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Luang Prabang was the capital when Laos was a monarchy. The Royal Palace Museum is full of fancy things and French influences from colonial times. Viewed: 245 times.
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Gosh darn it, another temple. I don't think any of us made it out at 6am to give alms to the monks. Viewed: 246 times.
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Blacksmiths making knives. They heat the metal in an airpump-fueled coal fire, then hammer it into shape on an old bomb shell. Viewed: 263 times.
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These blacksmiths are making stoves. Instead of an electric air pump, they had a mechanical bellows. The woman in back holds a piston in each hand and pumps them alternately. Labour is cheap. Notice also the flip-flops and lack of eye protection. Viewed: 248 times.
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A finished stove in use. (And there we thought the ring was part of a big steel contraption!) Viewed: 269 times.
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Silkworms at the silk-production tourist-exhibit. Viewed: 268 times.
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Silk cocoons. Viewed: 253 times.
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Skeins of raw silk, boiling in natural dyes (tropical plants produce such intense colours!) Viewed: 209 times.
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A complex loom for weaving a silk scarf. We bought lots and lots of silks in Thailand and Laos. Viewed: 261 times.
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Flowers and leaves being pushed underwater, to decorate bark paper. Viewed: 261 times.
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Handmade paper sheets drying. Viewed: 261 times.
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Bark being pounded for paper. It's a labourious process and we paid shockingly low prices - but at least the money went to the producers rather than the middlemen who ship this stuff to Chinatown. Viewed: 255 times.
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The Lao Lao "factory". Sticky rice is soaked and boiled and fermented; it takes 15 days to transform into rotgut with 55% alcohol. We bought 1 litre (sold in a plastic bag, or whatever old bottle you care to bring) for 10,000 kip ($1 US). We played drinking games and we got drunk. Viewed: 235 times.
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Boun Khong was our songthaew driver. He used to be a French teacher but this was a more profitable occupation for feeding his 5 kids. Viewed: 237 times.
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Danielle sketching, in the back of the songthaew (a small pickup truck with two benches and nary a seatbelt). Viewed: 254 times.
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Boun Khong's songthaew, stopping at a rice farm on our day-trip to Kuang Sii Falls. Viewed: 247 times.
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Locals get around by motorbike, sometimes 4 to a motorbike. They don't bother with helmets, but sometimes they're wimpy enough to wear a mask or at least cover their mouth & nose. Viewed: 248 times.
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The songthaew benches were full, with 8 of us riding. So Andrew jumped on the back and hung on for a ride. Viewed: 261 times.
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Pastoral scene with peasant in rice paddy. No sattelite dish or other irony visible. Viewed: 232 times.
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The leaves on this plant would close up if you touched it. Viewed: 270 times.
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Young rice plants. Viewed: 264 times.
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Temple and rice paddy. Viewed: 246 times.
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The farm across the road was not so spiffy. Viewed: 268 times.
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