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CREATIVE
TRAVEL - LEARNING VACATIONS
Read the article by Andrea Maitland in New Ceramics Magazine FOLK POTTERIES • TEMPLES • TRADITIONAL ARTS & CRAFTS Excursion highlights LUANG PRABANG
Visit the Royal Palace Museum, built in 1904 as a residence for the king and his family. The building features a blend of traditional Lao motifs and French beaux-arts styles and most of the private chambers are preserved as they were the day the royals were forced into exile. Stroll around in this graceful neighbourhood of ponds and coconut palms, with old wooden or colombage (bamboo lattice daubed with natural mortar) homes in the traditional Lao style; brick-and-stucco colonial buildings with tiled roofs, constructed between 1920 and 1925; and neo-colonial houses that mix Lao and French motifs, with ground-floor walls of brick and plaster and upper-floor walls of wood.
We will witness a community firing, where many potters share in the loading, firing and unloading of the large wood-fired underground scorpion-shaped earthenware kiln. These kilns are constructed by digging out a stoking hole, stacking chamber, and chimney underground, and then the surface of the clay hole is hardened with the first firing.
Discovery Art Travel has volunteered to help with various village projects since 2005, including the restoration and village temple, the development of a water system, and the building of a basketball court in the school playground, and to this end, a part of your excursion fee will assist the villagers in achieving their goals. EXCURSIONS FROM LUANG PRABANG We will journey along the Mekong river to the mouth of the Nam Ou river, and visit the famous Pak Ou Buddhist cave temples. Two caves dramatically positioned in the limestone cliff facing the river are packed with classic Luang Prabang style Buddha statues . We will visit the village of Ban Pak Ou, which is beautifully situated at the confluence of these two rivers, and enjoy a lunch of roasted fish in a river side eatery. On the return boat trip to Luang Prabang we will visit several villages noted for silk weaving, rice whiskey-making, and basketry. Another day trip will include a relaxing visit to the scenic Kuangsi waterfalls. We will enjoy an elephant riding experience in the high country. We will follow a river course and a have breathtaking views of the jungle and mountains. See more Mekong excursion photos Extra Excursions: Light trekking options to Hmong hill tribe villages are available for the participant as an add-on option. Longer and overnight boat trips to more remote areas can be arranged.
Jayavarman II was the first to unify Cambodia’s competing kingdoms in 802 and established himself as a “god-king” (devaraja) whose all-reaching power embodied the godlike qualities of Shiva. Since then, the god-kings each strove to better their ancestors in size, scale and symmetry, culminating in the world’s largest religious building – Angkor Wat.
Other features that came to be favoured included an entry tower and a causeway lined with naga (mythical serpent) balustrades or sculptures leading up to the temple. Smaller towers were placed on gates and on the corners of walls. In Angkor Thom and the Bayon temple, the gates and towers were decorated with smiling, enormous faces of the bodhisattva Lokeshvara with whom the great king, Jayavarman VII (1181-1219) identified himself. The faces with the features of the king look in all the directions of the kingdom, guaranteeing protection: here, Hindu symbolism is reinforced by Buddhist symbolism.
We shall approach the temples in very small groups using local guides where necessary. We will stay at a small charming character hotel, with shady grounds and a small swimming pool, and renowned for its cuisine. See more photos of Laos and Angkor Wat:
March 3, early morning: departure from Bangkok. (March 3, arrival in Vancouver) Please note that the package does not include airfare (see options below). Package Includes: â–ºSpecial return air fares from Vancouver to Bangkok with Cathay Pacific Airlines including transfers can be arranged on request. â–ºVariable return dates are available. Extend your Asia experience with an add-on experience from Bangkok. Tentative Itinerary Read the article by Andrea Maitland in New Ceramics Magazine See video of pottery coiling & throwing, Ban Chan, Laos (Windows Media Video, 1.2mb) There is no refund for arriving late or leaving the trip early. Discovery Art Travel reserves the right to cancel the trip due to low enrolment, or if we feel that the quality of the trip or the safety of travelers would be compromised. In such a case ,we will refund all payments received to date, which constitutes full settlement.
For More Information: Ph/Fax (250) 537- 4906 • E-mail: Denys James. |
The historical and cultural heart of the city straddles a peninsula inside the confluence of the Khan River and the Mekong River. Here are found the city’s most important religious edifices along with the residences of the former nobility and trading aristocracy. The ordination hall of Luang Prabang’s most magnificent temple, Wat Xieng Thong, was constructed in 1560 and represents the classic Luang Prabang temple architecture, with roofs that sweep low to the ground. The compound that remained under royal patronage until 1975, comprises several small halls including the Red Chapel, a sanctuary that contains an especially rare reclining Buddha. Several walls in the compound are decorated with impressive mosaics depicting scenes of local village life and the “tree of life”.
Admire also the remarkable veranda of Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham with its decorated columns and the sumptuous gold relief walls that recount the tale of Buddha’s penultimate birth, as well as scenes from the Ramayana epic. If you step into the grounds of Wat Xieng Muan during the day you’ll see the young monks learning artistic skills needed to maintain and preserve Luang Prabang’s temples, such as wood-carving, painting and Buddha-casting.
BAN CHAN POTTERY VILLAGE
We will be a part of a traditional welcoming ceremony and participate in local festivities and events in the village ,and have a unique opportunity to get to know the people in a way not experienced by the average tourist.
There are several day and half day excursions included in the program :
The temples that are now the highlight of a visit to Angkor – Angkor Wat and those in and around the walled city of Angkor Thom including the Bayon temple – were built between 1002 and1219. The evolution of Khmer architecture was the elaboration of a central theme: the idea of the temple-mountain, represented by a blunt-topped tower mounted on a tiered base. At the summit was the central sanctuary, usually with an open door to the east, and three false doors at the remaining cardinal points of the compass. As the temples grew in ambition, courtyards enclosed by colonnaded galleries came to surround the central tower. In Angkor Wat and the Bayon, these galleries are richly decorated with long series of intricate and astonishing bas-reliefs, depicting scenes from famous Hindu epics and everyday life in Angkor.
It is a very special experience to visit some of the smaller temples that were overgrown by the jungle and look the way most of the monuments of Angkor appeared when European explorers first discovered them in the 19th century: The crumbling towers and walls are locked in the slow muscular embrace of vast root systems; trees, hundreds of years old, tower overhead, their leaves filtering the sunlight and casting a greenish pall over the whole scene. The presence of this greenery adds to the ineffable artistic beauty of the Angkor temples a magical atmosphere of distant times and remote worlds.
