<p>Patil, who completed her two-day visit to Luang Prabang today, left Vientiane yesterday after holding talks with top leaders of the country.<br /><br />She was accorded a traditional welcome by dancers and drummers at the airport.<br /><br />The president visited the National Museum, which was earlier the palace of Lao King Sisavang Vong and his family in 1904.<br /><br />The palace was converted into a museum when the monarchy was overthrown in 1975 when Savang Vatthana and his family lived there.<br /><br />Governor of Luang Prabang Bouheuang Douangphachanh called on the President and hosted a banquet in her honour in the evening.<br /><br />Baci ceremony, a traditional ritual by Laotians to accord a welcome and pray for a person's well-being, was performed in Patil's honour here.<br /><br />"It is a ceremony to celebrate a special event, whether a marriage, a homecoming, a welcome, a birth, or one of the annual festivals.<br /><br />"A mother is given a Baci after she has recovered from a birth, the sick are given Bacis to facilitate a cure, officials are honoured by Bacis, and novice monks are wished lunch with a Baci before entering the temple," a local said.<br /><br />The ceremony involves tying of a white sacred thread on the hands of the people involved in it.<br /><br />On Sunday, Patil visited the Xiengthong temple in Luang Prabang and offered prayers with her husband Devisingh Shekhawat.<br /><br />Known as the temple of the Golden City, it was built around 1560 by King Setthathirat, who ruled Laos from 1548 to 1571.<br /><br />Till 1975, when the country was ruled by monarchs, Xiengthong was a royal temple where kings of Laos were crowned.<br /><br />Later, Patil enjoyed a one-hour boat ride on the Mekong river, which forms the life-line of this part of the world.<br /><br />The President was given a warm send-off and she reached the present Lao capital Vientiane in the evening. <br /><br />A high-level business delegation, comprising of people from the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Laos, members as well as a 45-member business delegation drawn from FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM which has flown in from India, called on the President at Vientiane to discuss their problems in doing business in Laos.<br /><br />She assured them of all help, officials said. A joint high-level Indo-Laos business meeting will be held tomorrow.<br /><br />President Patil will be accorded a ceremonial send-off soon thereafter by Laos and she will leave for Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to begin the second leg of her tour.<br /><br />She will be in Cambodia till September 18.</p>
<p>Patil, who completed her two-day visit to Luang Prabang today, left Vientiane yesterday after holding talks with top leaders of the country.<br /><br />She was accorded a traditional welcome by dancers and drummers at the airport.<br /><br />The president visited the National Museum, which was earlier the palace of Lao King Sisavang Vong and his family in 1904.<br /><br />The palace was converted into a museum when the monarchy was overthrown in 1975 when Savang Vatthana and his family lived there.<br /><br />Governor of Luang Prabang Bouheuang Douangphachanh called on the President and hosted a banquet in her honour in the evening.<br /><br />Baci ceremony, a traditional ritual by Laotians to accord a welcome and pray for a person's well-being, was performed in Patil's honour here.<br /><br />"It is a ceremony to celebrate a special event, whether a marriage, a homecoming, a welcome, a birth, or one of the annual festivals.<br /><br />"A mother is given a Baci after she has recovered from a birth, the sick are given Bacis to facilitate a cure, officials are honoured by Bacis, and novice monks are wished lunch with a Baci before entering the temple," a local said.<br /><br />The ceremony involves tying of a white sacred thread on the hands of the people involved in it.<br /><br />On Sunday, Patil visited the Xiengthong temple in Luang Prabang and offered prayers with her husband Devisingh Shekhawat.<br /><br />Known as the temple of the Golden City, it was built around 1560 by King Setthathirat, who ruled Laos from 1548 to 1571.<br /><br />Till 1975, when the country was ruled by monarchs, Xiengthong was a royal temple where kings of Laos were crowned.<br /><br />Later, Patil enjoyed a one-hour boat ride on the Mekong river, which forms the life-line of this part of the world.<br /><br />The President was given a warm send-off and she reached the present Lao capital Vientiane in the evening. <br /><br />A high-level business delegation, comprising of people from the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Laos, members as well as a 45-member business delegation drawn from FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM which has flown in from India, called on the President at Vientiane to discuss their problems in doing business in Laos.<br /><br />She assured them of all help, officials said. A joint high-level Indo-Laos business meeting will be held tomorrow.<br /><br />President Patil will be accorded a ceremonial send-off soon thereafter by Laos and she will leave for Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to begin the second leg of her tour.<br /><br />She will be in Cambodia till September 18.</p>