Getting tribal in Laos!

Hello! This blog covers our month traveling south to north in what will be our last true ‘developing’ country in Asia. Laos is renowned for being one of the most ‘chilled-out’ nations of the world and we would certainly agree. Officially communist, there are few signs of this, and on the whole, people seem easy going and content with how things are. It’s also one of the most ethnically diverse places anywhere, so that we had to see!

After leaving Cambodia, we arrived on Don Khon, one of the ‘four thousand islands’ dotted across southern Laos. We spent five days relaxing in hammocks in 2 dollar a night bamboo accommodation watching the sleepy river float by. We also celebrated Jo’s birthday on a secluded beach feasting on fried banana and the local staple, sticky rice, yum. On our first night we were invited to join our host family for a traditional ‘low-landers’ dinner, which consisted of a huge communal hot pot, fish paste wrapped in kale leaves and of course beerlao –the ubiquitous national drink!

The people of Laos are often defined according to the altitude at which they live, so next we moved to Tat Lo, on the Bolaven Plateau, in hope of learning something about the ‘mid-landers’ of Laos. MamaPaps guesthouse, with the slogan “big eats, little Kips”, (kip being the currency) was an excellent rural base from which to explore, so we organized a ‘jungle trek” to a remote village. As the village had not seen many tourists before, we were followed everywhere by open-mouthed children (Bangladesh style). After warming to us, they dragged us to the local waterfall for a fully-clad splash and crab hunting, great fun :-)

Most of the ethnic minority people (who actually make up a majority when combined) reside in the hills of the north, so over the space of 36 hours and 3 different buses, we headed for the province of Luang Namtha. We rented bikes to visit surrounding villages, and straight away saw traditional Lanten communities. We were then invited to join a Tai Lu family drinking Lao Lao, the local rice wine. This turned into at least 10 shots each, with the custom of the glass being passed from person to person, and was followed by our first karaoke experience in Asia! Fueled with ‘confidence’ Sam managed to pull off a beautiful rendition of Toni Braxton’s “un-break my heart” and Jo reeled off an amazing remix of “twinkle, twinkle, little star” Laos style!

Heading further north towards the Chinese border, we reached Muang Sing and spent five days exploring the even-more concentrated mix of ethnic groups who have migrated from Burma, Tibet and China. These five days were a definite highlight and we literally felt like we’d entered another world! Being extremely lucky, we were welcomed into Akha, Hmong, Tai Dam, Tai Lu, Lolo, Yao (right) and Phu Noi villages. Although quite shy, they were generally very friendly, especially after we bought a few handicrafts! Indeed, it wasn’t long before we were nervously sipping miscellaneous drinks and trying our best to communicate through charades! They all wanted to know if we were married and whether we had children, because this is commonplace for anyone over the age of 15 in their cultures.

Our most memorable experience was in fact attending two weddings in a single day, one Hmong and one Akha. We were invited to both, despite just passing by on bikes, and were very kindly asked to eat at the Hmong wedding feast and join in the ritual of tying white cotton around the wrists of the bride and groom (before they disappeared into a room for three days solid)! Although hard to beat, the Akha wedding was even more awe-inspiring! Naturally a shy group, we were beside ourselves when we were ushered into a dark hut where at least fifty Akha women were dressed in full traditional clothes chanting and dancing in circles. More Lao Lao was passed around resulting in Jo falling off her bike on the way home, much to the surprise locals working in the fields! No harm done though and certainly one of the best days of our traveling so far!!!

Fully into ‘tribal’ mode, we took another very long (and quite scary) bus journey to the northernmost province of Phongsali, which juts up into China, and so is quite different to the rest of Laos. Surrounded by misty mountain landscapes, we embarked on an arduous three day trek that we really weren’t prepared for! Although it was described as ‘adventurous’ we didn’t realise we’d be traversing up and down quite so many incredibly steep and slippery valleys! What the locals deem a stroll between villages actually involves walking almost all day, descending steep valley gorges, crossing rivers, ascending back up again, hacking through undergrowth and constantly picking off leeches! We felt like true explorers as we approached villages practically untouched by the outside world with few roads, very little water and absolutely no electricity. Toilets were also non-existent (not even a hole in the ground), and we soon discovered why the pigs follow you into the bush!

