We crossed from Thailand to Laos via a land border in Thailand and then headed by boat to Laos. It is crazy to cross into another country in a very sketchy boat. Our boat struggles to start so we were in limbo between two countries for a while. I had my stamp to leave Thailand but had not entered into Laos. After all of the border stuff we met our big orange Stray bus, as we had been taking public transportation up until this point.
View of Laos from the the river
On the way to our night stop we stopped to check out a local village. Traditionally the Laotians themselves simply divide the entire population into three categories dependent on the upon the elevation at which they live. The people of the village we visited are called Lao Loum or lowland Lao. These people live at the lowest elevation with the most fertile farmland. The two other groups are Lao Theung or Lao from the hills and Lao Soung or highland Lao, who live at the highest elevations in the country. The Hmong are the most numerous of these people. I visited a Hmong village later in the trip.
The people in this village sustain themselves almost fully off of the land and money is very rarely used. All of the necessities come form the land including food and materials to make clothing. While we were their we met a women who had been bitten by a snake when harvesting rice over a month before and had not had any medical attention. Her arm and hand were obviously seriously infected and she needed immediate medical attention. Each of us in the group gave money for her to seek medical help since is not something that she had access to. Many of us talked in the group that it appeared she may need to have her amputated. We learned about this women needs when she invited us into her home. She in no way asked for help and it was our idea to help. We could tell she was very appreciative of our help even with the language barrier. We left the village hoping the money would be used for what she needed. Here is her home she lived in with 12 other people.
Waterfall near the village:
The first stop in Laos was Luang Namtha. This is where I became a millionaire. I got out a million kip from the bank machine. This felt very weird but was a moment I will never have again. It is about 8000 kip for $1.00.The highlight of Luang Namtha was the Chinese disco. It was one wild night with a ton of break dancing (obviously not by me).
I have had the local beer in almost every country I have visited. Beer Lao is one of my favorites.
Kim, Jessica, and Julie
Kim, One and Jessica
Great times with Beer Lao
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