The bike ride
Hi all,
Not too much to write about here. Our mountain bike ride was quite hard. It was about 10 miles up a mountain (some very steep climbs) and then ten miles down (the same way). Kelly has not been on a bike in a very long time, and has no experience going downhill on dirt tracks, so she found it very difficult. Because of this she experienced a few falls, but survived all of them. She was only injured on one fall (the one off the side of the mountain) but walked away with only a few minor scrapes on her arm.
The whole point of the ride was to get to an Akkha village at the top of the climb. The village itself was something straight out of national geographic or the discovery channel. 38 families live there, and about 350 people. The women there are avid betel chewers (a mild drug) which turns their lips bright red and their teeth pitch black (here, black teeth is considered a thing of beauty). Many of the women did not wear shirts, and many of the children did not wear clothes (or pants). Our first stop in the village was the chief’s deputy’s home. Here we had some tea and our guide showed us some of the traps used to catch animals in the forest. They had bird traps, which use live birds to attract other and work much like a “live trap” for mice. They also had a noose made for catching birds, and another type of noose for catching land animals.
After the deputy’s home we walked around the village some. Children were happy to see us and yelled Sa Bai Dii (a Lao multi purpose greeting, but basically hello in this case. Still not their native language, but at least it’s not English. ). We had heard that children in villages like these often beg for candy, but in this town they just seemed happy to look at us.
While walking around the village we got a real taste of what life was like there. We saw people hulling rice using foot (or leg) operated pounding tools. These were basically a very large mortar and pestle, except the pestle is on the end of a long lever. We saw their gardens where they grew opium and some vegetables. In the village there are two types of houses (three if you count the small spirit houses). The first type is for families (about 10 people on average I would say). These were very large with a porch and main living quarters. They were all on stilts about 7 feet high. The second type of house is only big enough for two people to sleep in and is on stilts about 12 feet high. These houses are built by a young man’s family when he is old enough to take a wife. According to our guide, the man and woman (or boy and girl, I’m not sure how old this happens) then live together in this house for about 3 months. The idea is to give them privacy while they “talk” and “sleep together for babies”. If after 3 months the woman is not pregnant, the pair will part ways and move on to other people.
Up until about 10 years ago, before the government began involving themselves in the lives of rural villages, this ethnic group had some practices that we might find somewhat…unusual, to say the least. If a woman gave birth to twins, it was considered an evil curse upon the village. The twins would be killed, and the home of the parents burned to the ground (small house for 2 or large family house I believe, wherever it happened). The family would then be removed from the village and forced to live in the forest for 3 years, alone. After the government became involved though, according to our guide, “twins are a blessing” and the practice is no longer observed.
After the village we went to the school about 300 meters up hill from the village, with an amazing view. There are three classrooms, but only one is being used right now, since there is only one teacher. The single class room is used for kindergarten, primary, and secondary school and the classes are taught side by side. Most of the lessons are devoted to learning Lao or mathematics, but they also teach health there. The class rooms were pretty sparse, but there were some decoration, wood chalk boards, and desks.
After the ride down we just wanted to relax, so that is about all we did. I had a great dinner, a chili paste dish strong with cilantro and tomato (the closet thing to salsa I have had yet actually). Kelly had what she says is the best fried rice she has ever had. It was made with a special “Louang Phrabang” sauce, and otherwise prepared much like any other fried rice. The drinks were good too. Our guest house had some of the best banana shakes in SEA (and Kelly should know, by now she is a connoisseur). They also had one of the most unique drinks I have had here (actually not THAT unique at home). It was a ice blended drink with lime juice, mint and sugar. I have not seen it anywhere around here, and the menu claims that it is their own creation. The reason I say it is not that unique is because it’s basically a frozen mojito with no rum. Either way it was great.
Tonight we will be staying in the “bus station guesthouse”, a nice place and only $4.50 a night. Our stay in Louang Namtha was extended by a day, so tomorrow we will go to Louang Phrabang.
I did find out what the houses in the rice fields are for…no surprise here…rice. They are the same idea as silos. Each holds enough rice for one year (several tons), and people just carry it from the fields to their homes as they need it.
I was also impressed with the hunting rifles they have here. They are very old style guns, but I swear the one I saw yesterday was made of some modern materials. The reason I say they are old style is because the barrels are almost as long as the men who carry them.
