The Village Blacksmith(s) - Laos Day #3

The Village Blacksmith

"UNDER a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man. ... " Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

On our "leisure" day trip on Wednesday, 27 January, we encountered the village blacksmiths in the Khmu village of Baan Sopsim. Lacking a spreading chestnut tree, the blacksmiths toiled under a thatched roof lean-to that was attached to some one's home. Outside of their smithy shop, women tended to babies and kept watch over the older children who were occupied with their play. The wood stairway leading up into the home made both a convenient seat and observation post for two of the mothers. Off to the side, a grandmother stood crocheting a fine meshed nylon bag typically used for holding fish or snails gathered in the nearby river.

When we first arrived in Sopsim, we did not see the blacksmiths. Our attention was drawn to some woman and children. The woman were sewing and doing embroidery. The children were busy running around and playing - agitated by the arrival of a foreigner. We started to hear sounds of metal banging upon metal in an almost rhythmic cadence from across the dirt road that bisects the village. We crossed the road and investigated.

There were several men engaged in making new knives and spears for spear guns. There appeared to be just as many men watching as well as socializing with the workers. This is typical in Laos as well as in Isaan. Manchester United Football team's slogan is "You Never Walk Alone" A similar slogan could be adapted for Lao culture - "You never work alone" You may not necessarily have someone helping you but you will most certainly have some one watching you.

There was a charcoal fire about the size of a small Campbell's Soup can where the steel was heated in and over. Next to the fire was a round cylinder about 8 inches in diameter which appeared to be wood and about 18 inches long with two 1/2 inch diameter pipes coming out of its side and running underneath the small fire. One end of the cylinder was completely sealed off. The other end of the cylinder was sealed with a membrane that had a small diameter metal rod penetrating its center. At the exposed end of the metal rod there was a wood "T" handle that a young man diligently grasped as he continuously drove the the rod back and forth into the cylinder. The in and out motion of the rod caused air to be forced into the fire to create the higher temperatures necessary for forging the steel. The home made forced draft "fan" or quasi-bellows was very similar to the device that I had recently seen on television related to ancient Chinese technology of over 1,000 years ago. Absolutely fascinating - air was forced into the fire on each push as well as pull stroke of the rod. We watched for quite awhile. Duang asked if I could work the bellows. I made a crude remark about having to place my hand around the rod in a different position to stroke the rod. I used the Lao term for the action (practise?) and the men laughed like crazy. Unfortunately the laugh was not at my expense but at the expense of the young man who had been stroking the rod for so long. He became embarrassed with their teasing and left for a short time. His friend took over but quickly turned over the task to the first young man when he returned. It was all very good natured teasing like you would expect amongst family members or very good friends.



One of the men was alternatively heating some thin steel in the fire and pounding upon it with a medium sized ball peen hammer to turn it into a knife shape. His "anvil" was a spike shaped piece of steel with a 3 inch square head driven into a large diameter hardwood log that was laying on its side underneath the thatched roof.

Next to the anvil a man was busy cutting a small diameter steel pipe. He did not have any electric tools. He did not have a hacksaw or even a hacksaw blade. He was using a file and a heavy knife along with the ball peen hammer to cut the tube. Further back, a man was preparing to put a hole in a piece of wood. He did not have a bit and brace. He did not have a hand drill. He did not even have a twisted drill bit. He was using a red hot steel rod to burn a hole in the wood. Wisps of smoke rose in spirals as the hot steel burned its way into the wood while he twisted the rod.


Another man was carving a piece of wood to be the knife handle. The tapered end of the knife blade would be driven into the hole at the end of the wood handle. Throughout this Lao trip, we saw men walking along the roads and into the forest with their long handled knife strapped to their waist in scabbards made from woven bamboo. The people are very much self sufficient and quite adapt at making do with what resources are readily available to them.

Another blacksmith was occupied in forging parts for a spear gun or rather more accurately a "spear pistol". We had seen several young men walking near the river carrying pistol sized guns that shot spears made out of 3/32 inch metal rods. The devices are used to catch fish.

While he worked on the spear gun, the other blacksmith, was sharpening one of his new knife blades on a piece of sandstone. The sandstone was a piece of rock that had been struck and cleaved to form a fairly flat raw surface that he poured some of the water from the wooden tempering trough to lubricate, cool, as well as create a slurry that he rubbed the steel over and over. Besides creating a cutting edge on the knife blade, he rubbed the backside of the blade to smooth the edges and square the side.


"He earns what'er he can

And Looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man ... "

Recently I was asked how is poor defined in this culture. I responded that the people do not have many material possessions but they are able to care for themselves as well as their families. In this culture spiritual well being and happiness are also considered measures of wealth. Rather than pitying these people for all the material goods that they lack, I am awed by their ability to survive in the conditions that they find themselves in. I joke with Duang that I would be dead in two weeks.

Rather than being poor they are wealthy in the sense that just as Longfellow's Village Blacksmith could they too can look the while world in the face for they owe not any man.

How many of us are that rich?

