Trekking in Luang Prabang, Laos 12-15-09

At 8:30am Rich, Will and I were on our mountain bikes, along with Didd, our Laos trekking guide. Didd was born and raised in Luang Prabang and is attending the LP University to study Economics. His English was great and trekking ability even greater as he guided us uphill this one mountainous road on bikes. For 3 hours we cycled up mountains, steadily climbing higher and higher. A couple times the slope was so steep, and we were in such a low gear, that it was faster to jump off the bike and walk it than to try and cycle a thousand miles an hour in place. We stopped one time to have some water and eat half of our lunch Didd had prepared for us, fried rice with egg and vegetables, and then we carried on for another hour. Eventually, our exhausted group made to the end of our biking trail. From that point the we finished off our rice and started to trek by foot.

I’ve hiked before in Hawaii, Switzerland, and Germany, but this hiking was rougher, strictly uphill, and never ending! Our guide only slowed down twice in two hours, so we could catch up and have some water… it was brutal. I thought I was in shape from the activities I’ve been doing all along on this trip, but Didd was insane and I realized I was completely out of my league when it came to trekking. We were all so relieved when we finally made it to our destination, a small village, called Mon Jong, that lives up at the top of these mountains .

As we walked into their village we saw little children bathing in a puddle of still, dirty reddish-brown water and stray pigs, chickens, ducks, dogs, and young kids running around everywhere. Twenty families live in this village with no running water or electricity, they are completely self-sufficient and live off of the food they grow and animals they raise. The only bathroom in the village is a hole in the ground surrounded by bamboo pole "walls" that was built a few weeks ago and our guide was surprised to see it here. He was telling us before-hand that we would have to walk into the brush if we wanted to go to the bathroom.

Mon Jong is a very primitive village. Most of the children were wearing dirty old clothes, some weren’t wearing pants, and most did not have had shoes. The older men and women were busy working and paid little to no attention to us when we arrived. Each had their own job to do and we watched on as women separated thread, sorted and cut chili peppers, washed laundry, and as one man continuously chopped wood for hours to make fire logs. Didd led us to our beds and we walked through the threshold of our bamboo hut doorway to see one bamboo platform on top of a sheet of wood. Along with our stiff beds were blankets, pillows, and mosquito nets hanging above. We sorted out our beds quickly and then changed into clean clothes before exploring the area. But before we could do that, we had to get past the six children who were sticking their heads inside our room to see who the new people in their village were.

We checked out the small village of wooden/bamboo huts and met the little children who live here. They didn’t speak any English, but we were able to interact a little bit. The three of us saw some boys holding animal traps and sling shots in their hands; Will got them to demonstrate how they use them and then he set up a competition amongst them to see who could sling-shot a rock the furthest. It was fun to watch until we realized that these little rocks they were shooting were making holes in people’s homes! That game ended rather quickly.

As we walked we passed by roaming roosters and a mama pig with her 10 teensy piglets. A couple dogs roamed around but stayed mostly near the houses of their owners. We watched as some little girls slid down a little hill by sitting inside of an old gasoline container that had been sliced in half to make a bucket seat. Will had a go on it and all the girls giggled at him.

In ten minutes we were able to see the whole village, which was a good thing because we were so knackered that we made up our beds and fell straight to sleep at 4:30pm. Didd woke us up at 7:00pm to let us know that dinner was ready which he had prepared for us (he is the best). He stir-fried mixed vegetables in a delicious brown sauce that we had with sticky rice and home-made french fries! The food was great and we ate till our hearts content. I kept eating and eating to finish off my plate, but there was so much food it was difficult to finish! The stray dogs had taken a liking to us from the instant they smelled food and we fed them the remaining sticky rice we had at the end of our meal, which they devoured without any form of manners.

The Mon Jong people must have thought we came from “lazy village” because after dinner we went straight to bed again and didn’t wake up until 12 hours later at 8:00am, except for the few wake up calls in-between: roosters at 4:00am and 5:00am, the man chopping wood at 6:00am, and pigs oinking under our beds at 7:00am. Didd had breakfast prepared for us (he's amazing), fried eggs with sticky rice, bread, and delicious coffee. The morning air was crisp and cool and from our breakfast table we could only see 30 feet around us (so- dogs, chickens, and pigs). The entire village was filled with fog from the elevation we were at, and it looked as though fog machines had been working all night to completely fog out this village. We finished off our breakfast and fed the extra sticky rice to the dogs before packing up and getting back on the dirt trekking road.

This time though, the path was wet from dew and the four of us had a bit of difficulty walking. We were slipping and sliding constantly, which is a problem when you are trekking on the edges of mountains with a drop off and no way to save yourself if you do fall! We gingerly placed one foot in front of our other on the slippery declining dirt/mud and would all reach towards each other if we noticed someone else falling.

The green brush was flourishing and taller than us all, complete with thorns and massive spider webs and spiders. The air was cool and fog dense, we could barely see but we trekked along. Didd fell a few times and would look back to make sure I was be okay. Rich was walking behind me with probably the worst shoes to be trekking with, Converses, and Will was bringing up the back with a blistered foot which bothered him to walk on. I fell a couple times, but didn’t hurt myself. We would all make “ouuuing” noises and laugh at each other when someone fell. Luckily no one was injured aside from a few scrapes from the thorned brush we were walking through.

