Posts tagged as:

Laos

Snapshot: Pha That Luang

by Jessica Marsden on June 11, 2010

On my last morning in Vientiane, I came very close to skipping out on Pha That Luang. A golden monument on the fringes of town seemed like one of those attractions that might be adequately represented by a photo. And since I was on my own, there was no one to judge me for my [...]

Tagged as: blogsherpa, Laos, Pha That Luang, snapshot, solo, Vientiane

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Snapshot: Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang

by Jessica Marsden on March 5, 2010

This Buddha statue stood out from others at Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang because the gilt on his face and neck was not the usual smooth gold paint that I had seen on other Buddhas in Laos. Instead it appeared as if small postage-stamp-sized pieces of gold leaf had been haphazardly applied over the [...]

Tagged as: blogsherpa, Laos, Luang Prabang, Northern Laos, Photos, snapshot

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Learning to Weave in Luang Prabang

by Jessica Marsden on March 1, 2010

Happily for those who spend a full week there, Luang Prabang has more to offer than just wats, wats, wats. In February, I spent two full days taking a weaving course through OckPopTok, which operates two shops in the town and a weaving center just outside of it. I had never done any weaving before [...]

Tagged as: blogsherpa, class, Laos, Luang Prabang, Northern Laos, textiles

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PSA: The Laos-China Bus Connection

by Jessica Marsden on February 12, 2010

Earlier this week, a friend and I took the bus from Luang Prabang in Laos across the border to Kunming, China. Information about the trip is scarce in guidebooks and online, and even in Luang Prabang there is plenty of misinformation. So this post is in the nature of a public service announcement: There is [...]

Tagged as: bus, China, Kunming, Laos, Luang Prabang

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The Etiquette of Morning Alms

by Jessica Marsden on February 2, 2010

One of Luang Prabang’s most distinctive traits is its superabundance of wats — Buddhist monastery-temples. The wats themselves create the ritual of morning alms, one of the most popular “sights” in the city. At promptly 6:30 a.m. each day, orange-clad monks leave the wats and process around town to collect alms of sticky rice. The [...]

Tagged as: blogsherpa, Laos, Luang Prabang, Northern Laos

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Border Crossing: Cambodia to Laos

by Jessica Marsden on January 26, 2010

As I researched this trip, one of the most worrying segments was the border crossing from Cambodia to Laos. With Travelfish labeling it a “pain in the posterior,” I was a wee bit apprehensive. But as it turned out, it was a mostly painless experience. Having heard that visas would not be issued at the [...]

Tagged as: border, bus, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, visa

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