Laos Day #3 - A Restful But Another Busy Day

27 January 2010 Wednesday - I enjoyed a 12 hour sleep, Duang ended up sleeping 14 hours - no matter where you are there is nothing as soothing for sleep than than the sound of gentle rain on the roof. In Luang Namtha it is even better because the rain keeps the roosters quiet. I always thought that roosters crowed at the break of dawn - it is true, but from this trip I learned that they also crow at 1:00 A.M., 2:00 A. M., 3:00 A. M. - anytime that they choose. It is a little annoying but adds to ambiance of staying in a woven bamboo cottage over looking the Namtha River - a sort of Lao village experience but absent the requirement to bathe in the river like the real villagers.

I got up at 7:30 A. M. 7:30 A. M.? 12 hours of sleep? Yes! The sun sets early and there was no TV in the cottage. Just like when camping, you tend to follow the sun in the hours that remain awake. I had an excellent breakfast of pancakes with sweet condensed milk on them. I enjoyed a glass of fresh orange juice - freshly squeezed just before I was served it. Just like in Brasil, fresh orange juice is squeezed from several oranges and is not poured out of a wax box, out of a frozen can of concentrate, or poured out of a plastic bottle. It is 100% real juice - one of life's pleasures for sure.

I remained in the combination dining room-reception area-tour booking office and worked on my journal. So many different and interesting things have happened that it is an effort to maintain the journal but it is necessary to capture the moments accurately. Maintaining a journal is also an effective means of slowing you down as well as getting you to relax. As Duang sleeps, I use the "down time" to write and in the process my body is recovering from the previous day's efforts.

On this morning Mr. Thone, The Boat Landing's General Manager joined me at my table. He speaks excellent English and was involved in the early formation of the Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant in Luang Namtha. He was extremely helpful in making arrangements and advising us about the area. After bouncing around and smelling exhaust gases from our "taxi" all day the previous day, I had come to the conclusion that our planned day to the market at Xieng Kok was just not feasible. I didn't know about Duang but I knew that I didn't and perhaps could not stand another 2 hours additional travel each way in the back of the small truck from Muang Sing to Xieng Kok. There was a Toyota tour van parked in the parking lot while I was speaking with Mr. Thone. It was very similar to the vehicles used to transport up to 11 tourists on guided tours in South East Asia. Mr Thone indicated that I could hire the van and driver for the day. The cost would be $130 USD for the day. I thought about the cost and hesitated. I then thought about the probability of returning to Luang Namtha in the future, the costs involved in returning and so forth. I then decided to go ahead and hire the driver and van. Duang joined us and we had a long conversation with Mr. Thone.

Upon our arrival at the Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant, we had noticed an orange camper, I believed it is called an "Overland" in Europe, parked in the parking area. We didn't pay it much mind believing that it had something to do with the nearby vacant government building used for boat tours when the river runs higher starting in June. The Namtha River was approximately 4 meters (12 feet) below the elevation of the guest house facilities. From watching people cleaning and playing in the river, it appeared to currently be about one meter deep (3 feet) maximum. We learned from Mr Thone that in 2003 the river had rose so much that there was 1.3 meters (4 feet) flooding the facilities. The rainy season makes a very big difference in the river's height as well as flow.

After awhile I noticed that there were people staying inside the vehicle. Eventually a man and a woman left the van and entered into the restaurant. It is strange but you seem to be able to quickly assess people just by observing them for a short period of time especially if they are unawares. Duang and I saw many tourists who seemed to have bad attitudes. We both came to the conclusion that these people were "jai dai" - nice people with good hearts. As we headed back to our room to prepare for the remainder of the day, they said "Hello" to us. We stopped at their table and quickly were engaged in very animated conversation. Jurgen and Helga are not tourists - they are "travelers". When I worked in Malaysia, a bunch of us guys would head out into the countryside on our only day off from work often not really knowing where we wanted to go. We developed the philosophy that we were "travelers" - travelers go places and do things that "tourists" don't. Well Jurgen and Helga were definitely "TRAVELERS" - they left Germany 6 months ago and DROVE to Laos on their way eventually to Australia. They had traveled through Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Tibet, and China. They plan on traveling another year. As we spoke with them of all things as well as matters great and small, our initial impression of them was reinforced. Besides being extremely interesting people, they are very nice people. We informed them of our plans to go to the market in Xieng Kok the next morning and invited them to join us for the day. They accepted and wanted to know how much the trip would cost so that they could share the costs. I told them the cost but told them that whether they came with us or not we were going to do it. I told them that they could pay only what they cared to and that I was not going even count what they pay. I did not want to taint our friendship based upon a judgement of how much they would help. I kept my word and I am content with that.

We went to our cottage and picked up our gear for the day. We had hired our taxi and driver from the previous two days for the afternoon. We picked up our lunch at the hotel restaurant - sandwiches and home made banana bread wrapped in banana leaves - no wax paper or plastic to clutter the environment. Since the leaves were biodegradable, there were no qualms in tossing them over the side of the Taxi truck as we bounced along once more on a dirt road headed for another village.


Our first stop of the afternoon was at Soptud Village, a Lanten settlement. Part of the dirt road was being repaired and we came upon a large compact roller parked on the side of the village road. Small children were clamoring all over the large machine pretending that they were working. A friend of mine back in the USA involved with worker lawsuits sometimes comments on the lack of safety equipment shown in some of my photographs - such as no safety harnesses, and no hard hats. Well this crew violated even more safe practices - no sturdy work boots, no safety glasses, and for one little boy - NO PANTS. On this trip we came upon many young children, mainly young boys, without adequate clothing. Fortunately the weather was warm during the day although night temperatures went down to the high 50s F (14 C).

