Cheeky monk(ey)s!

Sa bai deet (Laos for hello)!
Do you like my monk photos? Can you tell me what is fundamentally wrong with the second picture down?! Yes, they smoke (that lad was only 17)... in fact, to shatter your illusions even further, they also: surf the net, use mobile phones (the Laos mobile network is Lau Tango - is that the equivalent of Orange, whch obviously MUST be the monks' network ;) - sorry, Andy's bad pun again), laptops, digital cameras, and some even have tattoos!! I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them downing a pint somewhere along our travels... ;)
Yes the life of a Buddhist monk certainly seems to be one of infinate hardship... so much for 'letting go' of things... still, I guess it's good to
I spent a day with some of them at various wats around the town of Luang Prabang and it seems that although they attend a monk 'school', during the afternoon, many of the teenage ones seem to have very little to occupy themselves except practice their English with curious foreigners and chat up English girls in their late 20s.... more about that later..
Ok, they get up at 4am to meditate/chant and then at sunrise walk in long lines around the town to collect alms (food) from the locals (see the 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th photos). And they have their last meal of the day at 11am. So ok, it's not that easy, but they're supposed to be in bed by 6 or 7pm and we've seen them put much later than that (surfing the net in fact - around 10pm!). I wouldn't be surprised if there's a sneaky monk disco set up somewhere around here... I can just picture them all getting their groove on into the early hours. ;)
So my morning started at 6.30am. I got outside ten minutes later and only had to wait a matter of minutes before the first stream of orange-clad meditators descended on the villagers (and smattering of tourists with their tripods - and this was only a side street - apparently the main street is rammed with tourists). I charted their progress of 20 mins or so (there were a few streams) and then followed them into the large wat at the end of the street.
Thinking about it in hindsight, I should have borrowed Shaz's tripod cos even though it was light, my stupid camera still struggled to focus - as you can tell, some of the early morning shots are blurred. Never mind. Will have to return one day with proper equipment... any excuse! ;)
I stayed at the wat for a couple of hours and caught some nice shots of the sunrise around the buildings watched the locals help the monks prepare for a festival due to be held later that day. One of the locals said it was a festival for the family, although some of the monks I asked later said it was to celebrate the harvest and new year... which made more sense.
I saw and wrote my journal in the wat and listened to the lovely music coming from the main temple. Upon closer inspection, however, I realised that these beautiful sounds were emanating from loud speakers strategically placed around the complex. Another illusion shattered!
Shaz had told me that she learned the monks got their heads shaved on the first of every month so I wanted to chronicle that at some point too. So after breakfast I ventured to another wat near my guesthouse and met up with Banjit (I think that was his name, I'm so bad with names - 5th photo down). He had the key to the main temple building and showed me around. He was 18 and all he seemed to care about was whether or not I had a boyfriend! Hmmmm. So much for the chaised life... he was a sweetie. And a bit of a ladies' man, as I'll explain later.
So I departed back to the guesthouse and got cleaned up (as I'd had no time earlier) and then went for lunch in a lovely coffee shop before heading over a little bamboo bridge across the river to see what I could find over there. I saw my new friend again en-route and he'd already had his head shaved in the short space of time since I'd left him. Damn. Missed opportunity. Shaz had been over a few days before and been blessed by a monk and recommended the wats over there so I thought I'd take a shifty (for 4,000 Kip return across the bridge). She also got the head monk's business card. More shattered illusions... ;)
Well, dust was my initial greeting as no-one seemed to be around at the first wat I came to. The second one heralded a couple of monks (including the one in the 2nd photo, smoking - a photo opportunity too good to miss), and the third one heralded a group of homeless children, some elder monks and a whole load of younger ones having their heads shaved - bingo (3rd and 6th photos down)! The two pictured taught me how to say 'nice to meet you' in Laos: ning de choo chup chow'. Cool. Oh and they not only learn English there, but Japanese too! You don't even get that in English classrooms!
After paying 2,000 Kip for some shots of the cheeky homeless children, I ventured back to the first wat I came to and there was activity. Lots of monks doing what monks seem to do: just sat around (see 1st pic). They were very inquisitive and asked all the usual questions: where are you from?; how long have you been in Luang Prabang?; are you married?; how big is your family? etc One of them had just had his noggin freshly shaved and was about to go in the shower, and invited me along! Cheeky monk(ey)! I politely declined but when I left one of them told me I had a nice smile and another told me he loved me. Bless. I'm breaking monks' hearts! ;) I'm sure any young female would have done the trick: teenage boys are teenage boys, regardless of whether they're monks or not...
And so onto my last wat, back across the bridge and into the town centre. I met a lovely 19-year-old monk there called Sumdee and his slightly older friend who left the monkhood a few months earlier and was now a waiter, Dowwan. They were genuinely friendly and invited me to the harvest festival the following evening. I chatted with them for a while and they explained that they wanted to go to university but simply couldn't afford it. What a shame (still, it's like that in the UK now, hey?). That is why many boys are sent to become monks: it is the only way they can get an education. We've seen many kids here with their trays of bracelets and necklaces around their necks, selling them to tourists. We encountered a load of kids following us on their bikes when we hired bikes, and I thought, why aren't they in school? That's why, their parents can't afford to send them.
They were lovely and I swapped email addresses with them.
So I had a quick look at the festival the following night and photographed some chanting and people praying and following the monks in a procession outside the temple with their candles. Interesting. I also said goodbye to my friend - who had creepily been waiting for me outside the wat all day so I couldn't avoid him... I gave him my emaill and he asked me to spell it, so I did. Then he asked me to spell another girl's email address he'd picked up. Another cheeky monk(ey). Eee these monks - pick-up artists extraordinaire, maybe it's the orange robes?!
So that was my day with the monks - enlightening but not in the way I'd expected... you live and learn.
We're now in Vang Vieng, which is a bit of a dump with too many English-style pubs, pizzerias and tourists. The limestone cliffs jutting out as a backdrop are pretty stunning though. We're heading to Vientiane tomorrow and then on to Vietnam. Again, we're staying in a lovely guesthouse for just 2 pounds 50 a night. Bargain - half the price of the last place. It's really lovely too and clean. :)
So lah gorn (goodbye) for now. x