Don Jeang Hill-Tribe Overnight Stay, Laos-Thailand Border Crossing

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Last night I had the privilege of staying overnight with a ethnic minority tribal village in a remote part of Laos, accessed via the Mekong River.

We arrived by boat to the Don Jeang Hill-tribe, located 8-10 hours from the Thai Border. Our boat anchored around 5pm and immediately we were greeted by excited yet extremely shy little faces, laughing and fleeing to their village. As we made our way to the chiefs home we took in the scenery: around 30-50 shanty huts & houses (some made of bamboo, minority made of brick) were nestled amongst the gorgeous mountainous backdrop- a picture perfect postcard. Initially, time was spent wandering the tribes village: greeting locals with "sabaideee", taking the occasional 'tourist' snap and watching the trail of children behind us slowly increase after every home we passed.

The village was the definition of basic: no luxuries, squat toilets, a village water pump, a small bamboo hut selling a few groceries, the chiefs house and a primary school located at the top of the village. There was no pavement, no street lighting, no air conditioning, no bathroom, no kitchen: just a cluster of huts and families located on a steep muddy incline above the Mekong.

We made our way to the chiefs house where we were to have dinner for the evening. Every three years, the local village hold an election; 5 individuals are nominated and the successful nominee is promoted to village chief. We learnt about the chiefs family (his daughter in law had just given birth that day to his first born- a beautiful baby girl) and more importantly, the local routine and way of life for Don Jeang villagers. To provide for their families, most of the villagers work in the rice fields; this means early morning starts (6am) and late evening finishes (6-7pm). With the next town 40 minutes away by boat, the villagers make do with a diet of rice and vegetables: meat is a luxury. After a dinner of potato and chicken curry, chicken and ginger with rice and morning glory (FYI- a vegetable in Asia), we we're asked to help the local children with their English skills. We spent the evening teaching ABC's and 123's (which they already knew very well) as well as dancing to the Hokey Cokey, the Macarena and YMCA. It was a heart warming evening filled with laughter and excitement (I even learnt basic Laos)!

The little lighting that the village has is cut off at 9pm sharp so at 8pm myself, Lucy and Leonie set off to meet our homestay family, where we would settle for the night. We were greeted by a mother, father, grandmother and two little children (one boy, one girl both between 4-7 years old) outside a modest yet waterproof (it's rainy season- I have my practical head screwed on) hut. We were welcomed inside and our sleeping stations were set up by the front door: three mattresses on the ground, a blanket and pillow and the item of most importance to white travellers: the mosquito net. As expected, the hour before lights out was spent in laughter: the grandmother loved Leonie's straw hat (which now belongs to the grandmother and sadly not Leonie) whilst the two little children received friendship bracelets from Lucy and I as well as my purple fan which I bought in Nha Trang, Vietnam ( painted with geisha girls and bamboo shoots,the family were fascinated by the artwork). We wrote down our names on a piece of scrap paper and in quick succession the family repeated this process. We also displayed our not so amazing creative drawing skills which amused the children (and parents to no end); Leonie's pig looked more like a dog, Lucy's Elephant was definitely disformed and as for my "self portrait", god knows how I used to get A grades in Art at school (If I look anything like my drawing, I should be locked up- I hope they throw away the key). Like clockwork, at 9pm the lights went out and the family quickly disappeared to their beds. Respecting the village rules and working culture, Leonie, Lucy and I also headed to bed. Sleep was infrequent and disrupted: chickens were constantly clucking, the village idiot was rambling from not too far away (seems they exist no matter where you live) and the rain pelted down during the night. Despite all this however, I felt relaxed and comfortable.

5am soon arrived and it was time to depart once more by boat to the Thai Border (another 10 hours along the Mekong). Naturally, when sat on a boat for that long (8 hours the day previously), you have a lot of time to think: sometimes about irrelevant trivial drivel ("why am I single"....."wonder if mum will have made onion gravy for when I get back") and sometimes about important stuff (the stuff that really matters). As a twenty first century woman & more importantly at the youthful age of 22, it is no understatement to say that I have been influenced my whole life by media advertisements, luxury brands and shallow marketing. Yes, it's true that I like to shop in Urban Outfitters, treat myself to some extortionately priced product once in a while and gossip to my friends about the latest celebrity drama that has featured on Daily Mail Showbiz, but after travelling Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos for a total of eight months, I like to hope that I have changed and learnt a great deal from the places, cultures and people I have encountered. I'm not saying that from now I will shop in thrift stores, have dreadlocks and replace my hobby of shopping with outdoor photography at Heaton Park (sorry dad) but at the same time, it really doesn't matter whether you have the latest pair of Adidas Gazelles (yes brother I'm talking to you) or whether you've worn the same outfit more than once on a night out (yes north sitcom I'm taking about us all), but what really does matter is the following:

Health, Happiness, Family, Friends & Future. X

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