One of the villages that we visited was a Khmu settlement called Baan Sopsim. As so often occurs on our travels, interesting things were going on in the village just about where ever you were willing to look. We stopped in the center of the village in front of some women with their daughters - busy embroidering and caring for babies. We quickly attracted some of the village children - curious and to a certain degree cautious of foreign visitors. For most of the children it was not very long before their curiosity exceeded their caution.

We heard noise from across the road and we crossed over to investigate. Underneath a low thatched lean-to structure attached to the side of one of the homes, several Khmu men were busy fabricating knives and spear guns. It was so interesting that I will dedicate a separate blog entry just to the "village blacksmiths".

The remainder of our afternoon was spent in visiting a forest cemetery and silk weavers in the Thai Dahm (Black Thai) village of Baan Pahsak. Again there is too much information and photographs to share in this edition of the blog and will be subjects in future blog(s).

Laos Day #2 - Long Journey Back to Luang Namtha

It had taken us 2 hours to go from Luang Namtha to the market at Muang Sing. We finished our market visit around 9:00 A.M.. Since we had hired the "Taxi" and driver for the day, we were free to explore the countryside during our return trip to Luang Namtha. As it turned out, our return trip took 5-1/2 hours!

The weather forecast for the day was a 80% probability of precipitation. Duang at sunrise was concerned that it would rain. I assured her that it would not rain until 3:00 P.M. I don't know why I gave that prediction, but I believed it without reservations.

After some early morning fog, mist and somewhat threatening sky, the day turned out rather good. There was some sun light, and cool temperatures - just right for travel.

Outside of Muang Sing, at the village of Baan So, we came upon farmers preparing the fields for a second planting of rice. Just as in Isaan, the primary rice crop is planted in July and harvested in late November. Some North West Laos farmers with reliable and abundant sources of water, like some in Isaan, plant a second rice crop in January. These farmers were using the same type of "iron buffalo", Kubota - after the Japanese company that builds and markets them, to smooth out the ground in the flooded paddy. Duang shouted out to the driver to pull over and stop so that I could take some photographs. She got out along with me to stretch her legs. Besides being able to photograph these types of activities, stopping and walking a ways gives you the opportunity to listen, smell, and closely observe aspects of daily life. Several workers passed by us either riding bicycles or walking along the road. They seemed as curious about us as we were about them - the main difference only being that I had cameras to take their pictures.

Our driver quickly understood that I enjoyed photographing people. He willing stopped whenever we came upon something or someone interesting - Monks on bicycles, men working in rice paddies, workers harvesting broom plant, Hmong villages, etc, etc. It ended up being a fantastic day with the rain holding off until 2:30 P.M. just as we entered the hotel reception area after our long day on the road but 30 minutes earlier than I predicted.




After photographing the men preparing the rice paddies for planting, we drove to Ban Singhyuan (sp?). In Ban Singhyuan we encountered a crew of workers working in a very large watermelon patch. The driver pulled over and stopped. I hopped out with Duang right behind me. We joined the workers out in the middle of the patch or more aptly "field". The workers, a mixture of men and women ranging in age from approximately 15 to 45 years old, were trimming the vines by pinching off "runners" with their fingers. This would increase the productivity of the vines. Some of the workers were delicately picking up the vines to dip the flower blossoms into a clear watery liquid contained in the inverted top half of a 1.25 liter recycled soda plastic bottle. The vines were cultivated much like cultivated strawberries - planted in plastic covered long furrows of soil. The vines grow up and out of small holes made in the top of the plastic. As a furrow was completed, the crew moved over to the next furrow to repeat their activities. Although it was still early in the morning, temperature around the plastic sheeting and dry compacted clay soil was rapidly rising. The workers were very friendly as well as sociable - the younger women joking about wanting to find a foreign husband. I have written about farm workers making between 100 baht ($3.00 USD a day) for garlic workers near Maehongson and 150 baht ($5.00 USD a day) for rice workers in Isaan (Tahsang Village)so I was interested in knowing how much Lao farm workers were paid. They told Duang that they make 120 baht a day.


Our next stop on our trip back to Luang Namtha was a Yao village called Ban Namai. The Yao people migrated from China and are typified by the large red fluffy trim on woman's jackets. The Yao, also known as Meo, people are well known for their cross stitching and embroidery. Duang and I had purchased some Yao textiles during our trip to Chiang Rai two years ago. Upon our arrival in the village we were besieged by women with textiles and handicrafts for sale. It is often difficult when there are so many people trying to earn some money. You want to help but there is only so much that you can do. We ended up buying a beautiful piece that had an embroidered butterfly and flower motif. The young man who had made the piece has gone to school in China, speaks Chinese, and speaks rather good English. The piece 31 inches by 50 inches cost us $42 USD. We bought some smaller items and having felt that we had done enough for that village's economy, we beat a hasty retreat.




