I must admit, Laos exceeded all of my expectations. From the people to the food, landscapes, waterfalls & mountains, it is fantastic.

Before I arrived, I had done some research on the tak bat (the morning collection of food in Luang Prabang by the resident Buddhist monks.) I knew it was something that I wanted to witness, so I set my alarm for 5 am to the displeasure of my wife.

The tak bat begins at 5:30, so if you want to witness it, you must get up early. I tried my best to be quiet, as I gathered my gear and left our room to walk the chilly streets of Luang Prabang. I scouted a temple the previous day that was away from the more touristy parts of the city and quickly walked to its location. I intentionally avoided the tourists as I wanted to see this ritual without distraction. Setting up on the opposite sidewalk, I waited patiently for groups of monks coming from the 80+ temples in the city to walk past.

For centuries, the monks have walked the streets in silent meditation while locals place gifts of food into their bowls. The locals position themselves on the sidewalk at least 15 minutes before the procession starts. They mostly sit in chairs, but some kneel in respect. As each monk approaches in their saffron-clad robes (ranging from rich orange to red), the locals graciously place a portion of fresh sticky rice into the bowl that hangs from their shoulders. This is a symbiotic relationship. Feeding the monks and alternatively receiving the blessings, tak bat supports both the monks (who need the food) and the almsgivers (who desire spiritual redemption). Again, all in silence, respect on all sides, and amazing to witness.

This image was taken when it was still mostly dark. Some streetlights were illuminating the temple, but the sun was still below the horizon. My wish was to capture the monks in motion and the low light helped me achieve this result. I played around with some different settings and liked the motion blur produced with a 1/8 second shutter speed. Then I took several images of passing monks with the white temple as a backdrop. It is interesting how much movement is captured in just 1/8 of a second. With limited light in the scene, the monks themselves almost fade away, leaving only their brilliant robes reflecting light. I increased the original exposure in processing to brighten the scene and reveal more detail.

I stayed here for approximately 2 hours until the procession finished. As the sun rose and lit the area, I captured some sharper images of the participants. For those interested, I have included some of these images below.

Lao woman staying warm while awaiting the next group of monks in the procession.

Lao woman offering rice to one of the monks