One of the recommended things to see in LP is the Alms giving ceremony. This is a religious daily ritual for the local monks (there are quite a few of them in the 30+ temples in a small area). Basically local citizens get up super early and wait on the pavement from 05:30, then the monks walk around a specified route and collect the food the locals have prepared. This food makes up the bulk of the two meals monks eat per day. The remainder also comes from the locals bringing it directly to them. They eat once firstly when they return to their temples from their route, and secondly around 11:30am - they then fast for the rest of the day (everyday!). This ritual is beneficial on both sides - the locals receive their good 'karma' for feeding the monks, and the monks get fed.
The experience though was a bit of a two sided coin for us. One, it was a very nice thing to go and watch. Sleepy town, very quiet in the morning (the Alms are supposed to be done in silence), picturesque setting, it was a little surreal, solemn and beautiful.
On the other hand, alongside the feeling of intruding on something so different from our culture, it did seem very much like there were more tourists there, who were more interested in getting their instagram pictures at any cost, rather than locals performing part of their daily routine. Despite warnings and signs all around the town (and also in some of the hotels) telling tourists both in English and with photos, what is and isn't culturally acceptable during this ceremony (e.g. as with all the temples, shoulders, chests and knees should be covered; the ceremony should take place in silence; alms-givers should always be below the monks, either by kneeling or sitting; don't get withing 3m of the monks if you're taking photos and don't use flash), there were many people doing all of these things. Some people had paid for a tourist package to take part, rather than it being meaningful for them, in order to take selfies whilst the monks were receiving their alms, actually pushing past them at certain points to get certain shots. We sat on the other side of the road, watching it all, and honestly it felt a bit sad that such an important part of their daily religion was succumb somewhat to tourism, and almost feeling embarrassed on behalf of these people that they couldn't see what they were doing.
From here we explored the early morning market, usual assortment of touristy tat, fruit, veg, spices, various meats (this one included dead and alive frogs, and still alive small birds)... we chose not to buy anything on this occasion... After this was the weekly Wednesday gym visit. This gym was rather... basic is the closest term. It was definitely in someones house (you could tell by the tiled floor), with some weight machines actually on the pavement. But it had everything you needed, even if it wasn't the most up to date. No air con but we were there at 7am after the earliness of the Alms so it wasn't too bad.
We ventured out for lunch at a shop called Ock Pop Tok cafe. It's actually part of a small chain across Laos, promoting traditional crafts created by local Laos women and had some pretty amazing silk scarfs and wall hangings. Although they were a similar price as you'd pay in the UK, so about 4 times most LP prices. So we bought a small Christmas decoration souvenir
We then headed around to one of the more famous Wat's in LP; Wat Xieng Thong (no laughing). You could tell the temples here were more working temples, rather than tourist spots. Whilst it was very ornate (definitely be getting the green spikes on the roof), it wasn't as polished or pristine as the ones in Bangkok, which was quite nice.
