Luang Prabang
Every morning at dawn the monks of Luang Prabang venture out to collect alms from the people, usually offerings of sticky rice. Giving alms to the monks is said to give one great merit. We are unsure of how much merit we attained when accosted by a woman selling bundles of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves to give to the monks - we dutifully crouched on the ground and handed out the bundles as the monks came by. Despite the peacefulness of the scene, many tourists in Luang Prabang camp out on the streets with large cameras and tripods in the morning waiting for the line of monks to shuffle by.