Trekking in Laos

Monday, 6 May 2005

Just came back from a 2 day trek through the jungle and hilltribes in Laos. Went with a place called White Elephant Adventure Trekking...Just me and a young couple from Sweden. This was definitely the highlight of my trip to Laos, and I'd been wanting to go trekking here, so I'm glad Lynn and Hannah suggested this place and this particular trek. We didn't stay overnight at the same village they did, due to rat infestation, but we stayed at a Khamu village and still had an amazing time. It was about a 20 km trek total: We started at Baan Houay Nok and hiked past men throwing boulders off this tall mountain, for one hour until we got to Baan Longkut, a Hmong village. We then hiked 4 hours south down this slippery, vertical descent. As it had rained some during the day, it was extra slippery. We all skidded and slipped several times, I cut my finger, fell on my butt several times, and the guides (who always amaze me as they hike in slippers or flip flops) managed to save my fall several times by stopping me with the edge of their feet. We got to the Khamu village of about 250 people, in Baan Houay Pay, at about 4 pm that day. The views were breathtaking, and I was amazed that we hiked over that mountain way over there!

We were exhausted, chatted a bit, then went to find the shower...a bamboo pole faucet where all the villagers do dishes and shower out in the open. (No wonder why Lynn said people will stare at you, because indeed they did.) As we waited for people to take their showers, I had to pee really bad, so headed into the jungle to go. A wild boar followed me and made sure I did the deed okay, then accompanied me back out. At the shower, girls watched me bathe, I shared my shampoo with one of them, and they were very intrigued with the process by which a foreigner was going to do the whole bucket bath thing.

We ate dinner our guides Moua and Vue cooked (all the food they had been carrying in their packs all day). Kristin, Andreas, and I spent the rest of the evening taking photos of the children. The kids were so enthralled by the camera, staring at us over the fence into our house area as we chatted amongst the beetles and flying insects in the dark. We talked about the differences between the tribes in Laos. There are about 40 small tribes, but 3 main hilltribes, each with their own language and customs. The lowland tribe is the Laos tribe, people with whiter skin. The upland tribe, Khamu, have darker skin. And, the highland tribe, the Hmong, have not too dark and not too light skin. The Khamu people have the same numbers in Thai and Laos language, but they have a different alphabet. When Khamu people get married, about age 16, the husband goes to live with the wife's family. For Hmongs, it's the opposite.

Woke up early to start our 6 km trek which took about 3 hours. We visited a school at the village Baan Thin Paan, where about 20 students were in school. We passed a Khamu "luxury" village in Baan Houayin; the houses here were more a combination of cinderblock and bamboo.
We crossed the river to Souan Luang via canoe, as our guides stripped down to their undies to swim across the muddy river. Had lunch at Baan Pik Noy, then started our 12 km kayak trip down the Naam Khan. This was the best, as we kayaked down several series of rapids and were virtually the only ones out there on the river, which led us back into the town of Luang Prabang after a few hours.

The trek was amazing! I wish I could've taken so many more photos (especially of our descent down the steep mountain!), but it was too risky to ruin my camera or break my leg! The views were spectacular though, and the people in the villages were so kind and hospitable. A hot shower, 4 kilos of laundry later (I trashed my running shoes there.), decadent chocolate desserts with Kristin and Andreas, and a $3 Lao massage the next day were all in store for me!