Day 96 Trekking in Laos Day 3 11 May 2012

At 4:45am, all hell broke loose, as the Chief clanked a loud gong/bell calling for a special meeting in the area right under our sleeping spot. The roosters were singing and the dogs were barking. And being a village meeting everyone was speaking loudly at once and on top of each other. This Martijn did hear and we were both giggling and wondering what was happening.

We got ready to leave after a breakfast of noodles with cabbage and rice, realizing that while we had the option to shower- at the communal tap in the middle of the village – we chose to stay in our old and now very stinky clothes.

After a three hour walk we ended up needing to cross the river again, this time hopping stones to reach the jeep that was waiting to drive us back to Muang Khua.

On the way we picked up five ladies headed to the market. They were beautifully dressed and allowed us to take their pictures – some villagers do not allow it because they believe it kills their spirit.

We returned to the same guesthouse where we stayed at 3 days ago – and talk about luxury: with a fan, sit-down toilet and hot shower!

Day 95 Trekking in Laos Day 2 10 May 2012

Besides the sunrise, Ana hates roosters! They start their ka-ka-doodle-do/kukeleku in the middle of the night! And some of them don’t even make the whole sound! And only through this experience would she know this. Martijn claims that he didn't hear them.

Since the village had no running water or electricity we stayed in the stinky clothes from the day before and headed out, but only after a filling breakfast of noodles with vegetable, rice and tea, and waving our goodbyes to all the kids.

Today’s hike was a bit more strenuous since we had to walk down to the river and then up again. For sure, it was too much for our guide who had four more shots of Laos Whiskey and a major hangover. In reality we would have been right there with him if Ana had not pretended just to take sips and Martijn didn’t spill some of his fire water!

The second village that welcomed us was HuayLa of the Akha Poli (42 houses/454people), similar to the previous village but with running water, hydroelectric power only in rain, and a different dress. The headdress represents marriage status and the coins show how rich the husband is.

There we were allowed to rest and eventually wait out the rain storm that passed at the house of the Chief. Lunch consisted of mushrooms picked along the way, made into soup and stir-fried with fish.

While we were resting Martijn took off his knee supports and found a bloody mess. A leech had crawled up and attached itself to the backside of his left knee. The little blood sucker, although very creepy, is not dangerous since it does not carry any diseases and does not hurt- until you are trying to pull it off in a panic.

In the end we had to leave while it was still raining otherwise we ran the risk of walking at night. We put on our useless raincoats and sloshed through the thick red-orange mud. The mud clung to our hiking-boots and made it feel like we were walking in ski-boots. Exhausted we reached the river we still had to cross- with our shoes off and our pants rolled up.

Upon exiting the river a new leech had attached to Martijn’s foot and his reaction made our guide laugh. He said “Martijn you are so big and so scared of a tiny leech!” Martijn could not deny this.

Sometime later we reached the village of Kokngiew of the Khmu and Lao Sit Hill-tribes (57houses/495people) where we would stay the night. We sat down to rest and introduce ourselves to yet another crowd of curious children.  While we were sitting there Ana felt something on her leg, zipped her pant leg open and saw a leech fall out. While it seemed a close escape, one of the kids noticed blood on Ana’s pants. Those pants came flying off! And 25 children and several adults stood looking at her bare bloody legs. Luckily her trekking shirt was long enough to save her modesty and there are no pictures to capture this embarrassing moment. We set out on our trip saying that we would both experience everything the other experienced, and while we were talking about food and activities, we can now count bloodsucking leeches too!

Before dinner we were treated to a Basi Ceremony. During the ceremony four stings were tied on each of our wrists, signifying wishes for good luck, lots of wealth, 100 children, and safe travels.

Dinner was a fresh duck (again it quacked at us on its way to the kitchen), bamboo and sticky rice (rice that sits in water for 3 hours and is then steamed and that you eat with your hands making it in to little balls).

Again we slept in the Chief’s house under the comfort of a mosquito net. However fear ruled the night as Ana saw a cockroach on the outside of the net and considered its possible entry through the net’s many holes. She told Martijn and pointed it out making sure he suffered right along with her.

Day 94 Trekking in Laos Day 1 9 May 2012

Today we headed out at 7:30am to begin our trekking in Laos. We each had 4.5 liters of water, our flip-flops, a clean shirt and clean underwear, as well as basic toiletries, a raincoat, and our mummy sleeping bags in a normal, if not small, backpack.  We hopped on the back of a jeep and drove 2 hours to the starting point of the trek.

We had lunch along the way sitting on leaves and feasting on noodles, pork, boiled eggs, sheets of dried river-grass seasoned with salt and sesame seeds, and bananas.

