Love in LB
There are many reasons to love Luang Prabang. In the mountains of Laos, LB is nestled in like a sleepy cat curling into that just right space between the confluence of two rivers, the Nan Khan and the Mekong. The rivers' curves and turns define the city and give it shape with water views all along. The main street, cluttered with many small shops, retains an old city feel and the city itself holds me with a mystical feeling. Maybe it's a mix of the many temples and it's remoteness, long reached by the "slow boat" from the north going with the southbound flow of the Mekong...Maybe it's the many buildings still showing their date from the 30's and 40's (700 stuctures now are held to be of historical significance and will not be destroyed)... Maybe it's the slight smoky haze that's always there -- mostly from the small pots burning to roast the finger bananas, to cook the chicken feet, or small pieces of beef on a wooden skewer... It's all a part of a wonderful mix that brings people here who want to experience the magic that invites you in. And then there is the night market....
I've seen night markets in other towns... Bangkok and Chiang Mai... but this market retains a beauty, a connectedness to "place" not found in others. Each day in the late afternoon, preparations start. Carts with vinyl bags stuffed with items are wheeled to their evening home. Trucks packed with people and zippered bags unload. The market evolves. ..mats are laid on the street, the bags are unzipped. Women--some with their small children swaddled to their backs and others occupied close by--bring out the folded scarves, of every color and design and carefully arrange them one atop the other to leave an edge for viewing. Applique pieces are carefully rolled with the design at the top. Paper lanterns are unfolded and hung on small wooden trowels with small white lights inside to showcase the flower petals and leaves imbedded in the saa paper. And many more beautifully hand made items are displayed... Each space has a small 3 foot wooden dowel stand with a small arm off of it to hang a bare bulb brought in through a maze of wires crisscrossing under the mats. It makes for a colorful "starry' night. And so it continues until about 10 at night when the repacking begins and the street becomes quiet as night sets in in LB.
I've seen night markets in other towns... Bangkok and Chiang Mai... but this market retains a beauty, a connectedness to "place" not found in others. Each day in the late afternoon, preparations start. Carts with vinyl bags stuffed with items are wheeled to their evening home. Trucks packed with people and zippered bags unload. The market evolves. ..mats are laid on the street, the bags are unzipped. Women--some with their small children swaddled to their backs and others occupied close by--bring out the folded scarves, of every color and design and carefully arrange them one atop the other to leave an edge for viewing. Applique pieces are carefully rolled with the design at the top. Paper lanterns are unfolded and hung on small wooden trowels with small white lights inside to showcase the flower petals and leaves imbedded in the saa paper. And many more beautifully hand made items are displayed... Each space has a small 3 foot wooden dowel stand with a small arm off of it to hang a bare bulb brought in through a maze of wires crisscrossing under the mats. It makes for a colorful "starry' night. And so it continues until about 10 at night when the repacking begins and the street becomes quiet as night sets in in LB.
posted by Tracy at
8:07 PM
