composition and forget about composing an image, I was mostly pointing and shooting and glad that I got anything decent back with me. It has been almost 3 years and my chance of returning back to Laos is very slim since my aunt passed away last year. I’m glad that my dad and I had a chance to see her again even if it were for the last time.
I shot in Auto Mode back then. The camera did a good job in selecting the correct setting for me.
Learning how to straighten an image came in handy and I’ve learned this not too long ago. This picture was not straight when I took it and I had to do that a lot with my Laos photos.
The cropping tool is something that I learned way back. This original image lacked a focal point since everything looked so small, I didn’t have a telephoto lens back then. This was taken from the top of Patuxay Monument.
A closeup cropped of a Lao Ladybug. I guess you can call her Nangsao buc in Lao language, but there is something contradicting about the name since Nangsao means lady and buc means man in Lao.
So far I have printed over 1,000 photos and only tackled the first week of our trip, still 3 more weeks to go.
One of my sisters already asked for big print of Wat Xieng Thong.
I have several pictures of myself that I can tell people that I have visited Laos. My dad took this for me, and it didn’t come out too bad minus the tourist couple in the background. I didn’t hand the camera to him as often since he almost dropped it several times. I had the Canon XTi with the EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens back then.
I printed what I took regardless of beauty since the memory is precious to me. If I don’t update my blog as often it doesn’t mean that I have abandoned my blog, my 5 year anniversary of blogging is actually next month.
I bought this picture from an Asian store in Charlotte over 10 years ago, back then I knew very little about where That Luang was since I am not from that Area.
Program, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM lens, f/4.5, 1/60sec, ISO-400 (auto), exposure bias -0.3step, focal length 70mm, pattern metering
I can’t tell you what it used to look like, I would think that it looks like this 30 years ago.
closeup cropped of above photo
That Luang is also known as the Great Stupa and the most significant Laotian religious and national monument. It was built in 1566 and was reconstructed in 1930. I had a chance to go back to visit during Boun That Luang, my first time ever visiting and it’s a very emotional event for me.
Photo from my Laos Trip 11/11/2008
Photo from my Laos Trip 11/11/2008
Continue from Laos Memory Lane: Luang Prabang. The accent in this region of Laos is very close to my own accent, Tai Tai. But I think the local can pickup that we’re not from the Pakse area. My family were from Muang Kao, right across the Mekong River from Pakse. We spent the last part of our trip in Pakse running errands and visiting with relatives.
Southern Laos is known for its beautiful waterfalls. This is a video by by Rafael Amador which I have posted before. The most beautiful waterfalls is at Khone Papen, then Tad Fane, Tad Lo (elephant), and in the end of the video is Tad Sua.
We visited Tad Yuang, a post from my trip.
Also Tad E-Tou waterfalls, a post from my trip.
I wanted to visit a coffee plantation in Paksong but time was not on our side. If you’re in the area and have the time, check out this place, Paksong.info, the owner was kind enough to send me some photos to post for my Paksong Lao Coffee post.
I also want to visit Wat Phu but I was told that the only way to get there is by a ferry and there is a cut off time to come back. If we were to miss the ferry, then we would have to spend the night there. We didn’t have that much time and couldn’t take the chance so we didn’t get to visit. What is so fascinating to me about Wat Phu is the story that I’ve heard over the years, it’s the legend of the human sacrifice. I want to see this for myself.
Photo source.
Wat Phu is a ruined temple complex in Champasak, southern Laos. It is known for its Boun, also know as Wat Phu Festival and usually takes place on the full moon of the third lunar month (usually in early February for 3 days). Pilgrims from near and far come for Boun Wat Phu, and the festivities include elephant races, water buffalo & cock fighting, boxing, music and dances. Wat Phu was designated a World Heritage Site in 2001.
Photo source.
I think there is definitely a legend of human sacrifice at Wat Phu Champasak, but there are different versions out there, and the one known to the locals which was a story about Wat Phu and how the pond or the lake would take one life per year and no more.
Photo source.
Continue from Laos Memory Lane: Vientiane. We stayed with my aunt in Paksan and she asked one of her son in-laws to be our tour guide. He was from Xieng Khouang and I really wanted to visit the Plain of Jars but Luang Prabang was on my number one list and I didn’t have the heart to ask him to take us to both places. Perhaps on my next visit I will get to visit the Plain of Jars.
Photo source.
- Kyvong-luangprabang
I read so much about Luang Prabang prior to my visit. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the best preserved city in the south-east Asia. In 1995 it was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. I think I would be happy living here, the only problem would be my Lao Southern accent which doesn’t have that melodic chime of the Luang Prabang accent. As for Bo, his accent is beyond the Lao Southern accent, he certainly would not fit in. I posted some random photos and the Old Charming Town of Luang Prabang from my trip.
We only had 1 day for sightseeing and I wanted to visit Pak Ou Cave. My dad and cousin didn’t think it was a good idea since the only way to get to the caves was by boat and they didn’t want anything bad to happen on this trip. Since we only had one day, I didn’t mind so much, there is always the next time.
According to wikipedia, the caves are noted for their impressive Lao style Buddha sculptures assembled over the centuries by local people and pilgrims. Hundreds of mostly wooden Buddhist figures are laid out over the floors and wall shelves. They take many different positions, including meditation, teaching, peace, rain, and reclining (nirvana). Tham Ting contains approximately 2,500 Buddhas, while Tham Theung contains approximately 1,500 Buddhas.
Photo source.
Before we headed to Luang Prabang, my little cousin told me that the most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang is Wat Xieng Thong and she showed me the picture from her cell phone. I do have to agree with her, I believe no other temple can compare to this mystical looking temple, a post from my trip.
We drove from Paksan to Luang Prabang and got there around 6 PM. The road was treacherous (my post: What Lies Behind This Curvy Road?) and I got motion sickness from so many twists and turns. But that didn’t stop me from visiting the night market.
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