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Published: July 27th 2011
Kids loving kids
Really enjoyed the brief time we had in this village.The video version that accompanies this blog can be found at (
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Thanks Matt!!!
Although it was hard to leave the comforts of Luang Prabang, we felt the Lao adventure had to include a bit of venturing into the hills, to visit some of the smaller villages. We had left our big packs at our hotel and just carried our day packs, (so as not to repeat our heavy pack mistakes from Costa Rica). For all of you who know of our adventures on that trek ( and I am sure you are all shaking your heads in disbelief that we signed up voluntarily for one again so soon!!), we were a bit apprehensive as to the distances and times we were facing, and didn’t want to take any chances of being overburdened. Our guide, Tuy, reassured us several times.
We began our trek around an hour outside of Luang Prabang by car. As usual, rain threatened throughout the day but there were also spurts of extreme heat and humidity. Temperatures have generally been about 30 degrees, but with the humidity, at times they say it feels closer to 42. The hiking was mostly on narrow roads at the
Water for Elephants
They did most of the bathing, we just got soaked. beginning but these quickly reduced down to small trails and before we knew it we were crossing small streams on a regular basis throughout the day. The steepness was not as much an issue. The countryside was gorgeous and Tuy explained all of the different plants and crops that were being grown. There truly is something magical and peaceful about walking amongst rice paddies that dazzles your eyes with brilliant and lush green.
Editors note: We being another digression.
Rice is such a staple in Asia and it is not until you are walking amongst the fields and seeing the farmers planting and preparing the land that you become fully aware of how incredibly labour intensive the process is. Hard to believe that each stalk of rice is planted by hand, and there are thousands on each terrace. There are a couple of types of rice that are grown (hill rice and wet rice). Typically we see the beautiful terraced rice fields that are full of water and show off a brilliant verdant display. The water is obviously for irrigation, but also serves the purpose of keeping weeds and unwanted plants from spoiling the crop. The second variety of
Tireless work
Despite the long days and hard work, the people are always quick with a smile and greeting. hill rice and sticky rice is planted on what appears to be almost vertical fields. This is the rice that is preferred among the Lao people. There are also a variety of crops besides rice grown in the fields that we were traversing. These included hops for beer, corn, and sugar cane to name a few. Tuy let us know that everyone in Laos is essentially a farmer. That is their roots and they always come back to help the family in need. The villages are also very communal in this respect. Now, back to our adventure.
In the middle of one of these amazingly beautiful “paddie”s, Tuy pulled into one of the many “shacks” that dotted the hillside. They are little bamboo shelters a couple of feet off the ground that farmers use to get out of the rain (or sun), both of which we encountered this day. He pulls out a chicken fried rice meal for each one of us that the company had prepared. It turned out to be excellent and really hit the spot. We all then proceeded to take a “15” minute nap but Tuy was out for over 30 minutes (the kids all
Everyone Helps Out
Sister helping around while adults are all working in the fields. announced that this is ‘OUR kind of hiking’). He had said that we would be hiking for 7 hours including stops etc. so none of us where sure how long it would really take us.
The first village we encountered (approximately 4 hours into the hike) had around 50 families (approximately one hundred people). Tuy said that some of these people in the village would only get into town for supplies once or twice per year, and the rest may not leave at all( ie. children etc.). The kids were playing lots of games when we arrived and were elated with the pens and notebooks and headbands that we brought. The balls were a hit too, and although Matt was able to keep up to them in soccer, he was no match for them with sepak takraw (kick volleyball that is incredible to watch at all levels --
&feature=related) . In the village, there were a lot of kids and what looked like young moms. Laos has very strict laws about people living together out of wedlock and also about divorce. As happens in many rural villages around the world, girls get married fairly young (14 or 15) and
Water, water and more water
Tough job that needs to be done from the river or well many times a day. often have children quickly. Families of 8-10 kids are commonplace. Children are required to help about the farm as many hands make light work. The kids we saw were very joyful but also seemed to participate in every aspect of this life where they could help (fetching water, minding younger siblings, planting rice, etc.).
We left this wonderful village and made our way to the upper village. The lower valley areas are occupied by the ethnic group know as the Lao people. The middle area (where the first village was) are the Khmu people who speak a different language. The final village where we would spend the night was a Hmong Village and Khmu village. Despite the fact that these two groups speak different languages, this particular village has thrived and the groups are very congenial and are even intermarrying. We reached our destination after around an additional hour and 15 minutes. Tuy had been extremely good in giving us maximum times and minimum times for our hiking. We typically got in much before he suggested leaving us all very mentally refreshed.
