Funemployment - Part II

I woke up at 3am from a bad dream and couldn’t sleep after. At 5.30am, I gave up trying to sleep and I ventured out into the early light of dawn to observe the daily alms giving ritual that Luang Prabang is famous for. I walked from my guesthouse to the main drag one block away, and I immediately sensed that something wasn’t right. There were hundreds of little stools lined up alongside the street, and scores of almsgivers sitting on the stools waiting for the monks to emerge from the temples. Based on my limited knowledge of almsgiving, almsgivers - at least the women - usually kneel. I then heard some of the almsgivers shrieking at one another in Mandarin (it is a loud language). I realized then that most of the almsgivers were Chinese or Korean package tourists, with a few Europeans thrown in for good measure.

There were prominent signs telling people how to and how not to behave. The rules included: participate in almsgiving only if it is meaningful to you, no bare knees and shoulders, take photographs from a respectful distance, preferably from the other side of the street. I only saw a small handful of bare shoulders, but there were plenty of bare knees, including a European almsgiver. I also suspect the package tourists were doing this as a group activity and not because it was truly meaningful to them. While I was aware that almsgiving in Luang Prabang had lost some of its authenticity, I didn’t expect this zoo. I despaired as I walked towards the end of the line of stools. There, I saw a group of Thais who were not sitting on the stools. That’s more like it! If there is any one group that would perform almsgiving the correct way, it would be the Thais since they share the same branch of Thevarada Buddhism. I decided to stick around there. Beyond the end of the line, some little kids began to gather with baskets and plastic bags. I suspected they were there to beg from the monks. Should be an interesting sight.

Not long after, the monks emerged from several wats. They filed silently along the line of almsgivers. Not surprisingly, many tourists swarmed around them taking pictures. Some Chinese and Korean tourists were even posing as they gave out alms. Even more shocking was the fact that many of the almsgivers were giving out candies. This was not the dignified procession it was supposed to be. I was glad I hung around the Thais as they were doing it the right way, even if they, too, were giving out candies. After the monks filed past beyond the Thais, they dropped food in the bags and baskets of the kids waiting at the end of the line. Many of the monks dumped the sticky rice and kept the candies.

I walked away from this scene feeling disgusted and dejected. This is what mass tourism has done to what is supposed to be a dignified and solemn event. As I turned around the corner to return to my guesthouse, I saw that the lane my guesthouse was on was lined with locals giving alms, and there was nary a tourist in sight. Now, this was what I was looking to observe. I followed the last of the procession at a respectful distance and then retired to my room.

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