Feb 19
We flew from Luang Prabang to Pakse in southern Laos. Pakse is a dirty town with nothing worthy of reporting. We were met by our guide, Serm, who did not speak English the best. We stopped at a restaurant on our way to our hotel in Pakse. Then we travelled through Champasek, which is listed as a World Heritage town. We stopped at a potter's workshop and met the original artist and apprentice. We also visited a unique Sisumang Buddha with a charming face located on the remains of a Pre-Angkorian site. Louise got blessed by a monk at the temple Vat Kuang Kang. We took a boat on the Mekong over to the island of Dong Deung, which is the opening of the region called the 4000 islands. Our hotel had a beautiful lodge and several bungalows facing the water with a porch. They were side by side in two's.
That evening we crossed back over on the jetty for the Wat Phou Festival in Champasek. It was a Hindu-Buddhist celebration and is held every year during the third lunar month because Buddha is said to have delivered certain of his teachings at this time. On this day long ago in India, 1250 of Buddha's followers came to see him on their own and were said to be enlightened ones whom Buddha ordained as teachers. He gave them the main, core teachings of Buddhism which included cease from evil, do good, and cleanse your mind. There were many tables of food, prayer lanterns, and bands playing. There were so many people and they were crawling all over the ancient Pre-Angkorian remains. We had wanted to see the Candle parade, but our guide misled us and we missed it. We made a loop through the grounds and then headed back to our boat to return back to our hotel.
Feb 20
Forrest went for a walk around the island and then a swim, while Beth slept having gotten some Montezuma's revenge. We all laid around the pool looking at the river and enjoying the calm and peace. We all needed a rest day.
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