TD’s first massage ever…by a 10-year Lao girl

It seems that no visit to Laos is complete without a visit to Luang Prabang. True, it’s a beautiful city full of golden wats and saffron robed monks. But it’s also extremely popular with older peeps with money to burn, and thus the most expensive place in the country. We spent a few days here taking in the sights (easily done within a few hours) and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere. Feeling antsy, we were ready to head up to Luang Nam Tha NPA (National Protected Area) for some trekking among hill tribe villages. One thing that comes as a surprise in Laos is the cost of transportation and inaccessibility of many places. Aside from the main highway, Route 13, infrastructure for other roads is spotty. This means you could be driving on smooth paved roads one minute, then gravelly potholes for the next 70 km. As a result, the crappy conditions wreak havoc on all vehicles and curvy mountain passes add hours to short distance journeys.

We hooked up with two couples, Dutch/Finnish and German, from our bus and agreed to organize a trek together. One of the reasons why we really wanted to trek in Laos is because we wanted to avoid the commercial tourism that seemed to be harming villages in much of Northern Thailand. Checking out the offers on the strip, we booked the 3-day/2-night Ahka Trail with an established eco-tour company, Green Discovery, for $50 each. But first, we celebrated New Year’s in style with all the other foreigners and locals that happened to be around. Let’s just say that the night (ending at 12:10) involved lots of dancing, a Casio keyboard and karaoke – not exactly a debaucharous evening. The next morning, we caught a bus to Vieng Poukha, where we would spend the night before beginning our trek early in the morning.

Our guide pointed out medicinal plants and talked about local life, as he led us through the forests, jungle and bamboo paths. I had assumed since this was a protected wilderness area, the forests would be in pristine condition. The villagers here, however, were allowed to cut down trees in order to build houses, firewood and for other needs. Large swaths of trees were missing due to slash and burn rice cultivation, creating vistas different from the ones I had imagined. We stayed overnight in two Akha villages – people here lived very simple lives based on agriculture and raising animals. Most children ran around naked or barely clothed in rags, while the adults (mostly women) engaged in their daily routines of backbreaking labor. You could tell that they weren’t used to seeing foreigners because they looked at us like we were aliens. Although we had sought out this type of experience, we couldn’t help feeling like a voyeur, damaging the culture we came to see. We stared at them – and they stared right back at us. Definitely authentic and even borderline uncomfortable. Especially when a group of young girls came into our hut to give us full body massages just before bedtime. Bizarre.

And with that, we said goodbye to lovely Laos – Our hands down favorite country in Southeast Asia.