Luang Prabang is a small town near the confluence of the Mekong River and its tributary the Nam Khane. The Lan Xang kingdom unified the country of Laos in the 14th century and Luang Prabang became its capital. The town since then has been known as a Mecca for Theravada Buddhism, also known as Hinayama Buddhism. The influence of this early form of Buddhism resulted in 80 monasteries in the town. Luang Prabang gets very little visitors compared to it’s neighbor Thailand, but one attraction that stands out and hasn’t changed over a century is the morning Alms for the local Buddhist monks. You have to get up very early to participate since the monks are up at 5 am. People in town come out to the street and wait for the monks. Luang Prabang has approximately 16,000 people and around 1200 monks, almost 10% of the total population. The alms processions of Buddhist monks take place every day. The townspeople are devout Buddhists; they place sticky rice into the alms bowls.
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Buddhist Monks in Laos Giving Alms – Images by Jeff Henig
