Laos

I’d heard of Laos. I knew it was somewhere in Southeast Asia and that was really the extent of my knowledge on the country. I didn’t have any particular desire to see the place and didn’t really know there was anything to see, but when I decided I wanted to do trekking on my trip, Laos kept coming up in my research, so I put it on the itinerary. At the very least, it was another country I could check off my list, but it turned out to be so much more that.
We left Kunming overland headed south to the Laos border on a sleeper bus. Don’t be deceived by the adjective “sleeper”; by “sleeper” I mean 26 hours of rocking and bumping down windy roads on a too skinny and too short “bed” and not so much actual sleep. It really wasn’t that bad, but Anna and I were definitely glad to step off that bus onto firm ground when we finally arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos.
We started our trek early the next morning. With our guide, Mr. Phai, we would be hiking through the jungle for three days, kayaking down the Nam Ou River on the fourth day and sleeping in a local village each night. After being in cities for so long, and sitting for hours upon hours in trains and buses, being in nature, miles of green in all directions, was incredible and so rejuvenating. I find hiking to be so much more fun when there is a purpose behind it and a destination to be reached (a place to eat and sleep). It was kind of surreal at moments. Here I was, in the middle of the Asian jungle, walking through rice paddies and bamboo forests; stuff I’ve only seen in pictures as something very distant from my own circle of life.

I also had a lot of free time to think during the hours on the trail. I can’t really ever not think; I don’t even know if that’s possible. Usually the mind just wanders on all sorts of rabbit trails, but I really tried to take every thought captive to use the time beneficially. I couldn’t help but constantly praise the Creator of the great jungle around me, so I spent time in prayer and thinking on the possibilities for my future, on relationships, on my own character, and probably hundreds of other topics. I find so much joy and energy in nature and probably walked with a big grin on my face the majority of the time. !

The time we spent each evening in the villages was just as enjoyable as the rest and also very enlightening. The villages we passed through were inhabited by the Hmong and Khmu minority peoples with 40 to 400 people in each. It was really neat to experience a little of the village life and be able to just observe even more. It looks like such a simple life although I am sure their daily lives are plagued with many problems, as ours are. What stood out the most was the great sense of community and the strong family unit. Every morning and night each family squatting around their fire, pairs of hands hovering over the flames, trying to keep warm from the unusually cold night air. A group of young women standing around the communal water spigot talking and doing their washing: some clothes, some vegetables, and some their children. An old grandpa cradling his grandson, rocking him to sleep. Throngs of children running freely all over the village, some with their own little sibling tied to their back, playing with woven balls or a handmade wooden cart. And amidst all the villagers and their bamboo huts the are dogs, pigs, ducks and lots of chickens plucking around waiting to be eaten or sold (depending on how much money the harvest brought in that year).

The villagers seemed to have a lot of free time especially since it is the dry season and nothing is growing at the moment, so I began to wonder what tasks I, who doesn’t like sitting around, would have busied myself with if I were brought up in this culture. I love learning about different cultures and seeing how different people live their lives, so being actually in it was so cool.
Another fun part of our trekking experience was the food. Mr. Phai, our guide, did all the cooking for us and we ate whatever food was available, which meant mostly different vegetables either stir fried or in soup, eggs, pork, and loads of sticky rice. We had rice for 9 out of 10 meals (Laos is the sticky rice capital of the world), but instead of getting tired of it, Anna and I fell in love with sticky rice. We ate with our hands so it is a great vehicle for getting the saucy foods to your mouth, it is so portable, it has a great chewy texture, and it kept us satisfied until the next meal. I learned how to cook it (albeit over an open fire and in a bamboo basket) so I hope to try to make it myself with the more modern tools I have available.

The rest of our in time in Laos we spent looking a bit more around Luang Prabang, and going further south to spend a few days in Vientiane, the capital, with a short stopover in little Vang Vieng to check out a cave and break up the long drive.

There isn’t really much to see or reason to go to the capital, but my stepdad happened to have some friends who were gracious to let us stay with them for a night. It was a refreshing break from our usual hostel accommodation and we were able to join them at their English fellowship meeting, have some great conversation with fellow Americans, and even do laundry (with a washer and dryer!). And thus ended our eight days in Laos (it felt like much longer). Always sad to leave, but excited for what’s next: Cambodia, the kingdom of wonder!