Treking around Luang Prabang

Sadly we couldn't do the original trip we planned today due to there not being enough numbers so we booked another day trip with a company called White Elephant (recommended by Jen and Joe). We left the hotel at 7:30 to get breakfast before we departed. Unfortunately Rach picked the wrong option of Luang Prabang museli which consisted of cornflakes, fruit, some seeds and off yoghurt! Mark had the British omelette and was very happy!

We met our guide for the day, his name was Kin and was from a local tribe up in the hills. We took a boat up the Mekong river for about 30 minutes and were then dropped off to start our trek. The route would take us through several tribe villages and temples, in all it would be around 22km - not a bad distance when it's 35 degrees.

As we ventured through the jungle Kin explained some of the history relating to the surrounding area and also his story. He'd been a monk for 12 years studying in Laos, Chang Mia and Burma so he'd travelled a bit for his studies! He is now settling down in Luang Prabang and getting married this December. He was an excellent guide and he really brought where we were to life. We arrived at one village where we would have lunch. Kin explained that because we walked quickly we were ahead of schedule but that didn't matter. We sat in the village meeting hall and tucked into our rice and vegetables (Mark had meat too) while the local kids were watching our every move and smiling. When we packed up we left some empty bottles (they collect for recycling) and some bananas. No sooner had we left the meeting hall the children dashed in to take as much as they could! One little boy managed to get four bananas and ran back to his home as fast as he could to share them with his family. He was giggling and very pleased with himself!

Throughout the afternoon we continued to walk in the baking sun (mad dogs and Englishman...) stopping at various villages. On the hilltops the scenery was amazing - the jungle colours really vibrant in the sun.

Towards the end of our trip we stopped at a village where Kin's future wife lived. We were followed by children shouting 'Sa bi dee' which means hello and watched the village men dig a new well. They asked whether we were here to help but it looked too messy! Just before leaving we were invited to join some locals for a drink of moonshine (rice wine)! We accepted it with a smile but it soon disappeared when we drank the stuff and we were pleased they didn't offer anymore! Not the ideal drink to rehydrate!

Making our way back to the river we visited several temples on the bank that were being restored, one by Kin's best friend.

Overall,a great day treking and finding out more about this fantastic country and it's people. The monks and their lifestyle was really interesting. They live such simple and pure lives it does make you think about how we as Westerners live and desire things.

We were planning to leave tomorrow to Vang Viend but we've decided to stay an extra day to visit the waterfalls. Fortunately we've managed to change our bus ticket without cost.

Hope all is well.

Love

Mark & Rach. xxx