We stopped in the Tai Dam (Black Tai) village of Ban Nong Bua. We found a woman who was weaving cotton underneath the shade of her home. I watched for awhile and took some photographs. Duang and she entered into negotiation over some of the woman's work so I left to tour the village on my own. In the end Duang had purchased two hand woven and sewn Tai Dam shirts for our one year old grandson for $1.00 each and a man sized traditional shirt for $6 USD. I went down one of the side streets of the village and encountered women wanting to sell me textiles. I turned and although I did not run, I walked fairly fast to another part of the village. In this part of the village an addition was being constructed to one of the homes. The men were using lumber levers to lift a part of the house onto stones for a better foundation. I lent my weight if not expertise to the operation and the house was easily lifted and placed. The construction effort was a family effort by husband, brothers, grandfather, and sons. Aunts, grandmother, daughters, and wife were occupied in cooking food on wood fires for the construction crew. I was there for quite awhile and Duang finally found me. She had been worried about my fearlessness to discover things in these villages.

In Ban Tin That, we found workers harvesting broom plant. Throughout the district broom plant has been cut and is laying out in the sun to dry in huge fields, alongside the roads, and inside the villages. Broom plant is a reed with a large soft head. The reed stems are bound together to form a handle and the fluffy heads are swept across surfaces to clean them. We use these types of brooms in our home as just about everyone else does. The harvested broom plant is exported to China, turned into consumer products for domestic consumption as well as export. I had walked out to the workers alone and after engaging them in conversation well beyond my verbal and pantomime skills I called out to Duang for assistance. Of all the workers we encountered on our return trip these workers were the most friendly as well as the youngest. They were gathering up the broom plants that had been cut three days ago. The cut plants had laid spread out in the sun to dry out. The Chinese companies pay 1,200 KIP ($0.14 USD) a kilogram for raw material but 2,000 Kip ($0.24 USD) a kilogram for dry product. These workers were gathering the dry plants and bundling them together with strips of bark to create sheaves that were then hauled over to a small spring scale to be weighed and loaded onto a large truck. I joked to the workers about all the plant going from Laos to China so that China could send it to America. I learned that these workers make less money, 80 Baht a day, than farm workers in Isaan. Duang is able to talk to most of the people so we learn a great deal about their life and work. She is not able to speak to some of the minorities such Akha who speak only their languages and not Lao.

We stopped at a Hmong Village several kilometers outside of Luang Namtha. It was rather new and did not have a name. Children were headed out into the forest with woven bamboo baskets on their back. The children gather firewood to bring back home and food for the family meal. It is a constant wonder to me to see small children making significant contribution to the family welfare. Children too young to go off in the forest, contribute by caring for their baby brothers and sisters. Spend some time in these back waters of SE Asia and you soon realize that childhood is a luxury that is affordable to very few people.

That night it rained most of the night. We slept very well to the gentle sound of rain on the wood shingles of our cottage and the lack of roosters proclaiming their presence. We slept 12 hours after our journey in the pickup bed taxi truck. A great way to end a great day.

Muang Sing Market - Laos Day 2

We awoke at 4:00 A. M. Tuesday morning, 26 January, to be able to leave the hotel at 5:00 A. M. for our two hour journey to the market at Muang Sing. The market opened at 7:00 A. M. and I wanted to be there to get the full experience of the place. Before going to Luang Namtha, I had done extensive research, much like I do for all our journeys, to determine places, peoples, and events of interest to visit. Visiting the markets at Muang Sing and further on to Xieng Kok were on my list of priorities for our trip.

Muang Sing is a sort of link to my past. Just as I had read and heard in elementary school about exotic venues such as Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, when I was young I had read a book about a famous American doctor in Laos during the late 1950s, Dr Tom Dooley. He founded a hospital in Muang Sing and was well known for his humanitarian efforts in Vietnam as well as Laos. He was a vehement anti-Communist and is known to have assisted the CIA in their efforts against them. His contributions were to in the arenas of publicity and propaganda. Just as I was able to visit Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu, I, as an adult, would be visiting the area of Laos that Dr. Dooley had written about.

Muang Sing is located in a broad river valley created by the Nam La River and is about 7 miles from the border with China. The area still produces opium, approximately 4 tons a year but much of it is consumed by the local minorities such as the Akha people. Young people in the district also consume heroin and amphetamines. Sometimes they sell narcotics in the market to falangs (foreigners). I had been approached in Vientiane about buying drugs during my last trip to Laos a year ago. I was not approached to buy opium, heroin, or even amphetamines, I was approached to purchase Viagra! Fortunately I have no need or interest for such "medication" so I was not interested. The same remains true on this trip - no need or interest for drugs or any variety. However some tourists do go to the area for recreational drug use. Posters in hotels and restaurants in Lao as well as English ask people to refrain from such activities.

We had hired the same "taxi" and driver that we had employed the previous day. The two bench seats in the pick up bed were about 6 inches wide and not heavily padded. The sides of the pick up bed had several small pads attached to it but hardly enough to make a two hour trip reasonably comfortable. Anticipating comfort issues, I had requested the driver the evening before to place a saht, woven reed mat, on the floor of the bed.

We set off for Muang Sing in a heavy mist typical of the weather in Luang Namtha at this time of the year. Seated on the bench seat, I was unable to see much of anything due to darkness and mist. Duang quickly decided to lay down on the saht and rest if not go back to sleep with the spare tire laying on the floor as her pillow. We bounced along the rough paved road out of Luang Namtha towards the NPA (Namtha Protected Area). The NPA is 2,224 square kilometers of preserved heavily forested lands which is home to tigers, elephants, leopards,and gaur. We took Highway 17A through the NPA to get to Muang Sing. The NPA is heavily forested with large towering trees on each side of Highway 17A, a 1-1/2 lane wide paved road.

