If yesterday was maybe the most memorable, today was my most exhausting day. It rivals the day I went to the market in the far north of Vietnam for the most exotic day. But first I have to start with the heart-warming story of my guide. Today was her 40th birthday. I asked her to take me to a European-style convenience store the hotel told me was nearby so I could buy her a box of chocolates. The driver and I sang Happy Birthday. She seemed touched since no one had done much for any of her birthdays.
Her name is Khamchan Khouchalearn but she thankfully uses the nickname Phown, pronounced like the word “pawn”. Her last name means gold moon, a combination of her mother and father’s last names. She was the best guide I’ve had among the 8 or so I’ve had on this trip. She grew up in a tiny village in an ethnic minority area of Laos. Her family moved into Luang Prabang where she worked as a housekeeper. A foreigner saw her potential and paid for her to go to school. She worked as an unpaid intern in the Elephant Village. She was so intelligent and hardworking (she would never say that) that she got hired full-time as a guide and worked there 4 years. Again a foreigner paid for her this time to go to the government guide school. For the last year, she’s been a freelancer, working mostly for the company that has been providing guides for me on this trip.
Pawn is an example of a woman overcoming great odds through her intelligence and very strong work ethic to make it in very much a man’s world. She was the first female Elephant Village guide. I’d be surprised if my company (or any other in Asia) has many female guides in any of its many Asian countries. What made her the best guide was her creativity in terms of coming up with improvements to the itinerary and her thoughtfulness.
Back to my day. We saw a logging elephant alongside the road. Pawn was sad for the elephant, saying she could tell it was not happy. She’s guessing that the elephant’s owner was using the elephant in illegal logging.
After a few hours, we took break at the village of Pak Mong, Laos. About 110 miles to the left is China. A little less than100 miles to the right is Vietnam. It’s only about 175 miles to Dien Bien Phu where the French were defeated by the Vietnamese.
I had a coffee and my guide bought lunch for her and the driver of frogs, crickets, and sticky rice.
Here’s a closeup of the crickets. Maybe I should have warned you about this first for those who are easily grossed out.
Frogs and crickets that have been sitting in a display case without refrigeration in close to 90 degrees is not tempting to me. This made me think of where I draw the line in “going native” when traveling. For example, I have avoided eating western food for lunch and dinner but I don’t like Asian breakfasts, which are basically the same as Asian lunches and dinners. A thick Pho (soup with meat and vegetables) or a ginger pork stir fry just don’t work for me for breakfast. I’m willing to be a European for breakfast and have crepes or an omelet. I prefer seeing where Asian people are living and working rather than hanging out in the European areas in Asia. However, I’m OK with staying in European style hotels. I like the comfort and features of a hotel similar to what I’m used to. Maybe the biggest line I draw though is that I’m willing to go to “exotic” places like this in the first place.
Also from the crossroads village of Pak Mong — Garlic and pig fat (in the bottles).
Water buffalo,
We left the main road to Vietnam. This ethnic minority woman was tiny but my guide said she is very strong.
A highlight of the day was stopping at a ethnic minority primary school in Ban Thalinua (spelling?) village, Nam Bak District, Luang Prabang Province. Pawn thought probably none had ever seen a European before.
Third graders.
The guide suggested an amount of money to give to the school, which she said would be used to buy a soccer ball and more. We went to the director’s office where the treasurer or maybe she was the assistant director carefully recorded my name and how much I had given in an official looking ledger.
The graphs on the wall were of test results for the past 10 years or so. the first 5 bars are grades 1-5. Each set of 5 is another year starting with 2003 and going to much better scores in 2014. I wonder if the teachers are teaching more to the test.
The director is to the right of me in the picture and the assistant director is on the far right in the back.
A pineapple field on the side of the road.
We finally reached our goal, the village of Ban Nayang, where the ethnic minority Thai Lu people produce cotton and weave silk. Pawn is explaining the process of making the cotton.
They weren’t in full swing as it was rice harvesting time and most were in the fields.
This is their homemade cotton dyed with local indigo plants.
A loom.
Sandalwood (?) had been used to create this color.
I was amazed at all the colors used in this loom.
I bought this piece made by this woman. She asked for a little less than $4. It would not have felt right for me to try to negotiate the price down from there.
Most of the homes were built on stilts so that they could have their animals underneath them and keep their cooking wood dry.
The home where I bought the piece was the only one I saw that had a shrine of sorts at the top.
It was a beautiful but dusty village. with spectacular scenery.
Some of the many people I said “sabadee” (hello) to.
We then had over an hour drive to get to the riverboat. I had a picnic lunch from the hotel, including this fruit which I’m not sure I should have eaten. The rule is not to eat any raw fruits or vegetables since they may have been washed by the unhealthy water. I was hoping not to get sick.
Beware, behind my fruit are the crickets and frogs for the guide and driver. Pawn’s mother doesn’t know how to use chopsticks. Chopsticks and a spoon are the standard silverware in Vietnam but the Laotians prefer to eat with their hands. They have spoons but only for soup.
We had to walk down a long trail to get to the riverboat. The captain was very experienced. He knew the Nam Ou river well.
The boat ride took over 3 hours. There were frequent one-person fishing boats, rapids, beautiful mountains, and peaceful moments.
From my itinerary — “The Nam Ou meets the Mekong River in front of the Pak Ou Caves, one of the most respected holy sites in Laos. These caves are home to over 4,000 Buddha images that have been placed here by local people since the 16th century when King Setthathirat found the caves and declared them a holy place.”
There were many people just hanging out in front of the caves. We went in the larger one with 2,500 Buddhas. I guess if one statue of Buddha is a good thing then 2,500 must be better.
As we were leaving, everyone stopped to listen to my guide, who seemed to know many of these people (and many people along the whole trip). They were excited that she had gotten married in the past year to a German. He is working as a guide in the capital of Laos and they seem to be figuring out how the relationship will work. She adopted a 7-year old niece and he gets along well with her but they haven’t decided whether to live in Germany or Laos.
The captain had to do quite a bit of fancy maneuvering along the Nam Ou to avoid rocks, fishing boats, and narrow passageways. However, the Mekong was much wider and calmer. it was sunset and this was one of the many places where I wish I had my friend Michael Bronfenbrenner with me. No one photographs sunsets like he does (see Through the Lens Stories on Facebook).
This one was taken from the shore when we stopped for a bathroom break.
At long last, the dock back at Luang Prabang was in sight, where our driver with the minivan was waiting.
When I got back to the hotel, I was not just tired, I was more tired than I had been at anytime during this trip except perhaps after the 16 hour flight to China. We had gone through so many paths, climbed so many hills, and spent so many hours in the car and boat that it was hard for me to move. My plans for walking through Luang Pabang to find an interesting place to eat were gone. I could barely get myself to order room service. Surprisingly, the hotel food wasn’t bad — red chili ginger pork.
The trip to the village was very similar to the village trip in northern Vietnam. I feel like these people may indeed have very happy lives. They work as a community with their art and with their farming. They didn’t have iPhones or cars but they had what seemed to be comfortable lives and beauty all around.
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