Destination known and looking for jobs!: Luang Namtha, Loas (April 2-April 6)

We arrived into Luang Namtha and booked a 3 day-2 night trekking trip in the jungle of Northern Laos. The area is inhabited by 20 different ethnic tribes and there is a lot of focus on eco-tourism. So the money we paid for our trip was broken down into what the travel company would receive, what the guides were paid, how much each village received, what went to the national preserve, and so forth.

In the morning we met our group, which totaled 12 people, including our two guides. Thai and Sedeep were our two guides, who bravely lead us into the jungle. There was Jeff, Leah, and I plus one other American named TJ. There were three Israelis, Ita, Maayan, and Noa. Two Italians, who really confused me because they spoke a German deltaic and are a minority in Italy, Peter and Celica . And rounding out the group, was Pacome from southern France. To get to the trail head, we took about a 45 minute tuk-tuk ride and then our guides had to ferry us across a small river by a bamboo raft. The rafts could only accommodate two other people besides the guide, so it took a little time for all of us to reach the other side. Then our march began. It was a fairly nice trail that wove in and out of a bamboo jungle. At some spots along the trail, we would see locals digging up bamboo shoots to sell at market. Up and down hills we went in the muggy hot weather. We stopped for lunch at a little hut after several hours. While our guides, cut down banana leaves to use as tablecloths and bowls, people were wringing the sweat out of their clothes. Lunch was eaten with our hands and consisted a curry dish, a tomato dish, and sticky rice. After several more hours of hiking, we reached another river with a village on the other side that would be our home for the night. Once again, our group was ferried across the river via bamboo raft, but this time a boy of about ten was the skipper.

Once reaching the other side, we were greeted by the little kids of the village. Leah, who had taught English in China, sang the ‘head-shoulders-knees-n-toes’ song with them both fast and slow. The kids giggled through most of it. A couple of little boys really enjoyed playing and laughing as TJ teased them. Jeff went down stream little bit where the men of the village were fishing and tried his luck with them. He did not end up with a very exciting fish story… The only one he brought to shore was the dead one he plucked out of the net and it wasn’t a very big. Everyone else sat and swam in the river and just relaxed. The villlage was very peaceful and it was nice to just soak it in. Evening seemed to be the time when the ladies and children came down to the river to bath and wash clothes as the men fished.

Thai and Sedeep showed us to where we would stay of the night. It was a little house, more or less in the middle of the village. It was built on a platform like the rest of the houses, had bamboo floors, a metal roof, and the walls were made of woven strips of bamboo. It had one main room and a small kitchen off to the side and an outhouse in the back. Although, it was a traditional house, no family lived here; it was built for trekkers , like us, to stay at for the night. After a long day of hiking, everyone was craving a Beer Lao. We weren’t sure if we were going to find any, but we lucked out at the little general ‘store’. The village was on a road and recently in past couple of months had electricity supplied to it, so not only was there Beer Lao, but it was cold too! The group sat around, enjoying our beers, exchanging smiles and greetings with the local people. The little boys ended up getting into a hide ‘n seek chase with TJ and one of the little girls sat on the bench next to us, shyly holding her little baby brother.

In the space next to the store, the villagers were in the process of moving a large pile of dirt to another area. The women were shoveling dirt into the wheel-barrels and the older children would cart it away. TJ, Jeff, Ita, Peter, Thai, and several others from our group got their hands dirty as well by helping shovel and cart the dirt away.

Dinner was served on the floor of our little house and was delicious. While the women had been out shoveling the dirt away, the a few men of the village had been in our little kitchen cooking us a wonderful meal. After dinner, the rice wine was brought out. The rice is fermented in a pottery jar and drank with bamboo straws, like LaoLoa it must be an acquired taste! At bedtime, mats were laid out on the floor with mosquito nets and we slept peacefully.

In the morning, we were woken up the roosters, chickens, and pigs rooting around under the house. Thai look us on a tour of the village and showed us where the villagers were building a new house and where their grain store houses were. The most beautiful experience was watching the villagers go about their everyday lives; feeding livestock, cooking meals, washing clothes, and visiting with each other. After breakfast of eggs, spicy noodles, and sticky rice, we were off. We walked along the road for about a kilometer and then it was off into the jungle again. Just before lunch, we stopped a waterfall and saw a big eight hundred year old tree. Lunch was severed in a little hut on banana leaves and we were able to try some bamboo shoots that we had seen being dug up the day before. They taste a little bitter, and weren’t my favorite, but the rest of the food was wonderful. Everyone ate their fill, which some of us regretted because right after lunch, we hiked up 400 meter hill. It was hot, and even more uncomfortable with a side ache, but we made it! After the climb up the hill, we had to go down and then cross an agricultural area. Slash and burn farming is very popular in Laos, and this area was drying up, waiting to be burned. There was no shade and the sun was shining brightly. It was a relief to finally see the little homestead we would be staying at for the night.

Unlike the previous night, we would be staying with a family just outside the village. The was river nearby that we swam in and we were surprised to see that this family had their own little hydro-power system rigged up. Their home was a series of several buildings. The kitchen, store houses, and sleeping areas all had their own buildings, and us trekkers had our own building to sleep in. There were dogs, pigs, and chickens running around the yard. The family killed two chickens for our dinner and TJ, who had never seen a chicken be killed, helped out. After dinner, the elder male of the family brought out the ever famous LaoLao and Sedeep, Thai and him took turns singing traditional songs while the rest of us clapped along. It was a great evening.

In the morning, we had breakfast (scrambled eggs with grated ginger might be my new favorite breakfast food) and we headed out. The elder male had to wish us all a safe journey by toasting each of us with a shot of LaoLoa before we left…. He was back in bed before we left the courtyard; 12 shots of LaoLao is just too much! We walked about 20 minutes before coming to main village. The tribe that lived in the this village was very different from the other village. The women all wore black clothing, with silver decorations in their hair and ears, and they were strikingly beautiful. Their facial features were so different compared to the other peoples we had seen in Laos; almost more Chinese. This village was not only know for weaving and dying their own cloth, but for making bamboo paper as well. I bought a huge piece for 10,000 kip (about $1.25) for a future art project when I get home.

We hiked about three or four more hours, before we came to the last river of the trip. The group had a great time swimming and cooling down before walking up to the road where the tuk-tuk was to take us back to Luang Namtha. Thai and Sedeep were wonderful guides and were so informative of their culture and of the villages we visited. They made this trip spectacular and we’ll never forget their hospitality as they shared their country with us.

That night after we checked into our hotel for the night and cleaned up, we meet most of our hiking group for dinner and Beer Laos. We also met back up with Mondona and Denise, the French couple we crossed from Thailand into Cambodia with over a month earlier. They had spent their time in Vietman and it was great to catch up with their travels and give them some advice for traveling in Laos. We ended the night as the restaurant ran out of Beer Lao and we said goodbye to our friends. We said goodbye to Leah as well, who traveled into China the next day as we went the other way into Thailand.