Many small villages are situated alongside of the highway just like we encountered last year along Highway 13 to Luang Prabang. The drive was very rough. I toughed it out for about an hour on the bench seat before I joined Duang on the floor. It was interesting to watch the sun rise over the mountains of the NPA. Duang was concerned that it would rain. Before we had left home I had printed the long range weather forcast for Luang Namtha. The forecast for the day was for 80% chance of precipitation. I told Duang that it would not rain until 3:00 P. M. We had driven 1-1/2 hours and encountered only one other vehicle on the road. During the final 30 minutes of our drive, as we approached Muang Sing, traffic picked up and we saw about 6 other vehicles.

As we drove along the valley floor there were many more villages. These villages were more established than the mountain villages with concrete and brick rather than wood or bamboo structures. As the sun rose, the valley villages came to life. Women were outside of their homes starting the fires to cook the morning meal as well as warm up the family. Night time temperatures had gone down into the 50s Fahrenheit. The fresh smell of the rain forest was gradually replaced by the smoke and smell or wood or charcoal fires.

As the sun rose, our trepidation and fear of speeding along a dark, narrow, and winding road through the forest eased into an overall weariness of bumping along rough roads in the back of a very small pickup truck.


Muang Sing is not much to see and even less to write about. It was destroyed during a battle between Royalist and Pathet Lao troops in 1962. The town was rebuilt to a small extent after the 1975 revolution.

The market was very interesting. We arrived just as it was opening. The market is comprised of several buildings. Two of the buildings were permanent shops, similar to those that you encounter throughout South East Asia, that sold a variety of goods. Another building contained several restaurants where people went to have their breakfast. There was a very large open sided structure where fruit, vegetables and some clothing items are for sale. There was another building where meat was for sale. On the paved area around the vegetable and meat buildings, people had placed tarps and blankets to sell their produce. At one end of this row of vendors was the chicken vendor. She had 6 large woven bamboo baskets with 5 to 6 chickens underneath each overturned basket. These must have been hens since there didn't seem to be any fighting - just protests. There was a rooster but he was not caged. he was tied to a string around his foot with the other end of the string tied around a rock. A little toddler kept getting into trouble much to my amusement by constantly moving the rock. With a few snaps of his mother's fingers to his forehead, he was eventually dissuaded from his fun.

I was very impressed with the quality of the produce. The tomatoes were especially beautiful. They were nicely rounded and bright red - even to me and I am color blind. I found out later that the produce comes from China - a mere 11 kilometers away.

There was some excitement when a new pickup truck arrived at the market and set up a sound system. The government telephone company was selling cell phones and SIMM cards. There was a big demand for them.

The meat market section of the market was also very busy. Four separate hind legs of water buffalo were suspended on ropes from the rafters. Men were busy cutting portions from the legs as selected by the many customers. In the two hours that we were at the market, three of the hind quarters were completely sold - down to and including the hoof. I have a photograph of a man leaving the market with the lower leg and hoof slung over his shoulder. I know that it was water buffalo by the hoof and the severed head leaning up against the end of the counter.






We had not had breakfast until we arrived at the market. We found a booth selling bread, fresh French bread, and a pastry similar to what is called "Bear Claw" in the USA. Rather than spreading butter, jelly, or even peanut butter on the bread, the vendor cut the bread open and drizzled sweet condensed milk on the inside of the bread. We bought one loaf of bread the size of a Subway 12" sandwich and one Bear Claw for 5,000 Kip (around $0.60 USD). Duang bought some small diameter bamboo tubes filled with sticky rice and coconut cream called "Kao laam"- 10,000 Kip ($1.40). With two bottles of water we had a great breakfast that we ate in the back of our taxi pickup truck. So good a breakfast and so delicious that Duang went back and bought another french bread and Bear Claw for me.

It had taken us 2 hours to get to the market from Luang Namtha but the journey back took 5-1/2 hours to get back to the hotel. But that is a different story - a blog for another day.

Home Again - Laos Day #1

Yesterday afternoon we returned to our home from our seven day journey to North West Laos - Luang Namtha Province. It was a great trip with some very pleasant surprises. The weather was fantastic. We had one day of rain as was forecasted however the rain commenced at 14:30 after we had completed our scheduled day's activities. The rain continued on through the night with Duang and I enjoying perhaps our best night's sleep of the entire trip. The sound of gentle rain falling on the wood shingles of our woven bamboo cottage relaxed our minds and more importantly kept the roosters quiet - for one night.

Our journey to Laos started on Monday 25 January at 6:00 A.M. when we left our home to drive up to the Thai - Lao border at Nong Khai. The weather was excellent and we found a covered parking area with security very close to the Thai Border Crossing. The attendant at the parking lot called his friend to assist him with our bags. Duang and I each had a carry on bag and I naturally had my knapsack of camera gear. The attendant need help because he could only carry one person behind him and one suitcase in front of him on his motorbike! He friend came over with his motorbike. I chose the driver that seemed to be the most experienced and proficient in driving a motorbike. I gave him my bag which he balanced in front of him, and I sat behind him with the camera bag strapped on my back. Duang did the same on the other bike. He gave Duang a phone number to call him to get us upon our return. Fortunately we did not have far at all to go to the crossing. It was such a short distance that I made up my mind that upon our return, weather willing, we would walk back to the parking lot after crossing. I don't mind taking some chances for a photograph, a pleasurable experience, or for adventure. Taking such a chance to save a few walking steps was not worth the risk.

