Lao Lao

First off, sorry for the long blog silence but since arriving in Laos access to the internet - not to mention electricity - has been sparse.

The Chaotic 90 Minute Wait At Laos Immigration

Our time in Laos started off in the northeast of the country in a place called Huay Xai. The town is little more than a transit point into the country and doesn't have too many redeeming qualities. The one thing it's got going for it is that it's the starting point for The Gibbon Experience - a two or three day excursion involving hiking, ziplining, and sleeping in a treehouse. Dawn's ribs weren't quite ready for being suspended from wires zipping across valleys, streams, and so on but she was very generous to encourage me to go on the trip. So with little hesitation I embarked on the two-day adventure.

My Favourite Spot In The Treehouse

 

In a nutshell over the course of the two-day trek the group went on about twenty ziplines (the longest about 700 meters) and hiked several hours through the jungle and bamboo forests. But my favourite was the tree house. It was a three-story treehouse (bathroom and shower downstairs, eating area and three beds on the main floor, and another bed in the loft) about fifty feet off the jungle floor with a wonderful view of the jungle-filled mountains. And the sounds of the jungle were amazing at night. Well worth the 1.5 million kip! Just in case you're wondering I didn't see any gibbons.

From Huay Xai we bused to Luang Namtha. Namtha is a hub for treks into the northern wilderness but instead of heading to the mountains we rented bikes and spent a day rolling around some of the villages close to town. We first had a glimpse of the more rudimentary Lao village life on our bus ride from Huay Xai. Unlike the places we went in Thailand, northern Laos is dotted with basic villages filled with bamboo shacks and very little evidence of any modern facilities. It's common to see villagers walking down the highway lugging big baskets of cargo and women are frequently seen wearing elaborate traditional clothing and jewelry which is different for each of the dozens of tribes in Laos. Our bike ride exposed us to more of these sights but gave us a chance to observe a little more closely and interact with the occasional villager passing by.

Our Dinner Hosts In Udomxai

All of these sights out of the bus window and on our bike ride was giving us a bit of a taste of what to expect as we ventured further north into the remote Phongsali province. Enroute to Phongsali we made a stop in Udomxai simply to break up the long stretches of bus travel. There isn't much to Udomxai and we wouldn't even mention it if it were not for the fun dining experience we had in the town. We went to a restaurant that felt very much like we were right in someone's bamboo-weave kitchen. The proprietor came and sat down with us to take our order and took the time to chit chat and teach us some Lao phrases. Like many restaurants we've been to in Laos, food is prepared over a wood fire which increases the time it takes to prepare a meal but adds to the rustic feel of the whole experience. We shared a table with a German couple and compared traveling stories while everything was prepared from scratch in the kitchen. It easily took two hours for all our dishes to arrive but the delicious food and pleasant company made it worth the wait.

After a nearly ten hour bus journey we arrived in Phongsali - our northernmost stop in Laos. Something unique about Phongsali is that there are loudspeakers installed on poles throughout the town. Twice a day the speakers are used to broadcast a mix of news and songs. Walking around we noticed some people standing outside their homes appearing to be listening to the broadcast. It seemed like a neat concept with a nice community feel with one notable exception. The morning broadcast which echoed throughout the town started at five in the morning!!! That in combination with all the weddings taking place (Lao weddings usually happen only in the winter) made for short sleeps. Despite the sleeping challenges, this mountain town with it's cool temperatures and great views of the surrounding valleys definitely grew on us.

 

 

 

Phongsali Town

The highlight of our visit to Phongsali province was a two-day trek into the wilderness with an overnight stay in a hill-tribe village. We felt very fortunate and, after our guided experience in Thailand, quite relieved to have a great guide named Vanh. Throughout the two days he provided us with a lot of information about Lao customs, history, and current affairs. After seven hours of hiking on our first day we eventually arrived at a Phu Noi village where we would spend the night in the home of the village chief.

Sitting By The Fire In The Chief's Home

 

 

About fifteen years ago I had the great fortune to visit a string of villages in Laos while working with a Thai paddling company. Coming to Laos again I was really hoping to replicate the experience but before our trip came to the realization that this was very unlikely. Back then the villages had no roads, no electricity or phones, no taps or toilets, and the villagers were universally captivated with us particularly as many of the children had never seen white folks. In contrast the village we visited this past week had electricity from river generators (with poles in place for the soon-to-be-laid power lines), a recently built dirt road, a clean but not potable water supply with basic toilets, and a satellite phone. The biggest surprise for me though was that our presence wasn't too notable to the villagers perhaps due to the fact that westerners trek through this village a few times a year.

The Chief (Left) And Our Guide

What I didn't experience fifteen years ago that made our trip this time around was the direct interaction with the village chief. We spent time in both the evening and over breakfast talking with him with Vanh acting as an interpreter. We learned about village life, the wars the Lao have endured, and got to know the chief personally over some lao lao (rice whiskey).

The chief likes his lao lao and even brought the bottle out over breakfast. Not wanting to insult him both Vanh and I accepted his offers. Dawn wisely declined after "michi-michi" (a little bit in Phu Noi). The chief justified the shots gesturing that we needed one for each limb and one more for our head. He continued gesturing to his ears, nose, teeth, and so on but Vanh and I finally drew the line after the fifth shot which was really too late making the eight kilometer walk out and hour-long bus ride to Phongsali a little more challenging. I really wish we could have spent more time in the villages but this quick visit gave both of us a view of the changes these tribal villages have been undergoing and all the benefits and challenges that have come with their evolution.

 

The Chief's Homemade Lao Lao

Breakfast