You will get sweaty, you will get bitten, you probably won’t sleep, and you will have to poop outside. It is worth it though. Trekking in Laos is a unique experience that gives a clear picture of what life is like for the many hill tribes of this country. For two days we trekked with the company Tiger Trail. One really nice thing is that the Laotians are backing ecotourism and realize that by protecting the environment and local cultural heritage they can prosper financially from tourism. Every village we visited got a small percentage of what we paid. Whatever company you go with, please do not do the elephant tours. If you want to see elephants, go to one of the reserves in Thailand. That said we had a wonderful time. We hiked for 6 hours and passed three villages. The hike took us up between two mountains and down into a valley. We passed teak trees, rubber trees, water buffalo, cows, more cows, lush rolling hills, and stunning vistas. Along the way we saw a family heading home with their dinner….. fresh cobra. A boy of about eight dragged the snake behind him with the head cut off. Apparently, snakes are a favorite of the locals and can be sold for a lot in the cities (still not much on our standards- 10,000 in the village and 40,000 in the city). What a different childhood! At the second village we stopped for a lunch of fried rice with egg. The entire village is made up of six families and each have around 6 to 10 children. Every Monday morning the children get up extremely early to hike the hour and a half down the mountain, to the first village we passed, for school. They remain there during the week and return home on Friday night. It is hard to imagine small children doing that hike twice a week. I guess they are lucky that they have access to a school. The farther you go into the hills you will find that most villages do not have schools. If you have a child who hates school and has behavioral problems, bring them Laos for their next summer winter vacation. They will go home with a new appreciation for their education and life style.
Our guide explained that the families grow hops, rice, and corn. They keep the rice to eat themselves and sell the hops and corn to people from the city. Two statistics the Dutchman read (I don’t know the source) were that Laos is the 25th hungriest nation in the world and that 30% of its people live under the poverty line. The villages we visited would fit these statistics. Even though they were dirty, most of the young children seemed content playing with one another. I saw many little girls sitting in mud with only shirts on and smiles on their faces. The adults seemed tired from hard work in the fields. It was the teenagers that touched me the most. They seemed so bored and just sat around. It really felt like having that lifestyle day in and day out would cause you to turn off your brain. Regardless, if I smiled at someone, they always smiled back. While eating lunch, a dirty dog came up to my backpack. I started making weird sounds to let him know that my backpack was off limits. To my surprise I got a big reaction out of all the kids sitting nearby. They giggled and pointed. Since a form of communication had been created, I asked if they would do a jump shot with me. The parents seemed pleased when I offered to send pictures of the children to the tour company so that they could get them printed. Hopefully, Tiger Trail follows through with getting them the photos. I wish I had a Polaroid camera so that I could give villagers a family photo then and there.
When we arrived in the third village there was a party going on. They village had rented a sound system from the city and powered it with their one generator. The young and old alike danced and ate together. Our tour guide disappeared, so we decided to explore on our own. A few school children were playing soccer. I intercepted one ball and that was it. Tim, Simon, Myles, and I all joined in. Playing soccer with those kids was the number one highlight for me. The girls weren’t timid at all and went in for body checks which made me proud. The best girl was named Mix and every time I did something good for her team she would run up and give me a high five. It felt good to be interacting with the locals opposed to just observing them as if they were in a zoo. It would be interesting to have an honest conversation about tourism with the villagers. On one hand it is a form of income for them and their children are exposed to English. Yet, it also sends the message that they are interesting to us foreigners because they are poor. I have mixed feelings about this and will do my best to be a respectful and responsible tourist. For me personally the key is making it an interaction based on mutual interest.
That evening we showered using water from a bucket, watched the village’s teenagers gyrate in pairs collectively moving in a circle (strange), and ate vegetables and spinach soup by candle light. At one point our guide appeared a bit glossy eyed with a bottle of locally distilled whiskey in hand. He offered us some and answered some of our questions. I made the mistake of asking about what we needed to watch out for at night. His response was cobras and scorpions. UGH. I was very thorough when I tucked in my mosquito net. On top of that the area does have Malaria and Dengue Fever. At around 9:00 pm we headed to bed. We slept in thatched bungalows which had so many holes the full moon’s light illuminated the thin mats we all slept on. Saying that we slept may not be accurate. Since it was the last full moon before the New Year, the villagers continued to blast music until 4:30 am. It was sooooooooo strange. When I got up at 3:30am to go expel my food, I was shocked to see how many people were still up dancing.
