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Again, we didn’t get to tour the town of Asheville, North Carolina. This is a charming little town where time seems to stand still, as you can see that even McDonald looks retro.
This made me think of Luang Prabang, Laos where modernization has not touched but embraced what’s already there, below is a photo of Wat Xieng Thong, one of the most beautiful Buddhist Temples in my opinion.
The Rose garden is kind of bare at this time of the year, I missed the Rose peak season and maybe I’ll have better luck next year.
But there are still a few blooms left for me to admire.
When I read about a photo assignment at Scott Thomas Photography of the topic Water, I immediately thought of the two colors river in Laos. Scott said that “Water is unique in that it can be a solid, a liquid and a gas. Water moves, stands still, creates and destroys,” this is so true. As for our water, it is the two colors river where Nam Xan and Mekong River meet. The Mekong River is the muddy color water, the Lao locals call her Mae Nam Kong, loosely translated as Mother Water Kong because she is like an artery that runs thought our country. The Mekong River is one of the world’s major rivers. It is the world’s 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia, from the Tibetan Plateau this river runs through China’s Yunnan province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. She has traveled a great distance to get to our landlocked country Laos and continues on her journey to our neighboring countries.
- Paya Soke
When you’re in the presence of a sacred place, I think you could feel it, I know it happened to me. I’ve been in many holy places before, but the one place that has such a strong force to me was the road to Vang Vieng and heading towards Luang Prabang Laos, and might be that it was the guilt that I feel, we didn’t stop to pay our respect.
This place was nothing fancy, it was a place that lies behind the curvy road, and as we drove up the mountain road of Hwy 13, I saw several cars parked along side of the road, and a group of people paying their respect to a spirit house. The smokes from their incense sticks were forming clouds above them, I asked my cousin what they were doing. He said it was Sarn Jao Pou (The Shrine of a Sacred Spirit), they’re paying their respect and asking him for a safe journey .
Our vehicle climbed up the road slowly and we passed without stopping since we didn’t have any incense stick with us, I was mesmerized by the image in front of me that I forgot to take some pictures. I silently said my prayers as we passed Sarn Jao Pou. The name of the road made me feel uneasy and might be that I grew up in the Western society where number 13 is considered unlucky, but I didn’t have a chance to ask my cousin if Lao People living in Laos feel the same way.
I’m a Buddhist, and why do I worry so much about Animism you might ask because worshiping Sarn Jao Pou is an Animistic belief. If I were raised in Laos, this would have made perfect sense because Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits. And here I was raised in the US, but the feeling and belief is equally as strong as Laotians living in Laos, and I’m not sure why. I often thought that having six senses is a gift, but to some that actually have it might think differently, more like a curse I would say, and at that moment as we traveled on this mountain road, I was glad that I don’t have six senses, Hwy 13 looks so treacherous and I couldn’t imagine what I would see along the way.
A long introduction to my next post, I found an interesting article written in Thai language titled “Be careful If you asked for a child from a Sacred Place.”
I was fascinated with Bang Fai Phaya Nark, also known as Naga Fireballs as long as I could remember, and last year I had a chance to stand at Wat Prabath Phonsanh looking out to the Mekong River, this is the Wat (Temple) that has the legend of Phraya Nark (Naga) to come up every year. I was there a month after the event, but I’m glad that I had a chance to see the Naga staircase that lead up to the temple.
Bang Fai Phraya Nark or Naga Fireballs is still scientifically unexplained, and usually happens on the first full-moon night of October coinciding with the end of Buddhist Lent. The locals believe the fireballs come from a mystical Naga or Phraya Nark living in the Mekong River who is spitting them high up in the air. Some scientist assume that the fireballs might be caused by bubbles coming up from a combustible natural gas deposit in the river bed which ignite when shooting up, and many now believe that it is just a hoax, nevertheless, the story of Bang Fai Phraya Nark or Naga Fireballs still fascinates many.
Nong khai - Phaya Naga Festival 2007
Photographs by ceejay19N
- Bouangeun-Kou Lap Paksan (Paksan Rose)
I received a phone call from my cousin yesterday morning, it was a pleasant surprise, all the way from Paksan, Laos. I mailed my Aunt some pictures and my cousin called to tell me that her mom received the package. This was the second time that I sent her pictures, the postage costs around $30 and it takes about 2-3 weeks to get there. This time I sent her a photo album so it’s a bit more heavier than the last time, but I think it’s well worth it since my dad can write the description of the photos. She asked me when will I visit again? I wish I could, but it doesn’t look like anytime soon, I do miss Laos already.
When I visited them last year, I was hoping to see their rice paddy. I read about the flood in Vientiane back in August of last year, but didn’t know if it also flooded Paksan or not. As you can see the two colors river where Nam Xan and Mekong River meet, my Aunt‘s rice paddy is right next to Nam Xan, the clear water side.
My Aunt leases part of her farm to her neighbor, this section was leased out, and their rice paddy survived the flood.
Sadly my Aunt’s rice paddy was flooded, no rice plant in sight.
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