That’s all for now
Tim
Not too much to write about here. Our mountain bike ride was quite hard. It was about 10 miles up a mountain (some very steep climbs) and then ten miles down (the same way). Kelly has not been on a bike in a very long time, and has no experience going downhill on dirt tracks, so she found it very difficult. Because of this she experienced a few falls, but survived all of them. She was only injured on one fall (the one off the side of the mountain) but walked away with only a few minor scrapes on her arm.
The whole point of the ride was to get to an Akkha village at the top of the climb. The village itself was something straight out of national geographic or the discovery channel. 38 families live there, and about 350 people. The women there are avid betel chewers (a mild drug) which turns their lips bright red and their teeth pitch black (here, black teeth is considered a thing of beauty). Many of the women did not wear shirts, and many of the children did not wear clothes (or pants). Our first stop in the village was the chief’s deputy’s home. Here we had some tea and our guide showed us some of the traps used to catch animals in the forest. They had bird traps, which use live birds to attract other and work much like a “live trap” for mice. They also had a noose made for catching birds, and another type of noose for catching land animals.
After the deputy’s home we walked around the village some. Children were happy to see us and yelled Sa Bai Dii (a Lao multi purpose greeting, but basically hello in this case. Still not their native language, but at least it’s not English. ). We had heard that children in villages like these often beg for candy, but in this town they just seemed happy to look at us.
While walking around the village we got a real taste of what life was like there. We saw people hulling rice using foot (or leg) operated pounding tools. These were basically a very large mortar and pestle, except the pestle is on the end of a long lever. We saw their gardens where they grew opium and some vegetables. In the village there are two types of houses (three if you count the small spirit houses). The first type is for families (about 10 people on average I would say). These were very large with a porch and main living quarters. They were all on stilts about 7 feet high. The second type of house is only big enough for two people to sleep in and is on stilts about 12 feet high. These houses are built by a young man’s family when he is old enough to take a wife. According to our guide, the man and woman (or boy and girl, I’m not sure how old this happens) then live together in this house for about 3 months. The idea is to give them privacy while they “talk” and “sleep together for babies”. If after 3 months the woman is not pregnant, the pair will part ways and move on to other people.
Up until about 10 years ago, before the government began involving themselves in the lives of rural villages, this ethnic group had some practices that we might find somewhat…unusual, to say the least. If a woman gave birth to twins, it was considered an evil curse upon the village. The twins would be killed, and the home of the parents burned to the ground (small house for 2 or large family house I believe, wherever it happened). The family would then be removed from the village and forced to live in the forest for 3 years, alone. After the government became involved though, according to our guide, “twins are a blessing” and the practice is no longer observed.
After the village we went to the school about 300 meters up hill from the village, with an amazing view. There are three classrooms, but only one is being used right now, since there is only one teacher. The single class room is used for kindergarten, primary, and secondary school and the classes are taught side by side. Most of the lessons are devoted to learning Lao or mathematics, but they also teach health there. The class rooms were pretty sparse, but there were some decoration, wood chalk boards, and desks.
After the ride down we just wanted to relax, so that is about all we did. I had a great dinner, a chili paste dish strong with cilantro and tomato (the closet thing to salsa I have had yet actually). Kelly had what she says is the best fried rice she has ever had. It was made with a special “Louang Phrabang” sauce, and otherwise prepared much like any other fried rice. The drinks were good too. Our guest house had some of the best banana shakes in SEA (and Kelly should know, by now she is a connoisseur). They also had one of the most unique drinks I have had here (actually not THAT unique at home). It was a ice blended drink with lime juice, mint and sugar. I have not seen it anywhere around here, and the menu claims that it is their own creation. The reason I say it is not that unique is because it’s basically a frozen mojito with no rum. Either way it was great.
Tonight we will be staying in the “bus station guesthouse”, a nice place and only $4.50 a night. Our stay in Louang Namtha was extended by a day, so tomorrow we will go to Louang Phrabang.
I did find out what the houses in the rice fields are for…no surprise here…rice. They are the same idea as silos. Each holds enough rice for one year (several tons), and people just carry it from the fields to their homes as they need it.
I was also impressed with the hunting rifles they have here. They are very old style guns, but I swear the one I saw yesterday was made of some modern materials. The reason I say they are old style is because the barrels are almost as long as the men who carry them.
That’s all for now
Tim
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on Sunday, March 05, 2006 at 12:55 AM.
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8:41 PMKelly & Tim,
Still reading and enjoying.
Uncle Jack
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