Tuesday November24, 2009
Cruising the Mekong, Day 11
Cold!!
We got up early again to have breakfast and finish packing. Sandra took a power walk through the town and took some more photos.
Toi picked us up sharply at 830am to take us to the boat. My suitcase with the 10 kg stone mortar and pestle is getting heavier. Anyhow, they were able to get it in the van and off we went to the pier on a chilly morning. Well, the pier was a block away. So we were in the car for about a minute. Then they had to lug my suitcase down about 20 flights of very steep stairs to the boat. We met our captain and our guide Toua. Once on board there was a complication as they had us down as staying in Kamu lodge for 2 days instead of one nite and then going to Luangsay. So the boat was held up for a bit over an hour until they could get the situation resolved. I did feel bad for the German couple Sabina and Armin as they had to wait also but were very good sports.
Toi and our driver. The photo is overexposed but love the expression in their faces.
Our slow boat to the Kamu Lodge.
The boat ride was freezing!!! I only brought a sweatshirt for cold days and that was not enough. Fortunately, the boat had blankets so we bundled up while enjoying the cruise.
The Mekong is one mighty river and is the lifeline of Southeast Asia. It is pretty muddy but is abundant with fish, riverweed and minerals. As we were traveling during the dry season, the fertile riverbanks were being used to plant peanuts. Sandra and I thought that peanuts were grown on trees. However we learned that it is a flowering plant and that the peanut shells are underground. Who knew?
Peanut Farm
One of the many waterfalls we sailed by.
The Jungle dotted with Teak trees.
I was shocked to see this modern Malibu like mansion along the riverbank. Apparently it is owned by a Lao woman married to a British guy. It is illegal now for Laotians to be romantically involved with foreigners. The main reason is because of buildings like this which hilite the "haves" and "have nots".
After about 3 hours on the boat ride and observing life on Mekong including a farmer using an elephant to help with logging, we arrived at our first destination the Pak Ou cave.
Elephants! You have to look very closely to see the elephant. Didn't have time to get my telephoto lens out.
Pak Ou means mouth of the Nam Ou river and is the name used for tourists. The real name is Khan Ting which means the same thing but in traditional Lao. Legend has it that it was found in the 8th century to be used for worship as the Lao believed in spirits and animism that time. It was during the 14th century that the cave became a Buddhist cave where now over 5000 images of Buddha can be found. Sandra and I went to both the lower and upper cave to admire the Buddhas. The upper cave was pitch black so a bit difficult to see but fortunately we brought our headlights.
The view of our boat "Kamu Lodge" from the caves.
After enjoying the caves, we went back onto the boat for the last leg of our trip. The sun came out so the last hour on the boat was much warmer and enjoyable. Toua even treated us to a some music where he played a traditional Lao instrument called the Khane. It is made of bamboo and rosewood. Khane means “better”. Apparently, a hunter found some bamboo, made a flute out of it but realized the more bamboo the better thus “better or Khane” is the name of the instrument.
Toua, our guide.
We also learned during the ride about the dangers of traveling on the Mekong. During the rainy season, the rocks are under water so it is very dangerous for deep boats. The safest route is to follow the tree line. Also, sometimes, the rocks blocks the view of oncoming boats during the dry season so crashes are known to happen. Apparently there was a fatal crash so the government hired a villager to be traffic cop on the rock.
We arrived at the beautiful Kamu lodge about an hour later. We were greeted by very strong porters as one had to carry my bag up a hill . Toua gave us an overview of the lodge. It is owned by a Laotian woman married to a French man. They built it as an eco-lodge and to also give back to the Kamu village. The Kamu’s lived in the mountains and years ago moved nearer to the Mekong where they moved into an abandoned Lao village. Today the community is “thriving” albeit still very poor, with the help of Kamu lodge. Kamu Lodge has built the village a private school and also donates 1dollar for every guest. After 100 guests, the get 100 dollars to use amongst the village. The lodge also hires the folks from the village. The lodge is owned by a Laotian woman married to a foreigner. I am not sure if the Kamu Lodge project is good or bad. It is good in that the villagers have clean water, healthcare and an education. They also have employment at the lodge. It is bad in that I felt like a colonialist. The quality of life is quite different for us in the lodge and the villagers. We also learned that they speak a different language albeit similar to Lao.
