them to perform the traditional ceremony called Basi. This was a way for them to greet us to their village which was special for them as they don't have many outsiders come to see them. The Basi ceremony was very emotional but important as we knew we would probably never get to be part of something like this again. The whole group was asked to sit in a circle, in the middle was a gold round alter which each of us had to place our hands on. During this time the Shaman, Chief, Elders, Elders wives and locals were sat all behind you singing & conversing. They then went round the circle & tied a piece of string round your wrist whilst looking at you & based on their intuition spoke of wishes that they felt you needed to help your souls.Okay so a lot has happened in a week since our last blog update but today is our first day off & we can't wait any longer to tell you the crazy wonderful moments that we have experienced.
Let's start with the people in our tour group who we are sharing these unforgettable events with as they have proven to become more then fellow backpackers but Family. It should begin with our tour guide leader Josh aka Mr Friendly, an incredibly kind spiritual man originally from New Zealand but has spent the last few years in Asia absorbing the culture & who has a boundless amount of knowledge & respect for the Country's we are travelling through. Appears we have been not only lucky in our tour leader but the group as well. The group consists of Poppie & Kez (from Suffolk), Rachael & Vicki (from London), Monika (from San Francisco), Fran & Hannah (from the Midlands) and Nina & Sarah (from Denmark) all great fun & amazing individuals.
Throughout our trek from Chang Mei to the border of Laos we shared stories & Mr Friendly had us bonding over a few Chang beers and within a day we all got to know each other very well. So well that a couple of us mentioned we would like to get tattoos & by the morning Mr Friendly had arranged for us to visit a Monk he knew who had given him a tattoo using Bamboo instruments. This resulted in 4 of us (Sam,Poppie,Kez & myself) being driven to the monk by our friendly neighbourhood tuktuk driver (and translator) "meow". We went inside the worship room and 1 by 1 sat and spoke through the translator to the monk about who we were and what tattoo would be right for us. After the end of each tattoo we were asked to pray with the monk whilst he splashed water over us, it turned out to be a very spiritual & uplifting moment and we felt grateful to of had our first tattoos in such a authentic way.See the photos with the blog 😊
Following on from this we entered Laos and travelled through the mountains to get to our next hostel. In the morning we hopped aboard a beautiful long river boat which took us up the Mekong River. The boat was owned by a wonderful Lao family who drove the boat and cooked us authentic Lao food for lunch whilst taking us up the river to a village called Ban Pak Nguey. In this village the tribe were of animalistic beliefs & we were able to see how the villagers lived, meet the Chief & Elders, understand their culture and everyday way of life. Mr Friendly took us to the local primary school as well so we could meet the children. They were very happy to see us and we played football with them, it was great fun!As the evening approached we were presented with a wonderful meal cooked by the Elders wives as well as introduced to their home grown whiskey "Lao Lao" (40-60%!p(MISSING)roof)!After the meal they made a bonfire and we started to share beers with the Elders and locals, this was a great time for us to meet the locals before heading into the Chiefs House for
So we were both sat in the centre of the blanket with all our new friends around us (now all the girls Bridemaids and Josh & Pew the best men) and unbeknownst to us all of the village elders had come into the room and all the villagers were trying to pile in and watch give us blessings because no one there had seen westerners get married and it was the first that they had ever performed this ceremony making it rare so it was just as special for them as it was for us.
We were married by the head shaman and then the after wedding party could begin! We were taken outside and thrown into the centre of a circle to dance our first dance, with everyone around us. The party was insane!! Music blaring, Lao beer flowing and people trying to avoid the Lao Lao whiskey but we didn't have a chance 😉 what a magical evening. Mr Friendly did mention that it's not official everywhere only in Asia so we could still have the wedding back home but for us it was a magical experience and we were so overwhelmed and whenever we are in Asia we can say "we're married" :D
See pics with the blog
The next day we travelled further down the Mekong on the river boat with everyone suffering quite a bit from hangovers but we spent the entire day retailing all the fun stories and laughing together.
After a good night sleep in the next hostel we travelled to Luang Pranang to visit a Elephant Santuary where we spent time feeding them and were able to wash them in the Nam Seuang river.
So.....it's been just 2 weeks travelling and we have been tattooed by a Monk, married in a village in Lao, swam in the Mekong River & spent time bathing Elephants!! As you can imagine we are having a once in a lifetime experience and cannot wait to see what the next 11 months bring us!!