Although really tough, we were richly rewarded each time we reached a village with stunning beautiful women clad head to toe in traditional dress, misty dawn views of uninterrupted mountains and local culinary delights (such as dog, which we declined)! It really did feel like we were walking through the pages of National Geographic, but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take many photos because the villages have only just started receiving tourists and some believe cameras capture their soul! The photo of the two Akha Lomo women on the right was taken at Pak Nam Noi town and gives you an idea of their traditional dress. We also saw something very sad, but amazing. In one village a baby had a fever and was brought to the chief’s house where a Shaman performed an incredible ritual (straight out of a BBC documentary) which included a very cute chick (no longer), food offerings and much chanting. To our relief, a district nurse also administered an injection of some kind, but it was fascinating to see age-old traditions up close and personal.

Still in shock from these amazing experiences, we recovered in Luang Prabang, enjoying the relative luxury and the dawn procession of monks collecting their alms along what remains of the old town. Finally on our way out of Laos, we stopped off in Vientiane, which is by far the quietest capital city we’ve ever been to!

Overall, we would describe Laos as a very diverse country populated by many different, interesting, and relaxed people. It certainly felt more developed than Cambodia (for instance), but has kept hold of incredible traditional roots which originate from neighbouring countries. It’s going to be quite a shock traveling to Malaysia, Oz and NZ after so long in ‘developing’ countries, but we’re really looking forward to it. Especially catching up with friends and family in Australia :-) It's actually not long until we return to the UK, so we’re starting to get excited about this, but also sad at the prospect of coming to the end of our travels!

As always, more photos below (and on facebook) ...

Four-thousand Islands, possibly the most relaxed place we've been!

Jo enjoying Laos coffee on her birthday in a hammock :-)

The view from our bamboo-hut!

The bus to Tat Lo!

More rural accomodation!

The people seem to get more traditional the higher up they live

Sam taking football with the locals a little too seriously!

Jo doing the catwalk Laos-style!

A lady preparing kampot for sale (often used in mattresses)

Splashing around in Tat Lo :-)

Traditional Lanten village of Nam Dee

Umbrellas are seriously fashionable (and of course useful)

Slash and burn agriculture is everywhere

After burning, the fields are prepared for planting rice

The most popular sport in Laos is the French legacy of ... petang!

Even the kids dig the umbrellas :-)

The Tai Lu ladies always look so smart!

The Tai Dam vary their dress, but some wear the coolest hats :-)

The Yao also wear fantastic turbans!

This Lolo family were so welcoming and sooooo colourful :-)

The Akha are usually very shy, but this lady let us take a sneaky pic!

A typical Yao kitchen. Everything has its place!

Every Akha village has a gate something like this (to ward off evil spirits)

Us smiling nervously as Akha children took it in turns to photograph us!

Jo being coerced into buying an entire village stock of handicrafts!

This lovely Tai Dam lady requested several photos, striking different poses for each!

It was great to buy things that we could see being made right in front of us

Food wasn't a highlight in Laos, but noodle soup and strong coffee kept us going!

The Hmong wedding food included pork fat, sticky rice, beef soup and intestine delights!

Although it doesn't capture the atsmophere, this photo shows some of the Akha wedding procession performing a ritual in front of a symbolic offering

This shows their traditional head-pieces better, but still, you had to be there!

Off to Phongslay we go, joined by some pretty colourful characters :-)

The cobbled streets are supposedly reminiscent of 'old China'

A misty morning view from the Akha Mouchi village we stayed at the first night of our trek

The only lady on our trek who was happy to have her photo taken!

Breakfast consisited of locally grown peanuts, lettuce, buffalo skin, mushroom soup and something unidentifiable!

Sam with our guide Keo (and by chance if you look carefully, you can see the chief's wife in the background)

Ah, cute :-)

Jo waiting for a bus local style!

Luang Prabang is a pretty 'world-heritage' town surrounded by hills

The dawn procession of monks was an awesome sight indeed :-)

Locals line the old streets with small offerings of rice for each monk

The tree of life murial at Way Xieng Thong

The streets of Luang Prabang are peaceful, but changing fast

As with elsewhere in Asia, markets are an outdoor (and usually early monring) affair

The business elite eating apparently the best noodle soup in Vientiane

Belieive it or not, this photo was also taken in the capital of Laos!!!

Finally, our bus journey out of Laos to Thailand (on our way to Malaysia)