November 28, 2007. Luang Prabang, Laos.

(notes from my journal)

We woke up at 5:30 AM to witness Tak Baat, an ancient Luang Prabang tradition where the monks walk along the main street, getting their daily alms from the locals. We were really excited since it was one of the things about Luang Prabang that had attracted us initially, when we planned this trip. Sadly, we were disappointed.

Now, before I start my grumbling, I admit I knew it was frequented by tourists, however, what I did not expect was that the tourists would have absolutely no respect for this tradition and would blatantly break all the rules/requests to keep the tradition solemn. What we really saw, was tourist clowns, some of whom had perched themselves as alms-givers solely to get close-up photos, who as the monks approached, simply got in their way, flashed the camera at them and created a ruckus. It seemed very touristy so we left early. I really hope that we just had a bad day otherwise, it would be truly sad if a tradition like this was reduced to a parade for snap happy tourists.

This post is a part of the Thailand, Laos and Cambodia 2007 itinerary