Village Life

You always hear statistics like 1/6 of the world's population lives on less than $1 per day or 1/3 of the world has no electricity, but to actually experience this first-hand really puts these statistics into reality.  What began as a 3 day 2 night trekking trip turned into a life experience.  We knew the terrain would be difficult and the sleeping accomodations basic, but we had no idea these people could effect our lives so greatly.

To give you some background, northern Laos is full of remote villages.  By remote, I mean that these people live a 1/2 days walk or more from any roads (aka 4x4 trails) and they have no electricity.  On average, each family in the village survives on less than $1 per day.  The farm rice and grow other basic vegetables to sustain themselves.  The villages are also full of farm animals (chickens, pigs, dogs); however, we learned that they only eat meat approx. 1x per week.  The animals are mainly for selling at the market and the going tourist rate is $3 per whole chicken. 

The size and ethnicity of each villabe differs.  During our trek, we visited we visited Hmong, Lahu and Akha villages.  Even if the ethnicity of the village is the same, each village has different traditions and dress.  One ethnic group never inter-marries with another ethnic group and each speaks their own language.  Men in the village are also taught how to speak Lao but women are not.

The first day we did no hiking.  Instead, we drove to what is usually the last village you stay at on the trek to attend their New Year's Celebration.   Our guides thought we would enjoy this experience and they were right!  Upon arrival at the Tong Lat Village, we were greeted by the king and served some local rice whiskey.  The rule of thumb is that you drink two horns full (in reality two very small shot classes full) to avoid being rude.   Although similar to Lao Lao, this brand is special to the Akha and actually tasted a little better!  However, the fact that you can dip your finger into the alcohol and light it on fire means watch out! 

Soon the festival was under way.  We were escorted to tables full of food and took our seats to join the fun.  The girls dressed in traditional Akha attire continued to serve shots of rice whiskey and glasses of beer (which must be chugged).  We tried the various dishes in front of us except for the raw meat served in blood, but eventually had to leave the table.  It seemed like we were getting offered a shot of rice whiskey every 5 seconds!  Instead we took the opportunity to walk around.  Some of the people would smile and wave.  Some just stared.  Most of the kids would clear out of the way if you walked toward them.  We wondered if their parents told them mythes like "watch out white people will eat you" sort of like our parents told us not to eat watermelon seeds or watermelon would grow out of our ears. 

It was great having an English speaking guide because he helped us understand the traditions of the Akha people.  We found the most interesting tradition to be the love houses.  At 15 the girls move out of their parents house into a love house (aka a very small hut just large enough to sleep in).  They live in the love house until they find love and marry.  At that time they move into the house built by their husband.  Almost all women are married by the time they are 18, but they are not arranged marriages.   Its their tradition and culture to marry and have children so that someone is able to take care of them when they get older.  As a result, the festival and dancing provides an opportunity for girls and boys to flirt and see if they are interested in anyone (whether they are older or younger than 15).  Tony and I got to participate in the dancing.  Thankfully its very simple.  Probably because its hard to move after too much rice whiskey.

As the festival began to wind down (except the flirting girls and boys who continued well into the night), we were invited to the king's house for an after party.  In the Akha village, there is a chief and a king.  The chief is elected by the village every four years and acts as a government liason (similar to our city mayors).  The king is always from the same family and is required to perform ceremonies and teach traditions to upcoming generations.  At the king's house we met the governer of Vieng Pouka and of course, drank more rice whiskey. 

It was interesting to see a traditional Akha home.  Even the style of homes dictates the ethnicity of the village.  The Akha build their homes on stilts with wood floors and roofs and weaved bamboo sides.  There are no windows.  Inside there are two rooms (one small and one big).  The husband sleeps in the large room and the wife and children sleeps in the small room.  There is a hole in the wall between the two rooms.  If the husband wants some nooky he reaches through the hole and the wife joins him.   There is also a small cooking area (usually a separate room off the main rectangle) with a wood-burning fire.  The bathroom or hole in the ground is outside.  Water is gathered from the main water supply in the village.  This is usually a gravity fed pipe from a nearby river.  The water supply is used only for cooking and washing clothes.  To bath, they walk to the river.  It was such a different way of life.  These people have nothing and yet they are full of smiles.  Community and tradition is everything to them.   

The next day we began hiking.  We had 35 kilometers to cover in two days.  The area was beautiful (rolling hills covered in trees).  We hiked through bamboo forest, mountain rice fields, up over hills, down through rivers, etc.  In the distance we could see a village on the hill.  It appeared to be a long way away yet in just an hour or two's time we were arriving in the Phou Yea Village.  At we saw no one but as we continued walking we began to gather a parade of children.  As usual, they were shy but curious.  According to our guide many have never seen white people.  We stopped at the chief's house to say hello and the children crowded in the doorways to stare.  We learned how to ask what is your name in Akha (since they do not speak Lao), but when we asked they would just giggle and hide.  The only way you could get near them was to take a picture with permission.  As soon as the picture was taken they would crowd around you to see themselves on the screen.  In a world of no electricity and no mirrors, I wondered if their little minds could even comprehend how they could suddenly see themselves on a screen or if they even knew what they really looked like.  After our visit the children followed us down the hill waving and yelling "yo mama da" which is thank you.  We yelled bye-bye back which they then copied.  They stood at the edge of the village waving until they could no longer see us.  It was heart-warming!

Our next stop on the trail was a river or in this case a bath.  The water was freezing!  And although men can bathe in their underwear, I had to wear a traditional sarong.  Wearing the sarong was easy, but the logistics of modestly dressing beside the creek with a wet sarong I hadn't thought through very well.   Somehow it worked and we warmed up quickly hiking to the top of the hill to the Nam Lo Village.  Our destination for the second night.

On arrival, the guides immediately began making dinner.  I guess it never occurred to me, but each meal in the village starts from scratch . . . literally.  The first step for Sam Bat was to catch the chicken.  Our parents had told us stories about butchering chickens but this was the first time we got to watch.  Once again I had to remind myself that this is not cruel or gross.  Its a fact of daily life for them.  Plus none of it is wasted.  We ate every part of that chicken.  It wasn't cut up into nice recognizable pieces like breasts and wings and thighs.  Most of the time we had no idea what part we were eating.  We just knew we were eating it all and picking out the bones.  I was also amazed at how tough the meat actually is when chickens spend their lives free of cages.

After dinner, we received traditional Akha massages from four local girls.  It was a perfect way to relax before going to sleep.  Since its dark outside at 6pm and there is no electricity you go to sleep early and wake up early.  Unless you are a boy courting a girl who lives in a love house.  Then you spend the night talking or singing.  We could hear this clearly outside our house.

Stay tuned for more to come