If I Had A Million Kip!

The next day we woke up really early and Peter and I headed out to see the monks collect alms. We started walking towards the temple that we had been to the other night and saw several people preparing for the daily ritual. Walking through the temple, we didn’t see much, however on the other side of the temple two carloads of Spanish tourists were unloading. They had some idea of what was happening so we eavesdropped on them and figured out what was going to happen. The monks started to appear from the side streets and collect a small ball of sticky rice from each person sitting along side the road. They continued to file by for a good 30 minutes or so. We started walking in towards town following them and more and more monks joined the procession. At one point, there was a long line of people along side the road giving alms and so the monks formed a long line stretching for several blocks as they collected their rice. They then turned off to the right, in what appeared to be a circular route, and started back. It was really interesting to see it. I’d never gone out in Thailand before to see the alms giving, so it was good to see this. After that we headed to the Scandinavian Bakery again for breakfast and then we walked around a bit. We went to meet Yuuka at her guest house and started walking around town. We had a few errands to run and so we all did those real quickly in the morning. I had to go and exchange some money. I wanted to exchange about 5,000 baht. That ended up being 1.4 million kip! I’m walking around with more than a million kip in my pocket! Granted, it’s only about $100, but it still feels like a ton of money. Then it was a walk around town taking in all the temples and the side streets and just getting a better feel for the town. We stopped at a nice little restaurant for lunch where I had the Indochina burger, a beef burger with cheese and pineapple on top. The bun was fantastic. I’m going to have to cook more hamburgers on my grill in Lampang once I get back. At this point, Yuuka headed off - she had to catch a flight later that afternoon and so she went off to use the internet and pack. And so after that, Peter and I went to rent some mountain bikes and took off looking for trails to ride. We headed out into the country and just followed any dirt road or trail we came to until we couldn’t go anymore. Many of the trails ended at fences, but some continued for a while before we got struck. We were riding through the mud and through rice fields. There were streams to cross and large puddles to peddle through. We were dirty and sweaty, but we had a good time. We stopped for water at a shop along the road twice and spent a few minutes along the Mekong. We came back into town, gave the bikes back, and walked back to the guesthouse to get cleaned up. As we walked through town, we had many people look us and smile or laugh at our appearance. We were caked in mud all over. The bathroom floor was a big pile of mud once we were finished showering. It was then time for a few Beer Laos along the river and then we met Eric for dinner. We went to a little India restaurant, which was fantastic, by the way, and had a few more beers. While at dinner, we invited a solo traveler to come join us. He was from France and hadn’t had a home in about two years. He’s just been traveling all over the world, including France, but doesn’t have a place to call home. I think that a few years ago I would have envied him, but I don’t now. In some respects, I pity him. I don’t want to have relationships that last, at the most, a month. I want to have a home and a family and friends. I love to travel, but could never do it by myself for two years. That’s why the past few days have been great. It’s been great to spend time with Peter, Yuuka and Eric. I’ve felt more at home here because of it and because I’m able to say hi to those I see around town who were on that flight with me from Chiang Mai. It’s been a very social couple of days. It’s been a busy and I've had a long few days, but I’ve really enjoyed it.

The following morning, Peter left for his elephant camp trip and so I was on my own in the city. I made plans with Eric to meet up after work, but until then, I was free. I headed to the museum first since I’ve wanted to go but haven’t had the time. I got there and was informed that it was closed for the day. I was really bummed. I was looking forward to the museum and learning more about Luang Prabang and Laos because I do feel that my understanding is a bit lacking. I’m working on it, but I still have a long way to go. Anyway, with the museum gone, I headed back to the guest house and had a nice nap (the past few days finally caught up with me. After waking up from that, I started to walk around town and ended up at a sandwich place for lunch and then hit a few temples up after that. I followed that on by a trip to the coffee shop for a little internet. Then it was the night market where I spent more money than I was hoping to and then yet another nap before meeting Eric for dinner. Eric and I first headed to a really nice colonial hotel for drinks and then dinner at another restaurant in town. We had a nice dinner and a bottle of wine, both of which were good. We had good conversations and really enjoyed each others company. I think it was good for us both – we both understood the difficulties living in a foreign country and the challenges that presents. I think we both realized that we both wanted to have that social interaction and so we made it happen. I was glad to have met him and I think he was glad to have met me too. So, it worked out well. I hope to see him again.