A really strong guy carrying my 28 kilo suitcase up the riverbank to my room.
Saying goodbye to our captain.
We then went to our “tent” no. 8 and wow, what a tent! It was gorgeous with a private bathroom attached. Every tent is solar powered. The grounds are gorgeous with rice paddies, flowers and vegetable gardens. We couldn’t enjoy our tent for long though as we had to go to lunch. Lunch was served outdoors and consists of a buffalo soup, minced chicken in bamboo, pork salad, green salad, and green papaya salad. I’m not a fan of buffalo but tried the soup and although the soup was good, the buffalo was just as tough as I remembered it. Armin and Sabina, the German couple joined us were we had a very good conversation. They are both seasoned travelers and our spending 2 full weeks in Laos followed by resort time in Thailand. After lunch, we went back to our tents to rest just a bit as our afternoon activities were starting.
Inside our tent.
Outside our tent.
We met Toua at the meeting place and Sabina also joined us. Our first activity was to visit the Kamu Village. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The people were very nice and the kids were so cute and delightful. They do live in very difficult conditions where there is no electricity or running water. But the water they drink is spring water not water from the Mekong so is pretty clean. And yet again, the women are doing a lot of the work. Just making dinner is a huge chore and they need to pound the rice to remove the husks manually, and cook everything on an open fire. We also visited the school where the schoolteacher came from the village and was trained in Luang Prabang. They could not get a “city” teacher to come to town so they trained a local. The school visit was the highlight as I did an origami demonstration and Sandra made paper planes. It was fun. I promised Toua that I’ll send the school the supply of origami.
The path to the village
The houses are tradional Loatian homes that were abandoned. One characteristic of the house is that the stilts are secured with stones.
The children LOVED to get their photos taken and wanted to shake our hands - Western style.
There were many dogs but were treated very nicely. Although they have a tougher life than Skipper and Yuki, they are given as much love and as much care as possible.
Rice is hulled by hand which takes forever!
Woman pounding the rice to remove the husk.
Making rice noodles for dinner by pounding cooked rice. Check out her arms!
Everyone wanted their photo taken.
Including this elegant woman chewing betel nut.
I wonder if they learned the peace sign from the Japanese visitors
School's out!
Teaching origami
While the women are busy working, the men, finished with hunting were taking care of the children.
Grandma's were also taking care of the children.
The tough part of the visit as seeing a mole tied up that a villager caught for dinner. It is always so difficult to see live animals in fear. However, they do it for food and not for sport yet it is still difficult. Toua also showed us a beetle that the villagers and many Lao people eat. Umm. No thank you!
This bug is not for eating but it looked fake because it was so green!
This beetle is for eating.
We then walked back through the village, passed some water buffalo and back to the lodge grounds to give Lao archery a try. It was fun. The bow was made of bamboo and so was the arrow. Toua set it up for us as it required strength. Sandra hit the bulls eye on the first try. Sabina came close after 2 tries and although it hit the board, I came in last. It was fun though. We then got a demonstration on rice planting and also fishing. Fishing using the net is difficult!
Water Buffaloes
Demonstration on rice planting - it is HARD work!
Fishing demonstration was on the Mekong. The river is sooo glassy.
The fisherman. He was always smiling.
It was then time for rest, where we had a bottle of wine to share with Sabina at the outdoor lounge. Armin did not join us for the activities as he had a cold but joined us for the “happy” hour. We also met a lovely couple from the UK who came from Luangsay Lodge which is our next destination. After sharing travel stories, it was time for dinner and wow, what an amazing dinner. We had sweet and sour pork, veggies with pork, fish, buffalo and a chicken curry soup. Delicious! And fresh fruit for dessert. We were back in our tents by about 8pm where I attempted to take a shower. Well, the water was cold and found 2 cockroaches! But they did leave a thermos of hot water which I used to very quickly cleanse myself. I then hopped into my warm bed with the mosquito net draped. Sandra and I were asleep by 830pm!
The Bar
The Dining Hall
Ground of Kamu Lodge