Built over 200-years ago, bombers destroyed the original Simongkhoun Temple on the Xe Don River in 1972. Remnants of this temple and its stupa can still be seen in the town’s northeast, though vines and shrubs try to hide it. Novice monks sometimes rest in the temple’s sala on the river bank near the warehouse […]
In Luang Prabang Province, locals mark the end of Buddhist Lent by paraded decorated boats through the town; at night they are launched onto the river and ceremoniously set on fire as offerings to spirits. The villages around the town build their own big boat for the spectacle, competing annually to create the most beautiful […]
Boun Ok Phansa (Candlelight Festival) This festival marks the end of Buddhist Lent, a period during which monks observe three months of fasting and seclusion. People visit local temples to make offerings and receive blessings. In Luang Prabang, a candlelight procession takes place in the evening, culminating at Wat Xieng Thong, where the candles are […]
