A Mekong Sunset for the end of 2016

As the sun sets on 2016 here is a sunset over the Mekong from Vientiane.

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2017.

The blog will be on a break for the next two weeks.

More to come in the NEW YEAR.

Relaxing by the Green Door

Hopefully this time between Christmas and New Year is time to relax.  Luang Prabang is a very relaxing town.  I liked these green doors and striped chairs ready to relax and perhaps read in for a while.

More Lanterns

A brightly colored lantern above the entrance to a temple in Luang Prabang.

Another Lantern

The decorations are still up.  Here is another star lantern from Luang Prabang.

Monday Monk on a Mobile

While his mates were making paper lanterns for the lantern festival to mark the end of Buddhist Lent this young man sat under a lantern playing on his mobile. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Gathering the lanterns

Another small group of monks making and gathering together the festival lanterns.

Making the Lanterns

Making the lanterns is a team effort at the temple.  These young monks were a busy team making the brightly coloured paper lanterns.

Hanging up the Lanterns

As at Christmas time, preparation is a team effort and time consuming.  This young monk is focussed on hanging up lanterns for the celebrations for the end of Buddhist Lent in Luang Prabang when I was there in October.

Christmas Decorations - A blue star

A blue star hanging in front of beautiful temple in Luang Prabang.

Christmas Decorations- Laos Style

Christmas is not really celebrated in Laos, although Santa suits and tinsel and snow covered pine trees are for sale in some shops.

However the Laos love decorating - especially making paper lanterns to mark the end of Buddhist Lent,

So here are some Christmassy paper stars hanging at the entrance to a temple in Luang Prabang.

Monday Morning Monks

Once home after collecting alms, washing of feet is a priority.

Trumped in Laos

Mr Ks advisory dressed up as Trumps, hilarious - each face had a different expression. The Lego yellow blocks in the background won the prize as the best group.

Laos style Christmas farmers

Today students in each advisory had a dress up competition - advisory wars- shocking name, but great fun. After lengthy procrastination and negotiations my group decided on Laos farmers, but we added some Christmas trimming and tinsel.

Oral Health in Ba Na

Yesterday I took the GIN students to Ba Na village. GIN  stands for the Global Issues Network group.  This semester we have been researching nutrition in Laos, which led to a decision to take action related to oral health.The students planned and a prepared a workshop which they delivered to students at the primary school in Ba Na village about 80 SE of Vientiane.The GIN students were great - I was very proud of them and the primary students were very cute and very happy to see us.

Preparing for Roast Pork

Those of you considering roast pork for Christmas Dinner might be interested in these piglets.  They were on a street corner, not it in a market.  I think some villagers had brought them into Luang Prabang for sale.  There was plenty of interest with scooter drivers stopping to chat and bargain.  When I went passed an hour later they had been sold.

Using my limited Laos, I think they were 80,000 Kip each, i.e. $US.10.00.

I liked the cane baskets - tailor made and easy for carrying them home.

Foot Manufacturing

Not quite a foot, but I have had new orthotics made at the foot manufacturer.

COPE is the rehabilitation centre for victims of UXOS so they make new feet and limbs.

Key, in the photo below, trained as an orhthotist  at Latrobe University in Melbourne.  He now works at COPE making feet and  orthotics on the side for falang with feet issues.

Lotus Ladies

As the full moon approaches again here are a few photos from That Luang festival last month at the full moon. I liked these smiling ladies folding lotus flowers to sell to people to use as offerings in the temple.

Monday Morning Monks

Once home at their monasteries, the monks share the collected food within the community.

Mrs Kung's

Mrs Kung' s mango sticky rice pancake and coconut coffee are a Saturday morning treat.  I have written about this hidden treasure before. I love the decor, the fluffy puppy, the scooters the drive through, the decorative gourds the general ambience and the food.

Running Wild

Wonderful night of theatre under the stars tonight at " Running Wild", the Envision community theatre production. It is based on a Michael Morphogo story about an English boy who is orphaned by the tsunami, rescued by an elephant and ends up in the jungle living with orangutans and threatened by palm oil plantations. It was magical - puppets, an elephant and a tiger, butterflies and birds, girls doing cart wheels and Year 6 girls wearing sun glasses as scary hit men. These photos show some of my Year 10 students acting with their puppets. It was great.

Uncaged

I love the bamboo/cane chicken cages here in Laos.  This one has been turned into a work of art by a Grade 5 student.  It is titled "UnCaged", and it is a symbol of freedom.

Christmas Makes It to Laos

Not a great photo - but it is Christmassy and despite being a Buddhist country in the tropics, pine trees and tinsel have made it to Laos.  The staff at our hotel in Luang Prabang on the weekend spent Saturday morning erecting and decorating this tree.  Love the white picket fence keeping the presents in!.

Monday morning Monks

Labels

The monks keep their alms bowls close as they wander the streets.

Lao National Day

Students in the elementary school contributed to the Laos National Day display with posters and art work.  I really liked the caption about reading " In my class, different students have different levels of reading so we support one another".  How beautiful.

Lao National Day - A holiday

Today is a holiday for Lao National Day. At school it was celebrated with Laos sweet treats at morning break.

I am on a mission to reduce packaging at the canteen. The kids in the GIN group think I am crazy as I am constantly suggesting banana leaves should be used instead of paper plates and plastic. So I was very happy to see these cute banana leaf dishes today.

The Laos girls, Tora, Naliny, Sariny and Lynda were happy to model for me.

Star in a Window

A brightly colored lantern above the entrance to a temple in Luang Prabang.