All good things come in threes.

The morning Tak Bat is not to be missed. Between 6 am and 6.30 am just shortly after sunrise, orange clad monks will meet to collect their daily ration of food in their daily morning round.

Out of respect, please do not be to much of a tourist.

Just in case you are wondering, as with any church in Europe, temples have drums which are used by monks to drum at 4 am and at 4 pm.

In Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos, the ancient Buddhist tradition of Tak Bat, the morning alms round, is practised each day at dawn. Emerging silently from the town's 35 temples, hundreds of barefoot monks in orange robes walk in single file through the streets to collect food from the local people. In the early morning mist, the lay community - men, women and children - kneel or sit with bowls of sticky rice to await the monks to whom they will offer it, an act performed in serenity and prayer. By giving, they earn merit and blessings, participating in a living ritual that is practised throughout the country and throughout Southeast Asia.

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