This high mountain village had one hut where they welcome foreigners a couple of times a
Sparsely clad
Despite what we might feel is a lack of belongings, these kids don't lack a thing. We have a lot to learn about true joy and peace. month (solely with Tuy) so we felt very special to be in this place and were definitely celebrities. We slept in a very clean hut on stilts off the ground. This is the wet season and it is hard to believe how they keep everything relatively clean. The village is fairly quiet during the day with just children playing around as all of the able bodied people are working in the rice fields. There is one running water tap (this is a village of around 200 people) that was installed by a group from Australia fairly recently. It taps into an age old spring in the area. Tuy said that it has been a huge blessing to the village as it provides a clean area to access the water making life much easier for all around. We were going to take a quick wash off when we got there about 5pm but there was a steady line of people for the next couple of hours communally washing up. This was obviously a focal point for the whole village. Later Sydney was delayed as she didn’t want to share the ‘shower’ with a cow!!
Tuy left us for an hour
Photography fascination
Having fun letting the kids take pics and watching them squeal with laughter. or so and upon his return, we were treated to an amazing meal of sticky rice, cooked veggies and chicken and a delicious soup. He had cooked this all up himself. There was WAY TOO much for all of us to eat but that was all by design because when we were done, Tuy quickly took the leftovers down to the owners of our hut so that they could have their meal. The crew was fairly tired so we made our way into our mosquito netted sleeping room and were put to sleep by the myriad of new sounds that filled the night (including what seemed like a deluge of rain).
We were greeted in the morning by a wonderful breakfast of eggs and rice (of course) and had an opportunity to share some things that we had brought with some of the local children. Their gift back to us was a wonderful song of thanks in their local dialect. We then set out in the drizzle, and although the rain never did fully materialize, the overnight monsoon had made the clay filled paths almost treacherous. Every three or four steps would require you to try and shake off
Hmong Village
This was the Hmong side housing approximately 100 people. the 5 kg of mud that had attached to your Tevas, and it was a constant slip and slide routine. The group was pretty tired of the mud as we made our way back down the hillside over the course of the day. The destination was another village that was on the road. Needless to say, this was not a day to remember and there were statements along the lines of “let this be quoted, that I am NEVER HIKING in MUD again!!!!” (or something to that effect). The final home stay was with a family in their house near the road, and although they never have warning of your impending arrival, they are all so very gentle and gracious, and let you move right in. Tuy cooked another fabulous Loatian meal, and we ate on the floor alongside the host family, as they again shared our meal. Our conversations are short however, as we have only managed a few phrases in Loa, but there are always lots of gestures and smiles. We finished the evening learning a new card game called Janiv, that has become a trip favourite. The thought that kept everyone energized and excited throughout the day
Mahouting
Who is really in control? Very unorthodox way of riding an elephant Matt!!! was that tomorrow we would be kayaking and riding elephants.
Our final day of our “trek” saw us kayak down the Nam Ou river for a couple of hours (this is a large river that half way through our trip joined up with the Mekong River). This made it equal in size to the Fraser so it we were fairly cautious as we all double kayaked in open boats. There were a few standing waves that got the willies going but all went well. We were very excited as we landed the kayaks and got to meet the wonderful animals with whom we would be spending the next couple of hours. We first rode on top of the elephants in seats (Matt straddled the neck of his elephant with the girls in the seats) and made our way up and down some trails for the better part of an hour. The kids were on speedy Gonzales while Marla and Trevor settled themselves on an elephant that reflected their (or at least Trevor’s) ages. Once we were back, we were taught the different commands that the elephants respond to (surprisingly it wasn’t English but was Lao). It is obvious that
Enjoying the view
A magnificent view atop and majestic creature. these are very intelligent animals.
We then remounted the elephants individually and made our way around the area getting used to the commands (this was a simplified form of what is known as “Mahouting” or driving elephants). Packing the five of us on two elephants, we proceeded down to the muddied river, where we bathed them (or really they bathed us). There was an abundance of laughter and yelling as the elephants took us into the water and then sprayed themselves and us for the next 15 minutes. Matthew managed to transfer between the elephants and made his way back up the hill backwards on the backside of the elephant. It was the end to a fantastic day, and overall, a great trek.
On the advice of a fellow traveler, we had made reservations to stay for the following 3 nights in an incredible hotel on the outskirts of town that had a special on ($350 rooms for under $100). The Luang Say Residence (http://www.luangsayresidence.com/ ) has only been open 4 months and it was set up as old, old colonial to the nines. Let’s just say, it was the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in. There
Riding High
Having fun on an amazing animal. are only 24 rooms in the whole place (must be 10 or 15 acres) and we had the whole top floor of one “pavilion” for ourselves (2 rooms). The pool was gorgeous, the service was over the top and the grounds were to die for. We spent our time enjoying the hotel and venturing out on pedal bikes multiple times per day to just “be” in Luang Prabang. We had tested the ideas of previous travelers and agreed that just “being” in Luang Prabang is incredible. Next stop, Vang Vieng.
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