A guide to giving alms in Laos, South East Asia

by Jessica Festa on




Giving alms is an important part of Laos culture and occurs in many South East Asian countries. When I took a trip to Luang Prabang, I was actually traveling with a Thai woman named Jaeb who asked me if I’d want to take part in the tradition with her. While I shuddered at the thought of waking up at dawn, I was excited to get the chance to be a part of a local tradition and get a deeper look into the culture.

Almsgiving is a religious ritual where the community gathers around the monastery at 5:30 AM to give food to a silent procession of monks. Monks are not allowed to cook or hoard food, so for many this is their only daily meal. The monks do not eat for pleasure, but to sustain their bodies, which are conditioned and trained to live with very little materials things, including food. I was also told that not having to think about food later on in the day clears the mind of distractions.On the sidewalk, women kneel down on mats holding baskets full of sticky rice balls and bushels of bananas while the men stand around them. While the setting is of a peaceful nature, you still need to be careful, as local women looking to make money off tourists will literally throw you down onto a mat and shove food in front of you before telling you to pay a ridiculous amount of money. The problem with this is not only will you be getting ripped off, but you are often given low-quality food. Only the best food should be given to the monks, so buy fresh fruit the night before or have your hotel prepare some sticky rice for you.

There’s some etiquette for women that goes along with the giving of alms, as well. Women should never touch a monk or their pots. Otherwise, the monks will have to go through a purification process. Also, a woman’s head should always be lower than the monks and shoulders and knees should be covered, although this goes for whether you’re in the presence of a monk or not.

So, what can you get out of the experience? To me, it was about more than just feeding the monks. Almsgiving really showed the sense of community in Luang Prabang, and how easy it really is to give to others and let go of addiction and neediness. If you attend with an open mind and make sure to be respectful of the customs, the tradition of Almsgiving can be a very worthwhile and eye-opening experience.

5 best floating markets around Asia

by Jessica Festa on

When traveling, it’s always fun to head over to the local open-air markets and gain some insight into the culture and their products. To make the browsing experience even better, some markets forgo street stands and set up shop right in the water. To see this for yourself, checkout this list of the five best floating markets around Asia.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
Ratchaburi, Thailand

While there are myriad floating markets in Thailand, one in particular stands out for the rest. The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is located about 60 miles southwest of Bangkok and is best experienced early in the morning before the crowds arrive and the heat gets unbearable. The market is very colorful and lively as merchants paddle down the canal in their canoes selling fresh fruit and vegetables which are usually grown directly by the seller. The market also has some history behind it, as Damnoenssaduak was the name of the canal made by military soldiers and local people during King Rama IV’s reign. Back then there weren’t rivers and canals, making transportation quite limited. This was a concern for the king in terms of the country’s economic growth, and the result is the canal that is now home to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.Cai Rang Floating Market
Can Thao City, Vietnam

Located about 3 miles from Can Tho City is the largest floating market in the Mekong Delta. Hundreds of boats gather to sell food, plants, fruits, and vegetables, hanging their goods on a tall pole so that potential buyers can easily see what is being sold. If you don’t want to drive the short distance from Can Tho City and instead want a more relaxing, scenic experience, opt to do the 12 mile boat loop. Just make sure to leave early, as the market begins at 5AM and closes before noon. Bonus: Seeing the sunrise over the Mekong Delta, the sky glowing orange as life on the river begins for the day, is a can’t-miss experience.

Banjarmasin Floating Market
Banjarmasin, Indonesia

The Banjarmasin Floating Market is located on the Barito River and takes place from 5AM to 9AM each morning. It is very traditional, and a way for locals to trade goods such as handicrafts, seafood, spices, fruits, and vegetables from boat to boat. To get there, the journey will take about 20 minutes by waterway.

Aberdeen Floating Village
Aberdeen, Hong Kong

The Aberdeen Floating Village is more than just a market (as you can probably tell by its title). On the Aberdeen Harbour reside about 600 junk boats that house approximately 6,000 people. These boat locals are mainly Tanka people who arrived in Hong Kong around the 7th-9th centuries and hold a long history of marine and fishing culture and tradition. To sample fresh seafood, you can visit one of the many boat restaurants, the biggest being The Jumbo Floating Restaurant which is a major tourist attraction that serves high-quality Cantonese-style seafood.

Srinagar Floating Market
Jammu and Kashmir, India

Every morning from 5AM to 7AM the Srinagar Floating Market takes place on Dal Lake as vendors go to buy, sell, and trade vegetables. Most of the produce has been picked only hours beforehand, so you know what you are getting is fresh. In fact, about 1,250 acres of land surround the lake and are used for cultivating veggies. A visit to this market will not only guarantee a cultural experience, but also beautiful scenery as the lake is lush with lotus flowers.

Video of the Day – Thailand’s Yi Peng Festival via iPhone 4S

by Stephen Greenwood on

The Yi Peng festival is a special event in Northern Thailand that occurs on the 12th full moon of every year. Coinciding with Loi Krathong (a festival celebrated throughout Thailand) it is observed by lighting sky lanterns and letting them float into the sky, resulting in what appears to be large flocks of giant jellyfish floating through the air.

There have been many fantastic videos and pictures that capture this event, but today’s Video of the Day is especially stunning for one reason: it was completely shot on an iPhone 4S. Produced by Vimeo user Tada Archawong, it shows just how far a little color grading (with Magic Bullet Looks) and a great mobile camera can go.

So, adventurers; it may just be time to kiss your DSLR goodbye. If you’ve already said goodbye to traditional cameras in favor of mobile devices, we want to see what youv’e captured! Paste a link in the comments section below, or post pictures to our Flickr Pool – it could just be our next Photo/Video of the Day.

Video of The Day: Bangkok featured in skate video

by Elizabeth Seward on

I just saw beautiful images of Bangkok in a, what turned out to be, surprising skate video. BillabongASIA’s Geng Jakkarin is profiled in this video titled “I Skate Because”. And while Jakkarin’s story is moving and his skate tricks are, well, sick, I couldn’t help but fixate on the Bangkok sights and scenes within the short film. The video starts off with a shot of a painted train over a track that states, ‘Bangkok, City of Life’, and the self-described vivacious city’s stunning scenery unfolds in the background of this video from there. Storm clouds, graffiti, Palm Trees, and the sun setting on the water-fronted horizon act as a backdrop to slick skate moves and a the personal story of just one exceptionally talented skater from Thailand. But sometimes this is the way I like to see things–to experience them in my periphery, to imprint them subconsciously as the forefront demands my attention, as I drift away from the main point and toward the buzzing beautiful background.

ProjectExplorer’s Thailand Launch Party raises $8,500 for global education

by Jessica Festa on

ProjectExplorer held their Thailand Launch Party on October 17, 2011, at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York. The event featured an auction, cocktail hour and after party, hors d’oeuvres, and the premier of the company’s new Thailand video series, “Sawasdee, Thailand!”.

The Thailand series has 50 videos total which are all free for students, as the mission of the organization is to “foster the next generation of global citizens by encouraging awareness of the world beyond a student’s own community through the creation and distribution of engaging and free multimedia educational materials”.

Andrew McCarthy, actor, director, and travel writer, spoke at the VIP screening of the event, which was followed by mingling, drinking, and eating. Tote bags filled with magazines (which included many destination travel articles) and a baked good were given to attendees.

With 200 in attendance at the event, ProjectExplorer was able to raise $8,500 toward their next educational series.

Check out the launch video for yourself:


Introduction to ProjectExplorer.org’s Sawasdee, Thailand! series from Jenny M. Buccos on Vimeo.