Remote villages

Grandfather (that is what I must call older men in Laos) told me that the last time he met a white person was in 1954, when he was 18 years old. He remembers meeting a French soldier who came from Dien Bien Phou in Vietnam (historical note: this is the same year that the Vietnamese defeated the French in Dien Bien Phou).

I did not expect to be visiting villages so remote that most people hadn’t seen a white person. Of course, every village had a few TVs and satellite dishes, so I’m sure they had seen pictures and movies of white people. Mostly I didn’t have a crowd of observers, except one village where I think at least fifty people were watching me bathe in the river. Needless to say, I felt a bit shy, but what could I do about it?

Sunrise in the fog

While we were talking with a group of men in Nongheo, the sun rose above the mountains and pierced through the morning fog hanging over the village.

Lao Seng hospitality

These Lao Seng women welcomed us into their village with overwhelming hospitality: good food, conversation, and strong rice whiskey at every meal – even breakfast!

A trail to the clouds

Hiking in Phongsali was beautiful – twice we walked along the same ridge-top trail, looking down at the valleys below. The hike up was difficult but the view was worth it!

Water-powered rice mills

I saw these water-powered rice mills in Phongsali last month. They belong to Nongheo village in the Mai district. The waterwheels turn a shaft that lifts a long log with a pounder tip on the end, and then drops it down onto rice in a wooden pestle. I think this is a clever use of water power to save work for families. I wonder, though, how these bamboo constructions hold up in the rainy season.

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