At this point I have no idea how big this village is or what exactly to expect so I’m very excited. I meet Gregory, Peng and the German girls at a café, they are all heading off to another book store to organise a tour out to a village next week as part of a previously mentioned English teaching tour.
Peng is from the village and speaks no English, she is Gregory’s friend. He has been going to this village for over ten years and will probably marry one of her daughters when he is financially stable enough, one of his hopes is to buy a riverboat to run supplies and tourists for income.
A much better picture of Peng, Me, Emmanualla, Nadia and Greg.
It is too hot and my backpack is too heavy to go with them so I just head down to the wharf to wait for Gregory and Peng. Eventually we get on the fairly crowded boat, Greg and I being the only white people, we are on our way, Greg leans across and says “you are now leaving the Lonely Planet” (the standard travellers guide book for those of you that don’t know)
We take the same route up to the Buddha cave and change boats. What a piece of luck, the boat we have been on is only going this far so we get on a huge empty boat to go the rest of the way, just the three of us, room to stretch out, stand up and walk around. There are small currents and rapids between rocks but the driver knows what he is doing, now I am really excited, the only boats that go through here are the ones that bring tourists from Thailand
Filling at the floating petrol station, the women are topping up plastic containers with kerosene for lamps. Greg is half Korean if you were wondering.
Goodbye suckers on the crowded boat.
We arrive an hour before sunset (I don’t know the time I shut the iPhone off and packed it away before we left.) we walk ten minutes up into the village to Peng’s house. A bamboo place on stilts with a kitchen built on the back, a squat toilet behind that and next to that a big trough with a tap where you have a bucket shower and do the laundry, it is beautifully archaic. I will not name the village or its exact location because it is largely untouched and not in the Lonely Planet and the only westerners who come here are the ones Greg carefully selects to invite, I am honoured.
Peng has three daughters (one back in Laung Prabang) and two boys. The culture here is that the men are viewed as unreliable so they get the women pregnant and if they hang around and provide that is a bonus otherwise they are expected to wander off and the women take care of everything.
As the guest I get first shower which is extremely invigorating, no nudity, everyone showers at least in under wear then changes (under a towel) into clean clothing. After this I head back down to the river for some sunset photos and just to take in the serenity.
Everyone got a great laugh at my girlish screams from the cold water.
When I get back dinner is prepared. Lighting is kerosene lamps and torches. Greg, Peng and I eat in the kitchen and then the children can come in and eat what is left over. All the meals I will eat here are basically the same, eaten by hand, sticky rice with various dishes of bamboo shoots, fried caterpillars, pork and morning glory, potato chips (yes even here I get my chip fix!) omelette with tomato, jerky and tonight, BBQ pork and sausage we brought from the BBQ place opposite the wharf.
After a couple of vodkas that I brought along I am ready for bed but first we must wait for the village official to come and take down the details of our passports, I also give him a pack of cigarettes. Greg, Peng and I sleep upstairs while the kids sleep downstairs in the kitchen. Behind the kitchen going back under the upstairs sleeping area is about forty bags of rice, it must be about half a tonnes worth, the seasons supply.
My bed is a very comfortable roll out mattress with a mosquito net fully covering me, although I have not felt a single mozzie during the evening. I have an amazing sleep in the darkness and absolute quietness.
