Our Lao detox started at 5.30am when we dressed and hurried down to the marketplace to assist to the traditional almsgiving ceremony. Well, maybe I should say when I woke up and hurried down to the marketplace…Guillaume being the exact opposite of a morning person, he didn’t manage to get out of bed so early…

It started with a dozen monks lining up, heads bowed, shuffling out of the temple moving toward the line of devoted locals who had been patiently sitting crossed-legged, awaiting their turn to give the monks their offerings of sticky rice in return for a blessing and hopefully another day of happiness and good fortune.

Soon similar groups of monks were working their way from every direction. Tall monks, short monks, wrinkled monks and fresh-faced monks…Days dawning, skins crawling, Pure morning.