The next day we hiked for an hour to the Tad Sae Waterfall. It was amazing. It is made up steps of limestone with relatively deep pools between each step. We spent an hour swimming in the clear water and jumping from the lowest step into the pool below. If you are interested in swimming, this is the best of Luang Prabang’s waterfalls for it. We then got into kayaks and paddled the 3.5 hours back to Luang Prabang. Along the river we passed monks bathing in their bright orange robes, children washing their hair, fishermen, elephants, people cullying gravel from the bottom of the river to make cement, and many locals picnicking. The entire trip was excellent and I highly recommend you do something similar. Just remember that you make the experience what you want it to be, not your guide. If you want to interact with the locals, that is on you to take the initiative.
Once back in Luang Prabang we went to the Film Festival and watched a Thai movie, Pee Mak. More on Luang Prabang soon.
Our guide explained that the families grow hops, rice, and corn. They keep the rice to eat themselves and sell the hops and corn to people from the city. Two statistics the Dutchman read (I don’t know the source) were that Laos is the 25th hungriest nation in the world and that 30% of its people live under the poverty line. The villages we visited would fit these statistics. Even though they were dirty, most of the young children seemed content playing with one another. I saw many little girls sitting in mud with only shirts on and smiles on their faces. The adults seemed tired from hard work in the fields. It was the teenagers that touched me the most. They seemed so bored and just sat around. It really felt like having that lifestyle day in and day out would cause you to turn off your brain. Regardless, if I smiled at someone, they always smiled back. While eating lunch, a dirty dog came up to my backpack. I started making weird sounds to let him know that my backpack was off limits. To my surprise I got a big reaction out of all the kids sitting nearby. They giggled and pointed. Since a form of communication had been created, I asked if they would do a jump shot with me. The parents seemed pleased when I offered to send pictures of the children to the tour company so that they could get them printed. Hopefully, Tiger Trail follows through with getting them the photos. I wish I had a Polaroid camera so that I could give villagers a family photo then and there.
When we arrived in the third village there was a party going on. They village had rented a sound system from the city and powered it with their one generator. The young and old alike danced and ate together. Our tour guide disappeared, so we decided to explore on our own. A few school children were playing soccer. I intercepted one ball and that was it. Tim, Simon, Myles, and I all joined in. Playing soccer with those kids was the number one highlight for me. The girls weren’t timid at all and went in for body checks which made me proud. The best girl was named Mix and every time I did something good for her team she would run up and give me a high five. It felt good to be interacting with the locals opposed to just observing them as if they were in a zoo. It would be interesting to have an honest conversation about tourism with the villagers. On one hand it is a form of income for them and their children are exposed to English. Yet, it also sends the message that they are interesting to us foreigners because they are poor. I have mixed feelings about this and will do my best to be a respectful and responsible tourist. For me personally the key is making it an interaction based on mutual interest.
That evening we showered using water from a bucket, watched the village’s teenagers gyrate in pairs collectively moving in a circle (strange), and ate vegetables and spinach soup by candle light. At one point our guide appeared a bit glossy eyed with a bottle of locally distilled whiskey in hand. He offered us some and answered some of our questions. I made the mistake of asking about what we needed to watch out for at night. His response was cobras and scorpions. UGH. I was very thorough when I tucked in my mosquito net. On top of that the area does have Malaria and Dengue Fever. At around 9:00 pm we headed to bed. We slept in thatched bungalows which had so many holes the full moon’s light illuminated the thin mats we all slept on. Saying that we slept may not be accurate. Since it was the last full moon before the New Year, the villagers continued to blast music until 4:30 am. It was sooooooooo strange. When I got up at 3:30am to go expel my food, I was shocked to see how many people were still up dancing.
The next day we hiked for an hour to the Tad Sae Waterfall. It was amazing. It is made up steps of limestone with relatively deep pools between each step. We spent an hour swimming in the clear water and jumping from the lowest step into the pool below. If you are interested in swimming, this is the best of Luang Prabang’s waterfalls for it. We then got into kayaks and paddled the 3.5 hours back to Luang Prabang. Along the river we passed monks bathing in their bright orange robes, children washing their hair, fishermen, elephants, people cullying gravel from the bottom of the river to make cement, and many locals picnicking. The entire trip was excellent and I highly recommend you do something similar. Just remember that you make the experience what you want it to be, not your guide. If you want to interact with the locals, that is on you to take the initiative.
Once back in Luang Prabang we went to the Film Festival and watched a Thai movie, Pee Mak. More on Luang Prabang soon.
