MORNING ALMS: Photogenic Luang Prabang, a much-sought after place by photographers. (you can enjoy the dreamer’s photographs as simple and true as life in Luang Prabang here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87953597@N05/)
I WAS a dreamer in a delightful paradise where time stands still in gentle stillness and silence under the full moon of a mid-Autumn night.
Marthe Bassene, a French writer, had described Luang Prabang as a refuge of last dreamers, devoid of pressures of life and modern sophistication when she first arrived there in 1909.
She wrote: Oh! What a delightful paradise of idleness this little country protects, by the fierce barrier of the stream, against progress and ambitions for which it has no need! Will Luang Prabang be, in our century of exact sciences, of quick profits, of victory by money, the refuge of the last dreamers, the last loved ones, the last troubadours?
Arriving here a century later, is Luang Prabang, now a Unesco world heritage site, still faithful to its legendary, natural, cultural and spiritual heritage amidst political upheavals in its neighbouring countries and pressures of globalisation?
A typical day breaks to the rhythmic shuffling of hundred pairs of bare feet upon the ground. A parade of monks walks right pass the narrow street.
It is a meditation walk for the monks while collecting alms from the faithful who want to show their love and respect. Their presence paints the town orange as they emerge through the dawn mist, wending their way through the narrow streets.
Among the lineup of the faithful giving lumps of sticky rice and fruits are children who also offer their biscuits and candies. There are also women and children with baskets in front of them, waiting for the monks to drop their gifts that they have received to them.
Hotels also offer to prepare baskets for their guests to participate in this Buddhist ritual with instructions how to offer. One interesting rule is women must be seated to make an offering while men could choose to do so standing.
What a way to get tourists involved in this part of the life of Luang Prabang.
Throughout the day, you can see the distinctive bright orange robes blowing softly in the cool breeze everywhere.
The city with French architecture retains its colonial charm while giving a very relaxed village feel.
An evening stroll along the street with air filled with the intoxicating tang of oil, chilli and garlic and with extended families laying their dining table along the street for their dinner gives a very heartwarming feel.
Luang Prabang lies in a valley at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers. The magnificent, yet soothing Mekong dreamily passes by the backstreets. There are many activities along the banks – children swimming in the river, people unloading their goods, fishermen and families mending the fishing nets, tourists relaxing in the boat – all reflect the tranquil pace of the river. I am just loving it.
Yes, the same magic and mystery that charmed Marthe a century ago still permeates Luang Prabang today in its very essence and core.
A French journalist I met, observed: “The harmonious co-existence of Buddhism and Nature helped Luang Prabang retain its tranquility even after turbulences of inception of French colonial rule and civil wars from the 70’s to the 80’s.”
As the sun set in a fiery orange ball, its rays painted the Mekong bank a warm golden hue, the moon took its place, round and bright.
Sitting in a riverside restaurant, the dreamer, intoxicated by the beauty of moonlit street and peaceful Mekong, remembered Li-Bai’s famous line in Silent Night Longing: Up towards the glorious moon I raise my head Then lay me down – and thoughts of home arise.
Now, how are we faring in our tourist attractions, given the simplicity of life too in many villages, our rich culture and heritage, the magnificent Rejang River, the many national parks?
Learning from Luang Prabang, the connectivity is one thing that we really do not have.
Luang Prabang’s connectivity by air, road and river lures the journalists, artists, writers and Nature-loving people from far and wide to this place that offers local experience, cultural heritage, temples and a simple way of life.
The town is connected directly to the outside world by different regional airlines through Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Jinghou, China and Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Most of the tourists we met, flew in from these locations, by-passing Laos’ capital city of Vientiane.
In a short span of three days, I met four journalists from Australia, France and Beijing respectively among other troops of backpackers and touring Europeans. What a happy gathering it was!
So, I recalled Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud as having said Sarawak must cooperate with established destinations in the region such as Bali (Indonesia), Sabah and Brunei to woo more tourists here.
“Cooperation across boundaries is very important for the success of the tourism industry across the board,” Taib said at SEDC’s Re-Imaging of its Tourism and Leisure Sectors just a week before I left for Laos.
“In fact, we can cooperate with Bali and others to ensure that Australian tourists will widen their cycle of tourism to include Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei.
“This is the kind of strategies that we have to learn to develop but that only can come through cooperation across national boundaries and all sectors in the tourism industries,” he added.
Are our tourism players looking into the Chief Minister’s dream?
In a mid-autumn night by the moonlit street, like any other night, Luang Prabang answers the dreamer’s vision with its gentle breezes … in silence.