Trekking with The 3 Chickens

Next morning we had planned a trek through the hillsides around Luang Prabang through 3 small villages and ending up at a seven tiered waterfall. Our guides for the day were two 20-something year old Hmong villagers - both called Kai - who were great company and so knowledgeable about the area, as well as excellent English speakers. Before we could go anywhere we all had to introduce ourselves and the Kais loved that Guy had the same name as them (sort of). Turns out 'kai' in the Hmong language means 'chicken' - so they became the 3 chickens for the day! We were also trekking with a lovely Dutch girl called Katie and two French guys named Pierre and Pepe. Guy suggested that they'd make a good double act but I'm not sure if the joke translated! We all got on really well from the start. We started our trek walking through a Khmu village. These people live on the lower slopes of the hills and you can recognize them as they carry loads using a strap around their head - even as small children. This makes their necks incredibly strong and later in the day we saw tiny women with giant bails of bamboo that two of us couldn't even lift. The villagers were obviously used to having visitors but were still really friendly and greeted us with  'sa-mi-ler' (Khmu for 'hello'). Once through the Khmu village we took a long boat across the river and started our climb up the hill. Kai and Kai kept trying to convince us that it was cold weather and were even wearing gloves - but the humidity and sun were both really strong and our steep climb got us sweating nicely! The scenery was really fascinating - we started off in lowland 'gardens' with easy to farm crops that the villagers would sell at the market in Luang Prabang, then climbing passed paddy fields and fields of corn, before finally entering jungle with wild banana trees. Even so often we'd see a tiny hut which the farmers build for shelter in the day, before moving on to new land to farm. The 2 Chickens had so much information about the area and were obviously keen to share it with us to we asked them loads of questions throughout the day! Our lunch stop was a Hmong (silent H) village with 20 or so families. The children were so endearing and let us watch them play marbles and skipping rope games. They loved having their picture taken and then seeing it on the digital screen! We learnt about the changes the villagers had to make when the government banned the farming of opium. For the Hmong tribe, opium was a huge source of income but mainly farmed for its medicinal qualities. Since the ban, they have had to learn new farming skills and developed trade lines with the Khmu and Lao tribes nearby. We also heard how they elected a new village chief using a very democratic voting system and that the chief was responsible for controlling the use of the local land. They referred to him as a 'land architect' and only he could give permission if a piece of land could be farmed or had to be left fallow. It seemed a very sustainable way of living and farming. We trekked on through more open countryside and then into teak forests. Finally we visited a bigger Khmu village and watched young girls pounding rice and carrying crops. All the children are expected to work very hard. Meanwhile the men were building a new house for a new family that had arrived in the village. The end of our trek took us to the Tam Sam waterfall where we had the chance to swim in the very cold water! Lao women are expected to cover up when swimming so I took a long shirt to wear, but unfortunately so many Western visitors ignore this request and were prancing around in bikinis which is highly disrespectful. The swim was a great way to cool down from the trek. To help further, Guy treated every one to a Beer Lao to celebrate Hmong New Year which had begun the day before and is celebrated for 6 days. We finished an amazing day with a gentle long boat trip back along the Nam Song river to our waiting tuk tuk.

What we didn't then expect was an invitation from The 2 Chickens to celebrate Hmong New Year with them that evening, which we snapped up! At 8pm, Kai, Kai and Kai's younger brother Tao picked us up on their motorbikes and we went off to visit the Hmong festival just outside town. As we arrived, they were judging the equivalent of 'Miss Hmong Village' competition. Each girl who had been put forward by her village had to wear traditional Hmong costume and dance with one of the judges, but each time the music struck up, the power kept cutting out! We then got to play a traditional balloon / dart game and one of the Kais cooked us a traditional spicy papaya salad that nearly blew my head off! We then headed over to the second celebration site which turned out to be a giant Hmong school disco! It was hilarious. Every time the band started singing, about 100 Hmong teenagers rushed the floor and would dance madly and as soon as it stopped, the dance floor would clear and everyone would rush back to their seats. We made sure we hit the floor with them and to Guy's delight it turns out that they all danced like him! He was in Hmong disco heaven! They also played a couple of Macarena/Saturday Night 'step dances' that I had a go at (badly!). Plus, it turns out that UK boy bands are big in Laos and that Blue's 'All Rise' (aka Sameera's favourite song) is a guaranteed floor filler! As the night went on, more and more of the Kai's friends joined our table. I think we were a bit of a novelty but they were so friendly and happily passed around the Beer Lao and Lao Whisky that Guy had bought them as a thank you! It was such a fun night - not least for the ride through the streets of Luang Prabang on the back of a moped - and the Kais couldn't have done more to take care of us and celebrate Hmong New Year with us. Lao people really are the friendliest people we've met so far.

We had decided to stay on in Luang Prabang for two more days, which we lazily spent looking around some Wats, visiting the Grand Palace and climbing Mount Phousi to watch a beautiful sunset. Guy's quest for 'extreme massage' also took us to the Laos Red Cross centre where we was massaged intimately by a big Lao man wearing nothing but his boxers. He left feeling (in his words) 'violated'.

Luang Prabang deserves it's title of 'best destination'. It is such a beautiful place with a real sense of peace and tranquility. The people are the nicest you'd meet, the streets are the quietest and safest and everything about the way of life is so attractive. Our next leg of the journey would take us south to Vang Vieng which turned out to be a very different place indeed...