Watch the dawn alms round in Luang Prabang, from a respectful distance

What the experience is

At dawn each day, the monks and novices of Luang Prabang’s monasteries walk in single file through the streets to receive food from the townspeople, who kneel at the roadside and place sticky rice in their bowls. It is called tak bat. The town has more than thirty monasteries, and the lines of saffron robes pass along the peninsula between the Mekong and the Nam Khan as the light comes up.

It has also become the town’s best-known sight, and in the main street the crowd of onlookers can outnumber the monks and the residents who give. Many locals and residents of long standing regret this, and the authorities post signs asking visitors to behave properly. The experience depends entirely on how it is approached.

How to be present

The respectful way is to watch. Stand or sit across the road, at a distance, in silence, without flash and without following or blocking the monks. Dress with shoulders and knees covered, and do not touch the monks or stand in front of them. Photography should be discreet, and long lenses are better than close approaches. A side street, where residents make their offerings, gives a truer picture than the main one, and it is better to watch from there than to push into the line.

Giving alms is a Buddhist religious act, and many in the town ask visitors who are not Buddhists not to take part. Those who feel a genuine reason to give should do so as residents do: with food prepared that morning and bought from the market or arranged through a hotel, not from the hawkers who press rice on tourists, kneeling or sitting lower than the monks, with shoes removed, in silence. If in doubt, watch.

When to go

The round takes place every morning of the year, at first light. November to February is cool and dry.

Good to know

The procession is over within about half an hour. Hotels in the old town can explain where the monks of the nearest monastery pass. Afterwards the morning market, near the former Royal Palace, is at its busiest.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Because it is the daily life of the town, still carried on for its own sake, and a visitor who behaves well can witness it without harming it.