Chilling with the homies...homestay in Savannakhet Province

We continued on our path north up to Savannakhet, right next to the Thai border, where we had read was a good place to do some more trekking. Unfortunately all the booking offices were closed by the time we arrived but luckily we found the really cute Cafe Anakot run by a Japanese expat who was able to arrange one of the eco-treks for us where you go trekking and stay with a family in a local village. The prospect of another early morning and lots of walking the next day sent us to bed early. However, this plan was slightly scuppered when Shereen and I got caught in a torrential downpour on the way home from the internet cafe. The crazy man standing in the middle of the street screaming like a psycho also added to our 'drowned rat' experience. Avoiding him at all costs we then got lost on the way home and so by the time we made it home we were soaked to the bone, nice.

And so, with our day packs packed up with the essentials for 2 days (mosquito spray, hand sanitizer and toilet roll) we ventured into the forest with our two guides, San (can't remember his name now so i made one up) and Soda. Our two guides were really friendly and Soda, the local guide and forest expert had great skills at noticing all the bugs and creepy crawlies in the forest, some were deadly poisonous while others were useful for medicines and herbal potions. There were lots of insects that were edible and are regarded in Laos as delicacies but none of us were too keen to try but we eventually gave in and all gulped down a little wormy/maggot thing. It didn't really taste of much and was mostly just like a squidgy bean. Unfortunately my camera decided to go on strike for this trip but i did manage to take a photo of this spider that was lurking in the canopy above us. We had lunch at a little house in the middle of one of the rice paddy fields. We learnt that when there is a lot of work to be done lots of people sleep in these huts instead of hiking back to their villages. We feasted on a meal of sticky rice (very popular in Laos), fish, meat, eggs and a few other random bits and bobs. The afternoon walk was through more forest and there were lots of mosquitoes which despite our insect spray showers still manages to get us. After one more little pit stop for some water we walked the last bit of the track to take us into the village.

The family were very welcoming and showed us all around the village and they welcomed us with a large dinner with lots of their friends from the village. We all sat round together before eating and they do this sort of blessing where they wish you well (in terms of health, prosperity, safety in travel etc.) and mark it by tying a white cotton string around your wrist. By the end of this we were all left with lots of white bands and a feeling of great acceptance and honor. We then had a great meal of chicken, fish, sticky rice, vegetables and soup. The chief of the village also invited us to a ceremony that they were having for some people who had recently passed away. Unlike your usual black and somber funeral gathering, the meeting of people was a much more festive event with lots of eating and drinking (Lao Lao liquor) and staying up all night.

The next day we woke up early to take offerings to the monks as the village Wat. We sat in front of our pots of 'goodies' and listened as the monks carried out their prayer rituals. With my new heightened interest in Buddhism I found it really interesting talking to San who had been a monk previously. He told us about the process of becoming a monk and some of the stories of his experiences. He also explained to me that there is no such thing as a female monk but that there are females in the wats and monasteries and they are just called nuns, hmm interesting.

After saying our goodbyes to our village hosts we carried on with our trek towards the Turtle Lake. We had a time-out in one of the rice paddies to help plant some rice (putting what i had learnt at the agricultural college in Hanoi to good use!). They were grateful for our help and i joked with them about whether they would give me a job! We carried on our trek back through the forest and had another delicious packed-lunch in a little hut on the edge of the rice fields. This was our finishing point and there was just time for a quick snooze before our tuk-tuk arrived to take us back to the city.

It was a really great trek and unlike a lot of things that market themselves as 'eco' or 'green', this trip actually was because we didn't have a negative impact on the area we were visiting. Everything was genuine, without the gimmicks of most touristy trips and organised tours. It was also a great cultural exchange because although we asked everyone we met loads of questions (i think i averaged a question a minute at some points!) we also shared a lot of our traditions and customs. The guides were very intrigued when i explained to them the English theory that when the cows are sitting down in the field it means its going to rain and luckily for me it did start raining (a little bit). Eco-rant over!