Vat Phou Alms Giving Ceremony

Each morning of Boun Vat Phou, hundreds of monks from across southern Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia receive alms from kneeling devotees in a ceremony larger in scale than everyday almsgiving rounds elsewhere in Laos. Provincial officials often join the offering directly, anchoring the festival's religious program in the cool early morning before trade fairs and sporting events fill the rest of each day.

Each morning of Boun Vat Phou, but especially on the culminating day of the full moon itself, hundreds of Buddhist monks gather at the Vat Phou temple complex in Champasak to receive alms from lay devotees in a ceremony that anchors the festival's religious program before the day's trade fair and entertainment activities begin.