Waterfall Trek

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So we woke up early again and grabbed some breakfast before heading over to the treking office. Luckily today they were ready for us and 2 additional people joined the trek. Although we needed one more person for the price to drop. We headed down to the river and jumped in a long boat. We had planned to boat down to Luang Prabang anyways so this would give us a taste of the river scenery. As it turns ou we were on the boat for about an hour so we got the full experience. It was beautiful with green jungle and massive cliff faces on either side. There was also the occasional Lao fisherman or farmer on the river bank.

We arrived at a little remote village that had powere from a homeade hydro generater in the river. They were celebrating from an earlier wedding so there was drinking and eating all over the place. Our guide was very good at describing everything and givig us insights into the three different tribes in the area. We headed past the village to the start of the 100 waterfalls. It is essentially a large river that cascades down rocks for a couple of kilometers with about 3 or 4 big waterfall and the rest small ones. We all wore sandals and shorts and hiked straight up the river rocks and river. It felt a little bit like Indiana jones going hands over feet at some places. We took some pics that should be neat.

We made it to the top around lunch time and our guide set up the feast. He laid out huge banana leaves on the table then dumped mounds of food into piles all over it. The six of us all sat around it and ate with our hands. The main portion was sticky rices which you ball up in your hand and dip or mix with things. There was also a delicious salsa for the rice, some pad Thai(noodle dish), green veggies and dried meat (not sure what type). It was a rally neat experience and what I had hoped the trek in Thailand was going to be like.

When we were finished we hiked back a different way back to the village. When we got there our guide showed us the cotton weaving and basket making areas. Then on the way out to the boat some of the villagers called us over to their celebration table. Here they offered us some home made Laolao(hard alcohol made with rice). I politely declined but was informed by our guide that in Lao when offered something it is rude to refuse so of course I had to change my mind and take a shot of it. It turns out they make it quite a bit stronger in this little village than normal Laolao is supposed to be. This was followed by a little piece of meat for all of us. It was really hard and chewy so you couldn't eat it. You were supposed to chew and swallow I think(still not sure about that though). It was so spicy it made my lips burn so I hewed it for a little bit then hid it in my hand and threw away later. It turns out it was buffalo hide and your supposed to chew the flavour out like gum. A little crazy for me although Matt chewed on his for a while. He was trying to eat it hahaha.

We went back to the boat and headed back upstream. When we got back James was not feeling well so he went to bed while Matt and I went for dinner. We had some Indian cuisine then went to the Internet cafe and had some drinks and fresh fruit. It was a really good day.

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