• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Wat Xieng Thong

Conquering the Darkness: The Festival of Lights in Luang Prabang

03 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Buddhism, Diplomacy, Laos, Luang Prabang, Secret War in Laos, Travel, Uncategorized, UXO Removal, Wat Xieng Thong

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asia, Buddhism, Festival of Lights in Luang Prabang, Hanuman, Luang Prabang, Mekong River, Mt. Phou Si, President Obama, Princess Sita, Ramayana, Secret War in Laos, Wat Xieng Thong

Twilight on the Mekong in Luang Prabang.

Twilight on the Mekong in Luang Prabang before the Festival of Lights.

Make no mistake about it. What Vatican City is to Roman Catholicism, Luang Prabang is to Theravada Buddhism in Laos. Consider Wat Xieng Thong akin to St. Peter’s. Because to approach this UNESCO World Heritage Site city, located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, without awareness of its spiritual life is to miss it entirely.

Jan and I knew that the Festival of Lights, or Boun Ok Phansa in Lao, was approaching in mid-October, marking the end of the rainy season. The late summer to early autumn time is a period of intense meditation for most Laotian Buddhist monks. We could enjoy a week off from our hectic schedule with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble in Việt Nam and Luang Prabang, being only an hour flight away in Laos, beckoned to us again.

Continue reading →

Categories

  • Alexander Goehr (1)
  • Alexandra du Bois (1)
  • Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin (17)
  • Anderson Valley (1)
  • Antoine’s (1)
  • Arnold Schoenberg (4)
  • Asam Laksa (3)
  • Austria (3)
  • Barcelona (3)
  • Batu Caves (1)
  • Bela Bartók (1)
  • Benet Casablancas (1)
  • Betty Freeman (3)
  • Big Sur (2)
  • Bogota (2)
  • Brennan’s (1)
  • Buddhism (9)
  • California wine (6)
  • Cambodia (2)
  • Carlos Chavez (5)
  • Carlos Fuentes (1)
  • Cartagena (2)
  • Cat Ba Island (2)
  • Catalonia (3)
  • Central Coast of California (1)
  • Chasen's (2)
  • Chichen Itza (3)
  • Christopher Isherwood (2)
  • Cobá (2)
  • Colombia (4)
  • Composers (73)
  • Cong Ca Phe (1)
  • Cong CaPhe (4)
  • Contemporary Music (90)
  • Coyoacan (2)
  • Diego Rivera (1)
  • Diplomacy (11)
  • Eastern and Oriental Hotel (2)
  • Education (8)
  • Elbphilharmonie (2)
  • Elliott Carter (13)
  • Evan Hughes (4)
  • Famous Father Girl (1)
  • Farmers Markets (1)
  • Food (69)
  • Frida Kahlo (1)
  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1)
  • Gabriela Ortiz (9)
  • Georgetown (5)
  • Halong Bay (4)
  • Hamburg (3)
  • Hanoi (31)
  • Hanoi New Music Ensemble (45)
  • Hanzhou (1)
  • Healdsburg (1)
  • Hermann Hesse (2)
  • Hoi An (1)
  • Hollywood (5)
  • Hong Kong (7)
  • Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (6)
  • Humphrey Bogart (1)
  • Igor Stravinsky (2)
  • Jacob Zeitlin (2)
  • Jamie Bernstein (1)
  • Japan (10)
  • John Cage (7)
  • Ken Burns (1)
  • Kent Nagano (5)
  • Kim Ngoc Tran (9)
  • Kuala Lumpur (2)
  • Kurt Rohde (1)
  • Kyoto (8)
  • LA International New Music Festival (95)
  • Laos (5)
  • Latin Grammy Awards (15)
  • Laura Mercado-Wright (3)
  • Lauren Bacall (1)
  • Leon Trotsky (1)
  • Leonard Bernstein (1)
  • Los Angeles (28)
  • Luang Prabang (6)
  • Malaysia (7)
  • Manzi Art Space (4)
  • Merida (2)
  • Mexico (23)
  • Minh Dam Quang (7)
  • Music (77)
  • New Orleans (1)
  • New York City (2)
  • Nguyen Minh Nhat (7)
  • Nguyen Thien Dao (5)
  • Nom Calligraphy (1)
  • Oliver Knussen (1)
  • Paris (9)
  • Paseo de Montejo (2)
  • Penang Island (5)
  • Perigueux (1)
  • REDCAT (12)
  • Ripieno Ensemble, Manila (2)
  • Russian River (1)
  • San Francisco (3)
  • Secret War in Laos (1)
  • Sian Ka'an (1)
  • Silverlake (2)
  • Singapore (3)
  • Song Hong Ensemble (4)
  • Southwest Chamber Music (71)
  • Taipei (4)
  • Tambuco Percussion Ensemble (18)
  • Tanglewood (1)
  • Tea (2)
  • Ton That Tiet (2)
  • Toru Takemitsu (2)
  • Toshio Hosokawa (3)
  • Travel (97)
  • Tulum (2)
  • Uncategorized (118)
  • Uxmal (3)
  • UXO Removal (1)
  • Valladolid (2)
  • Vienna (5)
  • Vienna Philharmonic (2)
  • Vietnam (71)
  • Vu Nhat Tan (26)
  • W. Somerset Maugham (1)
  • Walt Disney Concert Hall (12)
  • Wat Xieng Thong (1)
  • William Kraft (2)
  • Woman in Gold (1)
  • Women's March (1)
  • Yucatan (3)
Follow Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt on WordPress.com

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Archives

Translate

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel