There’s something to be said for getting up before the sun rises when you travel because it gives you a chance to capture a real glimpse of local life. This is especially true in Asia where the locals are typically out trading on their market stalls while most tourists are still snoozing.

In Luang Prabang, Laos, we dragged ourselves reluctantly out of bed at the crack of dawn one morning to watch the famous alms-giving ceremony, whereby hundreds of orange-robed monks pass silently through the streets collecting offerings from locals. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite the magical, sacred experience we’d hoped for as hordes of disrespectful tourists ignored local advice on how to behave and continued to get in the way of the procession and snap pictures in the monks’ faces.

Embarrassed and disappointed by what we were seeing, Andrew and I headed away from the crowds into the local morning market instead, where we snapped this shot of some kids playing with (or mildly torturing, some might say) this cute little kitten.

About Our Big Fat Travel Adventure

In March 2013 Amy and Andrew quit their lives and the rat race in London to travel the world indefinitely. They started their adventure in New Zealand and Australia and are now travelling slowly through South-East Asia; the couple love to blog about their adventures and hope to move to Taiwan later this year to teach English. You can connect with them on facebook and twitter.

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