Probably one of the most special parts of the trip was our visit to one of the Lao Villages. After our 2nd day of longboat riding, the boat dropped us off at Ban Lad Khammune, a riverside village pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The village and the tourguide company have an agreement where the group members have a 'homestay' overnight in the villager's houses.
We arrived in the village and were welcomed warmly by the children, all presenting us with a small bouquet of flowers wrapped in a piece of writing paper. So adorable!
Next up we had a walking tour of the village.
A typical family home.
Jana and I met our hostess for the evening, a lovely lady. Her house was very basic but impeccably tidy. She gave us mats to sleep on the floor (and a mosquito net, for later in the evening).
Next up we saw the school. School was on break at the time, so the kids were all wild and playful around the village.
Noy, our Lao local guide, gave us a quick crash course in Lao...
The village Temple
This fellow sat on his porch weaving a fishing net. Yes, WEAVING a FISHING NET. By hand. Talk about patience!
Here a man and lady were de-husking the rice, which involves grinding it with this big long pestle then tossing the husks off by flipping the flat basket on the left. Hard work!
It was such a privilege to be a guest at this village. However, the language barrier was tough- these folks knew just about no English (just as we knew very little Lao!). Sign language and charades help some, but I thought the best language to use was through play, with the village children.
They loved to pose for photos with my digital camera!
(and then, of course, immediately want to see the picture on the screen after!)
Some more of the local children.
Being silly!
The little guy in the blue shirt found a basketball, so we started a massive game of "Monkey in the Middle". When that got a little too rowdy, we switched to "Tag". Then some sort of "Duck Duck Goose" equivalent, which involved hopping on one foot. They were laughing as I tried desparately to learn the rules (and miserably failed!)
After getting quite sweaty and dirty running around with the local kiddos, it was time to freshen up before dinner. Yeah, no shower or flush toilets here, so bathing consisted of a nice sponge bath with a bucket of water. Mmmm squeaky clean.
Next it was "Happy Hour" in the village. First they offered us a rice wine that needed to be sipped out of tubing in this cauldron. It was sweet and actually ok tasting.
Next came the infamous lao-lao... a rice whiskey. Absolutely disgusting! But we had to be polite and have a shot or two, as it's disrespectful not to. Blech.
After we were happy from Happy Hour, it was time for the "Baci" Ceremony. It is a traditional Lao way to celebrate an important event (such as a dozen Western tourists visiting your village!)
The ceremony revolves around "kwan", which are the forces that give breath and life to the body. Lao belief says that the body is made up of 32 organs and the kwan watch over and protect each one of them. Wandering kwan is often the cause of illness. The Baci Ceremony helps to bring back the kwan to re-establish equilibrium.
The ceremony requires a lot of prep work. It involves a "pha kwan", a silver table, on which is a vase containing flowers and many white cotton threads. Around the table are foods such as sweets and fruits (symbolizing the coming together of many parts), a bottle of lao-lao (for purification), and a boiled whole chicken, with head and claws (for divination purposes).
At the introduction to the ceremony, everyone needs to touch the pha kwan.
The "maw pawn" (village elder), leads the ceremony and chants some Buddhist mantra, and then calls upon the wandering kwan to return to the participants. Next up, the villagers all begin to tie the white strings around the participants' wrists, while chanting blessings for health, success, safe travel, and even fertility. The white symbolizes peace, good fortune, honesty and warmth. The strings symbolize continuity and brotherhood in the community.
It was such a neat experience having 15 different people tying strings on your arm at the same time while blessing you in a foreign language. The room was chaos!
Here with my 32 strings :)
As part of the tradition, the strings need to be left on for 3 days, and need to be untied rather than cut.
Next up we got to eat the food that was given as gifts.
Our tourguide was given the chicken head. He wasn't a fan. I said I'd try it!
It was quite crunchy, but not disgusting. Glad I tried it, but would never order it off a menu.
The evening ended by a large feast, lively music, and dancing with the locals. And, of course, more lao-lao.
I slept quite well despite a thin mat on a floor-- the food, drink, and dancing wore me out!
The next morning we said farewell and "kob jai lai lai" (thank you very much) to our new Lao friends, young and old.
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