It took us about one hour to clear with Thai authorities and Lao authorities at each end of the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. Duang had more of a difficulty leaving Thailand than I did. Departure cards for Thai citizens are written in English and have to be filled out in English. I had already left Thailand and could not go back to help her - we had forgotten about the need to fill out a card for. Fortunately there are people who help fill out the forms for free. I had more difficulty getting into Laos. I had to obtain and pay for a visa to enter into Laos. Duang was allowed in based upon her Thai passport for free.

After we completed the Laos crossing, a man asked us if we need a ride. We told him yes that we needed to get to the Vientiane Airport. He agreed to do it for 400 baht - around $13 USD in an air conditioned car. We drove along the Mekong River, through the center of Vientiane past many of the places that we had visited a year ago on our first trip to Laos.

Vientiane International Airport is a small airport - three gates where you board directly into your plane. There was a Vietnam Airlines twin engine jet, a small twin engine prop plane and our MA60 twin turboprop plane at the airport when we arrived. The MA60 is a 50 to 60 passenger turboprop plane similar to a Dash 8. The MA60 was first produced in 2000 in China by Xian Aircraft Company. The first MA60 was first delivered to Lao Airlines in August 2006 and they now have four of them. I didn't know that it was a Chinese plane until we got home and I checked on the Internet. All labels on the aircraft including access panels for maintenance were in English. The safety card was in Lao and English. Flight announcements were in Lao and English. On both flights I was the only Westerner. Duang speaks Isaan which is a dialect of Lao so she understood all verbal communication and was able to communicate throughout our trip. Since the Thai government had stopped the teaching in Isaan of the Lao alphabet years ago, she can not read Lao. Our flight to Luang Namtha was about one hour long and very scenic. The area around Vientiane is flat and very sandy due to the Mekong River. The flight to North West Laos took us over miles and miles of heavily vegetated hills, mountains, and narrow valleys. Once in a while you could see a paved highway with very little traffic on it or more often you could see narrow dirt roads - a foreshadowing of our days to come in Laos.

Many of the hillsides had small cleared patches on them where crops are or have been cultivated. The agricultural methods of the various ethnic minorities differ. The river valleys are farmed very much like the land in Isaan - diked areas of relatively small plots of land used to cultivate rice. In some of the mountain areas, there are escalating terraces up the side of the mountain reminiscent of Inca farming in Peru and Red Yao farming in China - a heavy investment in toime, labor, and commitment to remain in a single location. Later I found out that many of these terraces are the start of rubber plantations financed and managed by Chinese companies.

The Hmong people, on the other hand, practise slash and burn method of agriculture. A portion of the mountain is cleared of trees, the undergrowth is burned off, and their crops planted. When an area becomes no longer productive, another plot is cleared. When the entire area is no longer productive, the village is relocated.
The soil of North West Laos is not very good. The soil is yellowish and sometimes reddish, comprised mostly of clays.



After checking into our hotel, we rented a "taxi" and driver for the afternoon to explore the countryside. We drove out to Baan Nam Dee, a Lanten village that has a waterfall attraction. It is also in an area known for making paper out of bamboo. In Baan Nam Dee we came upon children taking their afternoon bath in a small stream alongside the dirt road just outside the village. There were 5 girls ranging from 4 to 9 years old and a boy about 4 years old splashing unembarrassedly naked in full view of any one on the road. This is the way it remained for our trip. The people in the villages are very poor and small children, especially toddlers, are often naked. Adults are more modest but due to the lack of indoor facilities, bath in public either in a river, stream or community water tap in the village.

Upon our return from Baan Nam Dee, we stopped along the dirt road in Houana Village - a Khmu settlement. On the edge of road in an open sided concrete column structure with a thatched roof, several women were sitting on the ground busily weaving plant materials to form panels that are used in the roofs of local homes. Several children were busy playing amongst the working adults. One baby was soundly asleep secured to her mother's back with a pakema while the mother busily weaved panels. Many of the women smoked pipes as they worked. We found out that they were a village three hours walk away - Sidhar Village. The women stay in Houana to work at this "factory" and make almost $10 US dollars a day - a good rate for Laos and even Thailand for this type of labor. The people were very friendly and did not mind being photographed. I make a point of showing them their photo to assure them that they picture is respectful and dignified. This invariably gets them to relax and makes for better photographs.

After our visit with the weavers we continued back down the road towards our hotel. We came upon two women bathing along with a young girl in a small stream next to a rice paddy. After finishing washing her body the girl put her clothes on, filled a pail with water, and trudged back across the road to her home followed by her mother - also carrying a bucket of water back to the home with her wet sarong clinging to her body as she walked down the country road in front of our taxi.. Life and personal hygiene is much more difficult in these rural areas.

Getting Ready

Strange happenings recently are apparently not limited to Massachusetts, there have been strange events here in Isaan. Despite this being the dry season, we have had rain for the past two days. The rain has been like a gentle shower but has lasted for several hours each day. I guess that it just goes to show that weather much like politics can not be counted on or taken for granted. What has always happened in the past will not necessary will be what will always be in the future.