Another 3 hours of walking and we arrived at a group of children playing with tires and sticks. Upon seeing Martijn they squealed, giggled and ran away. One boy ran so fast he tripped and fell.

After arriving in the village the kids got more used to the sight of us and we played with them for several hours while dinner was being prepared. Ana astounded them with her finger trick and hula-hoop skills.

While Martijn blew their minds by showing his chest hair and just being tall.

We walked into a National Geographic Magazine at the village of Senkhamneu of the Akha Para people (35 houses/354people).

It was a nice harmony of beautifully dressed people, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, cows, water buffalos and even a baby eagle. The headdress signify that the women are married.

To protect the village against evil spirits it had two spirit gates, one with the head of a (dead) dog to ward off bad sprits and the other with the paws for safe exiting and travels.

We stayed at the house of the chief which felt like walking into an animated museum exhibit.

Our dinner, a feast in which the villagers joined in, included a fresh chicken ( it clucked at us literally minutes before its death), bamboo, tea, steamed rice, and four rounds of Laos Rice Whiskey. (Two is a good number and customary as a welcome and four is even better!)

After dinner we were treated to a massage by two 12 to 16 year old girls each in traditional outfits, another custom for guests.

We felt like honored guest, especially when they gave us the room of the chief to sleep in. Unfortunately, their method of mosquito repellant involves trapping the smoke from the kitchen and tobacco water pipe indoors- making it hard to sleep. Besides the smoke there was also the animal noises to contend with – like the pigs: they reminded us of a certain family member’s snoring!

Day 93 The Battle Continues Across Borders May 8 2012

Our new minibus was at 5:30am so we got up before dawn and arrived at the bus station at 5:10am- securing Business class seats. There was enough space for Martijn’s long legs! But before we settled in Ana checked the windows and upon discovering that they didn’t open - we moved to the seats across. We, after all want to control our level of comfort and fresh air supply is vital for a smooth, if not bearable, trip. Our German counterparts arrived last minute to find we had, once again, won!

After a 7 hour ride, with a 2 hour border/visa process we arrived in second place at our preferred guesthouse in Muang Khua in Laos. The proprietor was not there at the moment so we decided to wait along with our German friends. Two minutes after they left to find another place the Proprietor retuned, so again we could claim the best room in the house. We don’t know what happened to our competitors since but we wish them more luck in the future!



Day 92 All’s Fair in Love and War and Traveling Too 7 May 2012

After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel (French baguette with eggs, fresh fruit, and fresh squeezed pineapple/watermelon juice, coffee and tea) we strapped on our bags and walked to the Sapa bus station. We were 30 min early and when the minibus arrived we were quickly on the move! We loaded our bags and secured the best seats for the 10 hour journey. There was a German couple that got the full force of our Operation Comfort as Ana yelled to Martijn in Dutch “not the last row!” Unfortunately for them- they got the last row! And that was too bad because the luggage came out from underneath and stole the leg room making them sit with their legs folded into their chest . Also while we had a bench made for two for just the two of us they had to share their three seat bench with four people.  Bah ha ha ha! Did we feel bad? Maybe for a split second. But travel karma exists and Martijn paid dearly. Mr. Sleep Anywhere was smacked awake several times by the bumps in the road making him hit his head on the window and the little handle on the seat in front. The last one was a technical Knock Out, making even Martijn think twice before dozing off.

When the mini- bus arrived in Dien Bien Phu we continued to use our winning strategy to secure a room for the night. Ana stayed at the bus station guarding the luggage while Martijn ran to find a room for the night. His first stop was at a guesthouse across the bus station where he nailed a second story room with hot shower and tv. Again the poor German couple lost out- they stayed in the same guesthouse but had to walk five flights of stairs to their room.

Day 91 Trekking in Sapa 6 May 2012

We joined a very international group (a French couple that lives in Canada, a Dutch couple, an American wife and Chilean husband pair, and an Italian guy) for a 8mi/12km trek through the minority villages surrounding Sapa. We walked through the villages of Ta Van and Sin Chai.

Today we have been traveling for 3 months- that means we have been together for 2184hours straight, give or take a couple hours for errands like buying water and dropping off laundry – good thing we like each other!

Day 90 Lazy day with errands 5 May 2012

Today turned into a relaxed day. We had planned to do a trek into the other surrounding minority villages but after breakfast we decided that we would stay a day longer and to the trekking tomorrow. Instead we watched some movies Bean, Ace Ventura (and at night Dawn of the Dead), had lunch and walked around the town of Sapa.

We also ran a bunch of errands – we bought our bus tickets to the border, changed our money and bought a guidebook for Laos.