+ Just after arriving to Luang Nam Tha under the universal Flood, we met some people who were making a trekking the day after. It was raining so much that we though it would be impossible to make it.... in any case, the next morning the weather was with us and it wasn't raining... so we made a last minute decision which we would be grateful for the rest of our lives.
+ We made a trekking through the jungle (14 Km) in approx. 7 hours. this jungle accommodates wild elephants, leopards, monkeys, several bird species, snakes and perhaps (since there are contradictory statements) the last wild tigers in Laos (and in the world). Unfortunately, well, maybe fortunately we didn't encounter any of them. However, we saw many spiders, leeches and huge insects. We crossed rice fields, rivers and beautiful bamboo formations....
+ After hard morning walk in a slippery terrain, we braked for lunch. While we the "Falangs" (tourists) ate with our hands using banana tree leafs as dishes, our tribe local guide, was removing the legs of a jammy spider which he would used as starter.
+ restarting our walk under the sunshine (after 1h hard rain) we finally in the distance made out, on the top of a mountain, the village we were planning to visit. After 5 hour of hard trekking nobody can believe that we still need to make such a long distance..... ahhgggg!!!!
+ Yessss! we finally arrived to the village of the Akha tribe. This tribe comes from Tibet and is spread in the mountains of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. They came around 200 years ago. it is the second largest tribe in Laos, after the Hmong (the ones who had been trained by CIA spies during the Vietnam war to fight against the communist forces). All of these tribes (about 32) have their own language and traditions and are mostly animist instead of the majority of population in this region (Buddhist). ....well, see wikipedia...bla bla bla.
+ The children are the first to welcome us...
+ The Akha people are superstitious to pictures and they think that if you photograph them, some part of their spirit is gone with the photo. Only the children are more welcoming, that's why almost no direct picture are taken from old people. In any case, the second chief of the village welcomed us. Since we could not communicate, his just kept on offering laolao (rice whiskey of nobody knows how many degrees). It is bad seem to reject anything from them.... you can imagine how the thing can turn..... Finally as a welcome gesture, the women of the village gave us all an Akha massage: it was destructive !!! We never suffered so much during a massage. We though our toes would be pulled out.....
24 April 2011
+ After an amazing sleep, we wake up and get to know that the village is gonna celebrate a party because since 2 weeks they have access to electricity. They would like to invite us to take part in their party.... We couldn't say no. All the village will take part. The older women cook. The man work on the music equipment, distribution of drinks and food, etc. Young women are nowhere to be seen. At 11.00 everything is set. The young boys wear their best cloths, necklaces, their make up and most elegant hair style ever. The village chief is with us, the Falangs, he literally feeds us!! and remember, you should not reject it... even if it is the worse food you haven't taste in years. Actually they just killed a buffalo and the chief is putting in your mouth something round and ugly....uhhmmm....jammy.... After some suffering and laughs the girls show up dressing their best customs and the most important element: the crown !!!
+ Everyone drinks, eat and dance.... Really authentic!! already drunk at 12.00 but still long trekking back to town... Unforgettable !!!
