Culture in Luang Namtha, the most ethnically diverse region in all of South East Asia
Boun Awk Phansa is the last day of Buddhist lent. It happens each year in October, three lunar months after Khao Phansa on the 15th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar. This year Boun Awk Phansa falls tomorrow, 12th October, and one of the best places to see this festival in Laos […]
In Laos there are many ‘minority’ tribes – so called because they are not ethnic Lao, however minority tribes make up over 55% of Lao’s population so while individually the tribes are a minority, collectively they are in fact the majority. With over 230 different ethnic tribes in northern Laos alone, I will cover first […]
We love walking and biking around this area and the temple still never fails to impress us. We love seeing it lit up at night and also seeing the awesome views from the hill it’s perched on during the day. We also often see the local monk’s chanting in the evenings in the monastery just […]
Thong and Paet took us to visit Paet’s village (she is Black Tai tribe) where they had collected silkworms in their silk cocoons, and were getting the silk off them to use for weaving. They put the silkworms into a pot of boiling water and as they boil they pull a thread off the cocoon […]
Thong’s brother and his wife had their second baby girl 2 weeks ago and they named her Noi. We were invited to attend her blessing ceremony (sukwan string or bai si or baci ceremony) where the baby and her family are blessed and wished good luck for their futures. The purpose of the tying of […]
We were really sad when Thong phoned us only a few days after we arrived to inform us his mother had just passed away. That day she had been taken from the hospital back to her home to die surrounded by the love of her family and she got her wish only a few short […]
The past week we’ve had dinners with friends and celebrations pretty much every day. Firstly Shahu, our favourite Indian chef invited us for a special Indian dinner at his restaurant, then Thong and Paet organised a blessing ceremony for us so that we have safe travels until we meet again, and we also had a […]
We decided to see Muang Sing the right way this time, and hired a motorbike for a few days for our 5th Wedding Anniversary both to ride there and also to explore the area on. The ride there is just breathtaking, and we were able to appreciate it a lot more from the motorbike than […]