There has been a two day celebration in a village near Tahsang Village marking seven years since the death of one of Duang's friend's mother. Typically the celebration, merit making, is held one year after the death but in this case the family is poor and had to have additional time to save up the money. One of the daughters has recently married a falang, so funds are now available. There are also close ties between the villagers of Tahsang and the family of the deceased.

Someone was needed to transport the Tahsang Villagers back and forth to the celebration. Since Duang told the people that I would not be attending, the family decided to pay Duang's son gas money for the two days. Each trip out to Tahsang Village costs $10 and $10 back. Since I am a falang, many people assume or believe that I can afford to run back and forth to help them without compensation.

Duang and I have fairly well convinced people that we are not a bank readily and willingly capable of loaning them money. We are now working on convincing them that we are not operating a free transportation service.

Yesterday, I obtained the Owner's Manual for the Toyota truck that we picked up in October. It was a condition for buying the vehicle back in July. We had been following up on it since October and yesterday it was finally available. I can't complain though - I imagine that it was a great deal easier as well as quicker to obtain an English language Owner's manual in Thailand than to get a Thai language manual in the United States.

We leave for Laos the day after tomorrow so I have been using this time to prepare the cameras for our trip, to pack my bag, gather travel documents and complete the research for the trip.

200th Post - Elementary School Program

This is the 200th post of Allen's World - I guess some sort of a milestone.

Last night we had a late night returning home from Tahsang Village after midnight.

I am not sure what we did but we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It is not that I drank too much and can not remember the night. It was the event that we attended and participated in was unlike anything I have attended before. I will try to describe it as best as I can and give my interpretation of the events.

My wife had told me that a teacher at the Tahsang Village was leaving to teach at another village school. There was going to be a party to wish him good luck. It all sounded simple enough and not anything all that special.

As the day wore on she gave me a better idea of what the evening's activities would be. There was going to be another parade where the students would walk from Tahsang Village to the Elementary School. People were going to eat dinner at the school. Last year we had attended a fund raiser at the school so I thought that I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Later in the afternoon, Duang's son stopped by to take Duang to the Chinese wholesale store to buy 3 cases 1.25 liter bottles of soda for the school children. He bought two huge (2 foot diameter by 5 foot long) bags of snack food for the children.

I was involved in a long conversation to Korea over the phone, so we were unable to head out to Tahsang until 6:00 PM thereby missing out on the "parade". We arrived at the school and it was very apparent that the evening would be different for sure.

The front of the school was filled with all types of tents of various construction. Some tents were typical nylon camping tents that you buy at sporting goods stores. Some tents were made out of tarps placed over sticks that had been driven into the ground to form loops. Some tents were very similar to tepees.

About 300 children were running around playing tag, muay thai boxing, and in general having a great time. In the center of the field was a large pyramid of wood awaiting to be lit to create a bonfire. There were several of the pavilions that are used to provide shelter at celebrations. Amongst the encampment, at least 8 village dogs were running about.

We parked the truck to offload the supplies and were greeted by one of the teachers. She arranged for help to offload the truck and wanted our names. She needed our names so that the man at the PA system could announce our donation and give us proper credit. It seems that in Isaan there is no such thing as an anonymous donation.

After offloading the truck we went to a covered area where people were being served food that was being prepared and cooked by mothers of some of the students. As I looked around I started getting a better idea of what was going on. Some of the adults were wearing portions of Boy Scout uniforms. Because the people are not wealthy, there was only one man who had a complete uniform. Two women wore US Marine Corps Drill Instructor style hats and several had only a Boy Scout bandanna around their neck to indicate their affiliation.

This appeared to be a sort of Boy Scout Jamboree except that the number of girls far exceeded the number of boys. Again, because the children are poor, for those that had a uniform, their uniform consisted solely of a bandanna around their neck. I questioned Duang about what was going on and she indicated that this was like a party for the end of the year and beginning of a new year. Nine village schools were participating in the camp out. On Saturday the students were going to pack up and hike to a different village school to camp out. Friday night, Tahsang Village was hosting the group and was responsible for feeding the masses and running the program.

Before we even took our seats to eat, I was given a glass of whiskey and soda. I shared it with Duang and she was eventually given her own glass. It seems that all social functions here, there is drinking. Duang introduced me to many of the men at the table. No women other than Duang were seated at the table. The women had apparently eaten earlier and were occupied serving the men. Duang and I sort of bridge typical Isaan customs at these events. Men and women typically sit apart from each other including merit making rituals at the Wat. However since I am clueless most of the time as to what is going on, I sit with Duang so that she can explain to me. Our seemingly breaches of etiquette are tolerated and apparently accepted. However I don't think that we will be influencing Isaan Lao Loum customs any time soon.

After finishing our meal, we were directed to the area in front of the pavilion where the announcer and PA equipment were located. A row of stuffed sofas and chairs along with a cocktail table were situated at the edge of the field. Behind the stuffed furniture was a row of plastic chairs where we were directed to sit. This arrangement is typical at Isaan events. Monks, dignitaries and government officials sit in the front rows on stuffed furniture. No Monks attended the festivities. The front row was comprised of each village's "Headman" and some dignitaries from the District. When the dignitaries were seated, a woman brought them glasses of beer and whiskey. Seated behind them, Duang and I were given glasses of cola.

