Luang Prabang, Laos : 12,13&14 Dec 10

Completed the muddiest 3-day trek ever ... but still loved every minute of it .... and I do this for fun??? :))  I'm sure some of my family would think I have lost the plot ... hehe

Geez so where do i start  ...

Day One (12th Dec) ... found out last night that I have two trekking buddies joining Mr Bee (my guide) and me on this trek.  I was very excited and met Travis from NYC, USA and Chris from France in the car on the way to the trail head.  (Unfortunately Chris was not feeling very well and she ended up turning back a couple of hours into the trek.)  We started the trail at a little village about 1 1/2 hr drive from Luang Prabang where there were kids to see us off.  And then it was up hill from there and very hot! 

     
We stopped at another very tidy little village where all the houses were made from bamboo on stilts.  I couldn't believe these villages so close to the busy Luang Prabang but yet so remote.  And there were more kids.  We had lunch in one of the homes and all the villagers came to watch us eat ... we sat on one side and they all sat on the other side of the room.  We felt bad about eating infront of them cos they all looked so poor but Mr Bee said it was ok.  One little baby was very social and she was just learning to walk and was determined to sit on our table.  Her very young mother kept dragging her away but the baby won eventually ... that is after she pee'd on the floor but it was quickly mopped up with the babies sock :))  I gave her a round and round ride on the table which made her laugh.  She then got fascinated by Travis's flash big camera and was determined to get her hands on that.  Was a very entertaining lunch.  We set off again with all the kids waving us goodbye.

We walked into our first home stay at a Kamou Village about an hour later and then it started to rain.  We settled into our home for the night ... we were staying in the home of the village chief and his wife, mother and father and mother-in-law, and two sons all lived there too... then we took a walk around the village and Mr Bee showed us inside a few houses and explained the Kamou culture and way of life to us.  And there were lots of kids.  I played soccer with one little boy and then showed him how to play cricket with the ball and a bit of wood from the firewood stack.  They all thought this was very funny.  We watched a group of adults digging in a field and we found out that they are soccer mad and are making a soccer field.  It was a very lumpy soccer field.  We met a man who is 52... he has 11 children ... oldest 23 and youngest 10 months (he was looking after 9 of his kids when we met him) ... his first wife had died and now he is re-married and his first two children have passed away. 

Then it was time to wash.  Everyone goes to the local creek to bathe and it's set up with pipes so there are a few washing areas.  I didn't wash :( but Travis and Mr Bee braved the cold water and they attracted an audience of kids .. well it was probably more Travis washing attracted the audience!

So for dinner we ate in the kitchen of the family.  We sat on the floor and had pork fillets roasted over an open fire in bread rolls with lashings of mustard from a bottle.  There were field rats roasting above the fire ... thank god we didn't get served that for dinner .. not sure if I could eat rat but apparently they taste like chicken :))  Next time maybe!

After dinner we went outside and sat round the fire with all the kids and puppies.  There seem to be lots of kids and lots of puppies ... love it :))

Day Two (13th Dec) ... over night I had an allergic reaction.  We slept on the floor with the family on thin mattresses under mossie nets but this didn't protect me from what was in the mattress.  I found out that it was stuffed with flowers and my body didn't like it ... sore throat, muscle pain and an onset of sinus ... but still loved every minute!

We woke to heavy rain so we hung around til as late as we could.  Oh the mud!!!  It was a beautiful walk again... a bit of up and a bit of down and not too strenuous.  We walked through a property in this valley that was all on its own and had a million pigs, chooks, cows etc .. the cows and pigs followed us from one end of the property to the other and we thought they were going to follow us up the hill but stopped and looked at us til they realised we weren't coming back.  The cows even came up for a pat and tried to eat my hand ... not like aussie cows that run away the second you look at them. 

We arrived into our next village, Long Lao, which was a Hmong Village and a lot busier and less remote than the night before ... and there were heaps of kids!  They were all out playing games in the mud .. some of the games were pretty inventive and they were having so much fun ... I guess this is what kids do when they have no tv or computer.  It was good to see and fun to watch them. 

Our home for the night was with a really nice family but we had our own cabin made of bamboo and again on stilts and we slept on mattresses under mossie nets.  I didn't see one mossie the whole time but it was sort of romantic to sleep under a mossie net!

The lady of the house was busy making the bamboo thingies for the roof as apparently they have to reroof the houses every year and this is the womans work.  Big job but she had a huge smile on her face and had a very serene presence.  They had a very cheeky puppy whose mission was to chew everything (our fingers, shoes, legs etc) and it just loved chewing the roof thingies that the lady was making but she didn't seem to mind at all. 

Mr Bee took us for a walk around the village.  We stopped and bought green leafy veges from a lady which was our dinner ... soup and then fried with our main course.  We got lots of photos of the kids just out and about having fun in their free time.  The kids were so cute and so shy. 

So that night after dinner I talked the boys into having a end of trek celebration ... ten beers later and Mr Bee and Travis wrestling and lots of silly photos.  Was a hoot!  The man of the house came out and joined us and showed us photos of himself and his first wife I think it was.  He was just gorgeous ... no English but we communicated anyway.

Day Three (14th Dec) ... woke up to more rain and a bit of a headache :)) We walked to the spring ... crystal clear pond with a creek .. took some photos and flicked off the leeches ... and then kept going to the Huay Xai waterfall... the best waterfall in Laos and it's just beautiful.  Had a swim and washed off all the mud ... our boots had 2 inches of mud on them for the last two days and we had mud up to our knees so it was a fantastic way to finish the trek.   There are black bears there too in a sanctuary ... couldn't believe it! 

Then it was back to Luang Prabang.  This was one of the best treks I have ever done ... it was so good to do a real authentic homestay and really see how the minority races of people live in the villages.  And Mr Bee our guide was fantastic ... so enthusiastic and loved his job and knew so much about the villages and culture of the people we visited.....would definitely recommend this trek to anyone travelling to Laos.

After I called my Dad for his 70th birthday ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOD :)) xx ... I caught up with Mick and Dan.  Mick is a friend from Year 12 Nambour High School and we haven't seen each other for 23 years.  Was so good to meet up again after so long.  Dan is from Laos and left when he was 7 so they have come back to visit Dan's village and family members.  Very exciting