Laos has roosters.
They also have drums, which the monks start banging around 5 in the morning.
But that reminded me I needed to get up, so I could offer alms, then climb Phousi Hill to see the amazing sunrise.
I picked this hotel because of the proximity to Mount Phousi. I knew I would not get a Grab, or walk a mile before climbing a hill before sunrise, so my location was planned. And it worked. Especially with the drums rousing me to get my butt moving.
I will also admit I picked this hotel because of the name. Thatsaphone. I wanted to see if there was a giant telephone with a finger pointing at it on the sign. Alas, no.
Early, (this time of year before dark) people line the streets along the route the monks walk to offer them food offerings in exchange for blessings. The monks take the same path every day, and vendors sell bags of food to the tourists and others to present to the monks. Essentially we are feeding them for the day.
They walk in a line with baskets and bags to collect the alms, and as quietly as they appear (after the drumming stops), they slip away into the darkness.
Well, that’s done. Now to climb a mountain.
Phousi Mountain, or Phousi Hill, depending on your fitness level perspective is a steep hill in the center of Luang Prabang, Laos. It is on a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers.
I could not find the entrance at first because google maps and I were having a disagreement about my location. I knew exactly where I was. I did not know where ‘where’ was, but I was exactly where I was.
Eventually I wandered upon a set of stairs that appeared to go up in a steep, generally imposing mountain climbing way, so up I went.
About half way I encountered a gate keeper.
Answer me these questions three… no, nothing so dramatic. He wanted admission price, and that is when I realized I did not have any Kip. I had Dong, and US, but he had no interest in those. I said I would come back tomorrow since I had not had a chance to get to the bank, and he simply waved me forward.
Admission is like 50 cents American. I will stop by and give them a dollar later, but since I was already half way up, I appreciated the kindness since I did not want to climb this again tomorrow.
Up I went. Later, I discovered there are two ways to the top of the 100 meter high ‘hill.’ I took the 355 steps up from Thanon Phousi. On this route there are several golden Buddha statues which give you the illusion of progress as you climb. Not the illusion of arrival, but they are pretty to pause and ponder as one gasps for breath.
Eventually I made it. It was a shorter hill than others I had climbed, and that is when the realization hit me: this was my 3rd mountain in 4 days.
A little further up is a small cave temple sometimes called Wat Tham Phousi housing several Buddha images. I think this is Tham Phousi, but sweat was dripping into my vision so I could not read the sign.
They really should warn people this part of the world is one giant staircase. No wonder ADA does not exist here.
At the top of the hill sits That Chomsi. Built by King Anourat in 1804. Not sure why, but I did discover Phou Sai translates to “sacred hill,” and kings like to build temples on sacred things.
That Chomsi is a white building we could not go inside, but it had a very pretty gold dome like pagoda with a 7 tiered parasol on top.
I was a bit behind sunrise, but the entire area was covered in mist of what would become another overcast day. There were signs everywhere stating to observe silence and respect the sanctity of the site. Not that exact wording but the general theme of shut the hell up and enjoy the view was translated into 3 or 4 languages.
There were a certain population of tourists on the top who demonstrated their inability to read, or at least grasp the concept of silence.
Yet I did see the scenes. I did take some pictures and I did, at a deeper level than the other climbs, connect with a spirit of peace.
Not for long because there were tourists and the babbling was annoying, but the feeling of this moment was calmer than others.
There was a sense of stillness, instead of accomplishment. An underlying command to stop. To wait. To, in this case not listen because if mother earth were expressing a truth, she was drown out by the chattering. Yet a sense of attention to the moment absent in other climbs.
Even when the spirit moves me, I was not moved to spend the entire day on top of Phousi. I looked around longer than I might have. I followed the views, and watched the light change (only slightly because of the clouds) and I noted the crowds increasing.
It was time to resume my path, no matter how strong the feeling to stay pulsed through the area.
So, I climbed down the other side of the mountain, finding the easier flight of only 328 stairs and less interesting things to look at. Sometimes there are two paths to the same destination, but the easy route is often less rewarding.
In this case, I did not care. I was down the mountain by 7:30, and now had no idea what to do with the rest of my day.
Maybe I should have stayed on top.