For the next two hours we trekked up and over a small mountain, which we never really could tell when we got to the top of it or over it since the fog was so thick. Eventually we got to the base of the mountain and our mini-van was waiting for us with kayaks strapped on top. Didd, Rich, Will, and I placed the two-man kayaks into the Ou River and started paddling in the cool water surrounded by gorgeous mountains in the distance, beaches along the shores, and limestone mountain peaks around us.

Didd and I paddled in unison, while Rich and Will figured out their own paddling style eventually asking us- “so, is it better to paddle on opposite sides, or on the same side?” After two hours of steady paddling along this mountainous river, we arrived at a site where we would have lunch and ride on elephants. We pulled the kayaks onto shore and started up a path to get to the top of a small hill (which at this point seemed massive to us since we were so trekked-out).

On the way to our picnic lunch we passed by a Petanque game, which Will claims he is "the BEST at" (he likes to say this of all games and sports really), and we all threw some of the hallow metal balls around to hit a smaller wooden target ball on the other side. Around the corner from this game was an open space with a view of the river, a couple picnic tables, and two beautiful gray elephants. I was instantly in heaven. Elephants have a way of making you feel very calm and relaxed in their presence and the three of us acted like giddy little children touching their trunks and heads and taking pictures of them and with them until our lunch was ready.

We had sticky rice, fish soup in a clear broth with cabbage, and a large fish that was just caught in the Mekong river. We ate up, I fed some of my rice and fish to the stray cat and puppy that were running around, and then I got up to spend some more time with our elephants.

I’ve heard some pretty bad stories about cruelty to elephants during treks… some guides constantly whip the elephants during the trek, others keep a nail under their throats to stab them if they misbehave, some keep the elephants chained together at their feet while they walk, but luckily I took another backpacker’s advice and waited for Luang Prabang to ride on them, where they are treated kindly.

The elephant owner/trainer saw me petting one and asked if I was ready to ride, “Sure!” I said and he walked me up a ladder to a platform so I could easily hop onto my elephant’s neck. It was such a great feeling to have my legs wrapped around either side of an elephant’s neck and feel her shift from side to side with each slow and steady step. I was so high up and everything below looked tiny.

Rich and Will were still sitting at the table when my elephant walked near them and I called out- “Hey! It’s time to ride!” Since we only had two elephants, Rich and Will sat together on a bench that was tied to the top of the other elephant. The trainer and his young son led our elephants by a leash that was place around our elephants’ ears. Elephants’ ears are very strong and tough, so the harnesses did not hurt them. We walked through a path and then up into the woods. The trees above cast a shadow over us and our elephants casually walked through the narrow forest path with ease. Every so often my elephant would flap its ears to cool itself down and I would get a nice soft slap to my legs. I had to keep ducking under tree limbs and branches to stay alive and one time accidentally got smacked a bit by thin branch my elephant was trying to brake off to eat.

An hour later our riding was done and we took pictures and said our goodbyes before walking back towards our kayaks. We paddled to the other side of the Ou River to a point where the Ou River and Mekong River meet. At that intersection is “A Cave of a Thousand Buddhas” where were docked again to explore. Each year, Lao, Cambodian, and Thai people bring buddhas, money, food, and other offerings to this cave in exchange for good luck from the gods and blessings upon their family for the following year. The cave is known to have over 4,000 tiny buddhas inside it and the number grows each year. Didd showed us the small golden Buddha his family placed here last year, he was excited to talk about the wishes they would like to receive. On our way out were little kids and women carrying small bird cages with little birds inside; for a fee, one can release a bird in exchange for good luck. Didd told us that each year when families come to the cave they release 3 birds for good luck.

Another 45 minute paddling session later, the worn out group of us arrived at our final destination, Xang Hai Village, famous for the whiskey they brew. Little children were bathing in the river as we arrived and the four of us carried our kayaks up the dock steps to get to the village. A few monks were walking around sweeping up, a little furry Alaskan husky puppy was running around, and a wedding was going on when we arrived. After I played with the pup we walked past the wedding party and were welcomed with whiskey shots we couldn’t refuse and free spoon-fed samples of all the foods they were eating. The whiskey was warm and STRONG and food delicious and different from anything I have tasted before. The Lao people laughed at our reactions to the interesting food and smiled at me as I tried to explain some of the ingredients and textures. A few tasted as though they were made from smashed potatoes, but were filled with either meat or vegetables with spices. Very tasty!

We partied with the family for a little while and then turned a corner to sample other flavored whiskey the village brewed. Will, Rich, and I first tried a red sweet whiskey which was delectable and then tried a light yellowish whiskey that looked the same color as a pinot grigio and was strong yet tasty as well. With 5 shots of whiskey in our system we were smiling and happy to hop into our mini van to take back to Spicy Laos. The trek was fantastic, the perfect combination of hard work and cultural experiences.