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Tag: Festivals

“Mark Community” Greets Elephants to UNESCO World Heritage

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Updated: February 17, 2016

The Luang Prabang “Mark Community”, Greets Elephants to UNESCO World Heritage festivities in Dec ember 2015   LUANG PRABANG, LAO PDR; “The Mark Community” led Luang Prabang’s public and private sector tourism stakeholders in sponsoring an Elephant Baci Ceremony during the city’s 20th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The event welcomed a 20-strong

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Category: Culture, Festivals, Interviews

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Celebrating elephants in Laos

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Updated: July 20, 2015

ELEPHANTS IN LAOS For centuries Laos was famed as the kingdom of a million elephants. Now there are fewer than 900 living in the country. While it is unknown whether a million elephants once roamed freely in Laos, elephants are a practical part of everyday Lao heritage, culture, agriculture and livelihood. Elephant are highly respected

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Category: Adventures, Elephants, Festivals, Nature

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Hmong New Year | A Celebration of Colors

laos-hmong-new-year-luang-prabang-phonsavan

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Updated: December 30, 2014

Hmong women in Phonsavan | Photograph by Cyril Eberle This is a remarkable story about the third largest ethnic group in Laos — the Hmong people — celebrating their biggest festival of the year. This colorful event showcases the fascinating culture and history of this group of people expressing their unique identity. Phonsavan market and

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Category: Culture, Festivals, People

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Boun Bang Fai – Rocket Festivals in Laos

Boun Bang Fai Rocket Festival

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Updated: June 11, 2014

Every year rocket festivals explode across Laos This month has brought rocket festivals to fields just outside of villages and towns all over Laos and eastern Thailand. The festival is called Boun Bang Fai and it takes place during the 6th lunar month of the year as a way to call the gods to send the rain.

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Lao New Year – Pi Mai Lao in Luang Prabang

Phi Mai Lao - Laos New Year Parade in Luang Prabang

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Updated: May 19, 2014

Experience the Lao New Year -the Pi Mai Lao in Luang Prabang – Lao water festival I spent my first week in Luang Prabang soaking wet from head to toe for the better part of every day. I have been blasted with water guns, had buckets of ice water poured down my back, had multi-colored

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Category: Culture, Festivals, People, Religion, Travel

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Preparing for Lao New Year (Pi Mai Lao) in Luang Prabang

Laos New Year Pi Mai Lao

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Updated: April 28, 2014

Experience the Lao New Year in Luang Prabang   I arrived in Laos about a week ago to find the country buzzing with excitement for the upcoming Laos New Year – called Pi Mai Lao, Boun Pi Mai, the Water Festival, or Songkran, as it is known as in Thailand. Knowing very little about the

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HMONG NEW YEAR in Laos

Hmong New Year Luang Prabang, Laos

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Updated: April 28, 2014

The Lao Hmong New Year in Luang Prabang   “Easy.  Just follow the crowds in traditional dress,”  instructs Jua, one of my Hmong friends, when I ask how to find the Hmong New Year celebrations in Luang Prabang, Laos.  Turns out it really is that simple.  One crisp Saturday morning in early December I crest

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Luang Prabang Film Festival

Luang Prabang Film Festival

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Posted: December 31, 2013

4th Annual Luang Prabang Film Festival Celebrates Southeast Asian Cinema     For five days the annual Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) transformed The Handicraft Market of Luang Prabang into a bustling open-air theatre.  The screening space at the main intersection of this World Heritage town, with its ability to hold over 1500 people, was

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Category: Culture, Interviews, People

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Awk Phansaw Festival, it’s like Christmas and the America’s Cup all in one

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Posted: November 20, 2012

Lao Awk Phansaw Festival The Full Moon Festival of Lights   Thousand lights, merit making, boat race, decorated temples, banana-leaf boats – see Laos changed! Also known as Ok Watsa (Awk Watsa), this festival celebrates the end of the Buddhist Lent (Vassa). Lent lasts three month during rainy season. Monks focus on meditation, reviving their

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Category: People, Religion

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