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Finally back online after 10 days at the edge and far from civilization. We left Sam Neua very early in the morning and reached our next destination, Vieng Thong, early enough to do some sightseeing. Veing Thong is a small cross road village right in the middle of a natural reserve that claims to have 20 tigers inhabiting it. We didn't get to see any of them but managed to visit the rangers center where some motion controlled camera shots did reveal indeed the existence of the tigers as well as other wild animals still hanging around in the area. We got offered a night safari with a stay in the jungle but turned it down because of its excessive costs (150 Eur), and opted for a quick bath at the town hot springs (acque termali), where the locals hang around bathing and literally boiling tons of eggs.
After Vieng Thong, we reached Nong Khiaw, a small but more touristy place on the river, and settled in a cute guesthouse as well as pampered ourselves with some very good Indian food. Yes an Indian restaurant was in town and we loved it! From Nong Khiaw we had the option to head south towards Luang Prabang or head North towards China, and I managed to convince Mandy that the adventurous and poorly touristy North would have been a more interesting option. Convinced Mandy (sort of) and parked our motorbike in a safe place, we took a mini van heading towards Udomxai and shared the bumpy ride (only 10% of Northen Laos roads are paved) with a Kiwi guy called Liam and a hard mannered Egyptian financial consultant. In the end, after staying overnight in Udomxai, the Kiwi guy loved us so much ;), that decided to continue the trip the next day to Phongsaly with us. Phongsaly is the provincial capital of the most Northern province of Laos and still retains strong Yunnanese (South China) houses and definitely a modern Chinese influence due to its geographical vicinity. We loved this little city so much maybe because it took us 10 hours of an arse hurting bus ride to reach. The road was so bad that the bus was constantly filled with dust and couldn't open the windows to avoid more dust to come in; a true vicious circle that drove us insane and by us I mean the 5 tourists on the bus, whilst the tens of locals didn't seem to mind that much.
Anyway, from Phongsaly we signed up for a 3 day trek for "adventurous and sporty people", although the tourist office reassured us that it wasn't that tough, so we felt quite comfortable and did it with the Kiwi guy and a 56 years old super fit and driven Sardinian lady that was not worried at all about the trek difficulty. And it showed the first day when we had to go up and down really steep and narrow mountain paths, where the Sardianian lady was churning out meter after meter like a mountain goat, and Mandy and myself struggling behind. Only after 5 hours of pure physical pain, as well as spiritual joy because of the amazing landscape, we managed to reach a village from an Akha tribe, which lived isolated on a mountain with no electricity an no running water, no toilets, but plenty of chickens and pigs s*** all around the village. We stayed overnight in the chief's house alongside 10 family members and hordes of curious but suspicious kids, traditionally dressed but non talkative women and few men that set up a small table with tiny pieces of wood as chairs and kept pouring LaoLao (a local rice wine) in our glasses.
After dinner, we blended in slowly in the dedicated sleeping area, where the 4 of us plus the guide tried to have a lay down on thin mattresses surrounded by spider webs, and blinded by the suffocating smoke circulating in the house because the of the lack of chimneys.
In the morning, after few hours of sort of sleep, we had the confirmation that we spent the night in a village stuck to a 300 years ago life condition. When we distributed few toys to the family kids that run away or brutally attacked us if we got closer just few minutes before, we realized that these people were shy and intimidated by our presence. Women in particular were not allowed to say one word to us, only the men. The Akha tribe are notorious for being the most traditionalists of the area, with alive animist traditions and other spooky beliefs life: women are supposed to eat small stones when pregnant, women with kids must keep their breast uncovered to avoid kids being contaminated by the spirits and the most terrible of all, baby twins being killed for a still unknown reason.
After all these discoveries we were sort of happy to leave that village and things got even more weird when we bumped into other Akha people on the way and only saw women doing hard jobs like farming, gathering wood etc. whilst the guys stayed in the villages or calmly went hunting. Really weird!
After another 6 hours of exhausting trek on burnt mountains, river crossings and more amazing views, we finally arrived at our second destination at a Khamu village, where people showed themselves as more friendly although still scared by our presence. We were told that this village situated 4 hours walk from a road, was only being visited once before by Falang (foreigners) hence the feelings of curiosity and fear going hand in hand. The village chief, wearing his newest festive shirt for the occasion, greeted us in his house and prepared another nutritious but boring meal of sticky rice, peanuts, eggs and boiled vegetables. We enjoyed the stay with the Khamus way more and felt like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in one their visit in an African village. At some point a kid with a minor hand injury caused by river fishing, asked if we had a disinfectant so we pulled out our untouched emergency kit which was definitely worth bringing for occasions like this. The kid with his plastered hand couldn't stop saying Kop Chay - thank you!- that the word spread in town and we got asked if we could help another guy that fell of his motorbike 4 days before and was suffering a more severe injury. Being misunderstood for Medecins Sans Frontier, we headed off this guy's house to see his condition. Thank God the Italian lady trekking with us was quite a skilled nurse, because at the sight of the man's knee we almost all puked. It was certainly a fracture as well as lots of blood lost, so we recommended a doctor visit and even offered to pay, although were told that it wouldn't be possible because no doctor from the city would venture that far in the jungle to reach them. Almost shocked, we medicated the guy's scare at our best and sadly left his house, with the family almost bowing to thank us for helping.
We then headed towards the river to take our daily bath. We decide to go in the dark not to attract more villagers' curiosity but it didn't turned out to be a good idea as it was peach black and freezing cold in the river. After the bath we were allowed back in the chief's house for a round of beer (yes they got us beer) and another boring meal; then a quick massage(if we can call it that way) and bed.
The morning after, we got up quite early and felt quite refreshed as we manage to get more sleep this time. We had to walk for another 4 hours and this time in company of a mole which our guide bought of the villagers for 2,5 Eur to then eat it with his friends as a delicacy the day after. The mole was tied up, had its teeth cut off and was placed on a bag so that it could be carried. We felt so bad for the animal not being able to breath but the guide didn't seem to mind and confirmed that moles are strong beasts that can last 2-3 days without food and water and bad conditions, so no problem.
After the 4 hours walk, we reached a road where we took a bus for 2 hours, then a tuk tuk for one more and then stayed overnight in a village on the river. We sadly had to split with our fellow trekkers as they headed west towards the Chinese border. In the morning, we took a small boat that sailed on the Nam On river for 4 hours before we reached a village only accessible by river and spent the night there. This village became popular in the 90's for peace and quietness, cheap guesthouse and available opium. Since then, it changed a lot and now caters to more mainstream tourists; however it kept a chilled out feel and a hippy atmosphere which we enjoyed for the evening.
Now we are back where the motorbike was parked and tomorrow we will head off South towards the former royal capital of Laos, Luang Prabang, which we are both very curious to visit. There will be plenty of tourists but also delicious food so we don't mind this time;)
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