The Master of Ceremonies commenced his address when there was huge commotion to the side of the public address system. The lights flicked and went out . The sound system went dead. The air was filled with cries, growls and flying dirt. One of the 8 village dogs had tried to get up very close and extremely personal with one of the dogs, she vehemently objected as well as a couple of the other male dogs. During their battle, the extension cord supplying electricity to the pavilion was dislodged. Order and electricity were eventually restored although the dogs continued to have their "differences" the rest of the night - a little bit of unplanned and unexpected entertainment.

The planned entertainment commenced with a fire lighting ceremony. Some girls came out in costumes along with headdresses and danced around the wood pyre in a skipping type dance in accompaniment to conga drum beats as well as chanting my the "Boy Scout" adults. Their outfits were brown sacks that had been decorated with day glow paint. Four black lights had been mounted on bamboo poles around the pyre. Their headdress was a day glow head band with a cardboard day glow feather over each ear. I was not certain if the girls represented some Lao Loum deity, Animist spirits, or Thai mythological figures. When they and the adults gave out war whoops a la 1950's television and movies that I realized that they were "Indian" maidens. After the maidens had taken their position, a "warrior" arrived. He appeared to be more of an Inca or Mayan warrior and unfortunately he was very overweight. He skipped danced around the maidens three times. On one of the passes in front of us, a man called out to him in Lao "You are too fat. You eat too much pig!"- talk about a tough crowd! Undeterred the boy trooped on. He came before the District Leader, a man with respect and deference that I am sure that President Obama wished that he had,an received a lit torch. The warrior chief then danced to bring a torch to each of the 4 maidens located at the cardinal compass points of the pyre. Once all the torches were delivered the wood pyre was ignited with the torches. As the pyre leaped into flames, fireworks were shot into sky. A total of 7 fireworks were shot into the sky exploding into colorful bursts with powerful booms. While the fireworks were shooting into the sky, some of the maidens had long tubes that were shooting roman candles over the fire.

The students, assembled around the field, watched in amazement and excitement along with their parents as well as younger siblings. This was a family as well as community event. Everyone was in good spirits - some adults in more "spirits" than others.


One of the leaders moved his chair and ended up inadvertently placing it upon my empty glass. I spoke to him in Thai to wait a minute and removed the glass from underneath his chair. The next thing that I knew was that he wanted me to sit in the stuffed chair next to his. I sat down, and a woman brought me a glass of beer - Yes rank has it's privileges. But there is no such thing as a free lunch or glass of beer. Some young girls came out and danced around the fire bearing offerings for the dignitaries. One girl presented a trophy that would be awarded to the school that was judged to have had the best spirit. Another girl presented a watermelon that had some bamboo sticks with papers stuck on them. Other girls had fresh leis made out of banana blossoms. The dignitaries placed the floral arrangements around their necks. I was given two of the leis to wear. But as Duang so often tells me "This is Thailand, not same as America" - I could not fit the leis over my large head! After consultation with Duang and the dignitaries, it was determined that I should wear one lei on my head like a crown and one wrapped around my left wrist.


I mentioned that there is no such thing as a free lunch or glass of beer. After receiving the leis, the dignitaries and I had to dance with the girls around the fire. Fortunately I am familiar and comfortable with dancing Lao style. The crowd was also kinder to me than the previous warrior chief. It was great fun and upon returning to our seats, the District Leader poured and sent me a shot of whiskey. Rank has it's privileges - especially in Isaan. I was offered more liquor but since I was driving I did not accept the kind invitations.

There was a full night of entertainment and activities. The children enthusiastically participated in round singing, cheering competitions, and exercises. Each school presented a skit. As best as I can determine the skits were reinforcing social behaviors such as not smoking, patriotism, not let your dogs attack people's ducks, etc. Two of the schools had their girls perform Go-Go or MTV video type dance routines. It appears the the Isaan pipeline of dancers to Bangkok and Pattaya will be kept functioning well in the future. Prior to and after presenting their skit, the groups lined up in front of the dignitaries and gave them a three fingered salute which was returned by the District Leader. It appeared to me that the entire event is designed to reinforce and encourage community values as well as expectations with the students.

Tahsang Village school was the most comical to watch last night. They were "naughty boys". A couple of the younger brothers who do not attend school, sat with their older siblings. They were not bashful at all - dancing any and every time there was a beat in the air. Many times their dancing disintegrated into "kick boxing". It was very entertaining especially knowing that they were not your children or going home with you.

The program ended around 11:30 PM with the students going to their tents to sleep. Some teachers and two security guards remained to watch over the children. Naturally the dogs remained trying to do what they had been trying to do all night long. No seemed to mind.

We were invited to stay longer while a pig was roasted over the fire that had been used in the festivities. The Tahsang Village Headman set up his computer with a small amplifier for karaoke. A couple of the teachers sang Isaan songs. They were excellent singers and pleasant to listen to.

It was getting late so after eating some fresh grilled pig intestines, we left for the one hour drive back to Udonthani.

I am not certain what it was all about. I am not sure that I understood what was going on. I know that we had enjoyed another unique Isaan experience.