I wandered down to the old part of town, slowly, I wasn't walking so great.
The houses down by the river are all old and close together, wooden, carved. I walked into the courtyard of the wat. Ordinarily I'm not much of a religion tourist. The monks have their thing to do, I don't gawk. It used to be that Lao guys my age would have spent at least a couple of months as a monk, so I've talked to quite a few monks and former monks. Now everyone is in a big doggone hurry, kids in Bankok fit their obligation in, between vacation and school, if at all.
That all seemed far away from this place where no sound of internal combustion engine or aircraft overhead disturbs the lazy buz of insects and the low murmur of young novices whiling away the hours discussing who knows what. I returned their smiled greeting with the same, and one of them motioned me over as I'd been actually walking around to get to the other side of the wat. I was looking to get a photo without the monks, nothing more cliche than a monk photo, the cliche is not only the photo but the western tourist taking it.
The monk was actually motioning me into the wat through a side door so I went. Still smiling and unspeaking. Best to not speak Lao, leave them to go about their business, and I notice the sun from the door closes behind me. Alone. I don't do the three bows and the incense bit, I was born with round eyes.
I know enough about it to understand that the Lu temple is shaped differently than say the temples of Thai Nua, or Vientiane or Krung Thep Theravada Buddhists. I'm most impressed with the massive tree trunk central posts that lead to the high roof, and the roof itself is  made of tin. I forever appreciate a wat with a tin roof.

Notice the two small tiers to the upper roofes and how there are 4 sides to the roof lower down, this is unmistakably Lu.

I take some photos having no idea what I'm taking photos of but thinking to myself that my fellow blogger over at http://laomeow.blogspot.com/ more than likely would. 
Theravada is the branch of Buddhism closely associated with an old type from Sri Lanka and so it has lots of ritual. Like any religion it absorbs much of the religion it has replaced. I suspect the white rope looped around the posts in the photo above has very specific religious significance, maybe related to the pii or wandering ghosts of local beliefs.

Below More photos without comment as I've no idea what I'm looking at, if anyone else does please say so in the comment and I'll cut and paste up to the appropriate photo. Please mention which photo your comment applies to.


Cross




 Candle Holder?


Dish

Fly swatter fan

Hole in floor

House out back

Lions

Mirror

Newspaper rack not

Shining tat


Drum shed

Close up drum


cat playing with ashes

String tree

Even though I understand little I am glad to have wandered by the wat. The wat holds the highest forms of art and architecture. Inside it's pali scripts is the moral guidance of the culture codified.
The day has warmed while I'd been down in the old part of town. Some boys who had been spear fishing down at the Nam Long passed me by. I was walking very slowly. They were excited to be returning to their families with a morning's catch in the baskets they both wore around their backs. What an advantage a simple thing like a plastic face mask from China. Fresh fish is a good thing.

By mid day Muang Long is downright quiet. A motorcycle causes people to look up to see who it is, a car or truck is an event. Mostly the sun shines brightly and people are off doing whatever it is they are doing that day. I returned to my laundry, turning it so to dry on all sides and packing what was already dry. Somewhere up the street someone played Morlum and mid day drifted into afternoon to the hypnotic notes of the khaen.
Down at the market I ate a leisurely bowl of khao soi and watched nothing happen.
I noticed the two guys walking across the empty dirt parking lot that sits slightly above the market, they were the only things moving. The market though open was half asleep. As they came closer I recognised one of the guys as being my local guide from  the walk to Ban Huway Poong from Ban Nam Hee.


I suggested they both to join me in a bowl of khao soi and I asked them what they were up to while we ate. 
They'd left Bahn Nam Hee that morning. Assuming they left at about 8, that was well over 40km in seven hours. They had with them what they were wearing, a thin jacket on one and a light weight shirt on the other. They would have drunk from springs and carried no water, at night curled around either sides of a fire dozing until the fire needed more wood. Cold. Likely they'd also carried a long knife and stashed it in the woods before town. I didn't ask them their purpose in town or other particulars. Maybe they were there for supplies or maybe just to see the sights. Young guys like to walk around.
Another day of doing nothing.