We met at the Ecotourism office at about 9am. Our group, two Irish (Olly & Enda), two British (James & Nick), one middle aged Dutch tag along (Susana), and myself were joined by another young British couple (Dan & Nikki). After sitting around the office amongst a lot of confusion, we were finally introduced to our guides. One 35 year old guy who was studying English in Vientiane named Keo and one young 18 year old local girl named Nan.
They gave us each 2 liters of water, we all piled into a tuk-tuk taxi, and drove off to the Biodiversity Conservation Center. It was kind of like a national park in that all the animal and plant life are protected as well as the villages located inside the grounds.
Boys from the Hill Tribe riding a water buffalo
After driving about 30min we stopped, piled out all our gear, and began walking through a small village to get to the trail. Just as we were exiting the village we came across an elder village woman leading a group of six year old girls out of the jungle. They were all totting a load of bundled sticks on their backs and one of the little girls was bleeding and crying.
Evidently she had been stung by a bee, ran off in a tizzy, and smacked into a branch that split her eye. Our guide Nan quickly cleaned the wound and put a band-aid on the sniffling girl, and then we were off again like nothing had happened.
The first part of the hike was a slow constant climb that provided spectacular views of the rolling mountains. This jungle area was very similar to the woods and forest in NE Georgia, but there was some bamboo mixed in to remind me I was far from home.
We stopped for lunch at a small bamboo shack located on the top of the mountain. Our guide Keo went off and brought back a couple large banana leaves and placed them on the floor of the shack. He and Nan than began unpacking plastic bags of sticky rice, various stewed vegetables, Chinese cabbage, and chili paste. They emptied everything on the banana leaves and we sat around and ate with our hands. The idea was to take a small clump of rice, add some veggies, dip it into the chili, and eat as much as you can before your mouth catches fire.
Keo and Nan preparing lunch
Everybody eating with their hands
After lunch we started our descent into a hill tribe village. The first thing we did was drop off our bags in a relatively new hut (made from wood rather than bamboo) conveniently located next to a small river and then went on a walking tour of the town.
Keo led us through the village and across a rickety bamboo bridge to the ingenious tiered rice paddies. He gave us the grand tour as we walked single file along the muddy barriers watching villagers catch bucket fulls of frogs and small crabs that might interfere with the newly planted rice.
View of the Village
A very rickety bridge from the village to the rice fields
Enda & Dan walking the muddy barrier between rice paddies
Once back at our hut we bathed in the river and got ready for dinner. While Keo was guiding us through the rice, Nan had been hard at work preparing our food with the village chief.
Our group was invited into the chief's candle lit hut and sat down on the floor around a small wooden table. We had chicken, bamboo soup, more sticky rice, and more chili paste. While we were eating the chief passed out shots of Lao Lao (a special Lao whiskey I believe is made from rice). Once we were finished the chief asked us to introduce ourselves one by one and then opened the floor to any questions we might have.
Nick eating dinner in the chief's hut by candle light
Keo tried his best to translate our questions, but often things were lost in confusion. Basically the village is completely self sustained. They grow all their own crops (mainly rice) and need very little from the outside world.
Nick, the British lad, asked about the sports children play only to find out they love soccer but have to play with melons because the don't have a ball. It made me realize how far a simple gift could go, but I hadn't brought anything to give. Fortunately, Susana had brought a pack a pens and paper from Holland and donated them to be used in the school.
The next day we woke up very early to the sound of all the children from the village weeding around our hut. We had a modest breakfast of coffee and a few cookies, received two more liters of boiled river water that tasted a bit mesquite, and then started walking.
Nick posing w/ a little boy because he was wearing Tottenham Hotspurs shorts.
We hiked through many more rice fields before stopping in a different village for lunch. As we were taking our shoes off and beginning to relax, Nick discovered a leech stuck to the bottom of his foot. Nothing too serious, but it was a considerable size and had been feeding on him for at least an hour or more.
Hill Tribesman smoking a spliff
After lunch we took many pictures of the women villagers dressed in their tribal wear. The children also enjoyed posing for pictures as long as they could view the screen on the digital camera to see their photo. It made me realize that Polaroid cameras would be great because you could give the child his/her photograph.
Women and children from the hill tribe posing with me
Boys posing because they wanted to look at my camera afterwards and see their photo
The hike after lunch went straight up a mountain next to a small stream. Everyone was drenched in sweat, running low on water, and very tired, so we stopped many times along the way. Nick had one miss-step on a rock and landed in the stream, but it was more comic relief than serious.
Our trail on the left going up through the dense jungle
Late in the afternoon we started our descent just as thunder clouds began rolling in. We ending up walking down a red clay trail that began turning muddy and slick as a light rain (nothing chubby) began to fall, but we laughed it off and began brain storming Arnold Schwartzneger movie quotes.
Mists of Lao as we excited the jungle
Once down the mountain we exited the trail into yet another hill tribe village where the women tried to sell us some small handmade bags, but everyone was too tired and wet to care.
Clockwise from the back: Keo, Me, Olly, Nick, Suzanna, Nan, Nikki, Enda, James, and Dan
We made our way back to the guest house by tuk-tuk taxi, took a cold shower because the power was knocked out, and settled down for many BeerLao. All in all it was a great trek.
The next day we got up early and took another nine hour public bus ride back to Luang Prabang. The plan is to relax here for a day and then make our way further south toward the capital Vientiane.
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