Bun Awk Phansa (Buddhist Lent Festival)

The monks shaved their heads for the full moon. They do that every full moon.
Lent is over, so they can now travel away from the temples. (they could leave the temple grounds but not sleep outside of the temple for the last three months).

This morning I got up early to go the temple where my monk friends live, for the end-of-lent ceremony, where people bring all kinds of food and candy, incense, flowers and money for the monks and put them in lavish faux silver and gold bowls. First you go into the temple and sit on the floor with your offerings, and you chant if you can understand what is going on. You light little candles on the bowls. They don't worry about wax dripping on the carpet. Everyone is dressed up.
Then afterwards you go outside, there is a long table with alms bowls for rice (usually sticky rice) and boiled eggs and big bags for the gifts and other food. I absurdly brought grapes as my offering, not realizing that I would have to place them in huge heavy bags, mixed in with everything else. So the first time I went through the line I didn't know what to do, so I didn't put my grapes in the bags. Halfway through the guy next to me pointed at the bags and said "you have to give to the monk", I guess thinking I was slow and couldn't figure out what was going on. At the end of the line my monk friend so it was okay to mix them in. So I waited and went through the line again.
At the end the monks hauled the huge sacks of booty into the temple, where there were already prepared meals waiting for them. It is usually Lao women that bring food and offerings for the monks. Even when it is not festival-time, every morning the monks go out at an obscene hour to collect alms (sticky rice and whatever else people bring them). It is a really nice sight, long lines of orange robes winding around street corners!