A truly memorable start to 2024
After two days on a slow boat meandering south on the mighty Mekong river, we arrived at Luang Prabang – a UNESCO world heritage site and the former capital of the Kingdom of Laos. This ancient city is located on the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan river and is well-known for its unique architecture. Stunning French colonial buildings and ancient, colourful, Buddhist temples gave this leafy town a serene, dignified air. Small clusters of Buddhist monks clad in orange robes parade through the streets each morning collecting alms and chanting in gratitude.
Our accommodation was half-way between the old quarter and the infamous night market. The latter is extremely popular for its smorgasbord of dinner options, ranging from the usual noodles soup and rice dishes to Korean barbecue banquets, sushi and fruit shakes. The sweet and savoury rotis were a firm favourite with our family. Beyond the food stalls were more stalls selling all sorts of paraphernalia, including the ever popular ‘elephant pants’. There was even a stall of jewellery and trinkety knick-knacks made from the metal of old bombs. We later discovered that two million tons of cluster bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War.
Kuang Si falls often came up in conversation as one of the ‘must dos’ whilst at Luang Prabang. We set off to discover if it was as impressive as we’d heard. Only an hour from town, the falls were as popular with tourists and locals alike. On arrival we were faced with large groups of locals picnicking, young girls pouting whilst taking selfies, and tour groups of older Chinese men in matching polo-shirts. We strolled along the path following the forest trail past the bear rescue centre enclosures; and there it was, a vision splendid. Turquoise water set in shallow tiers culminating in a huge waterfall flanked by verdant jungle. We dipped our feet into the water and had little fish nibbling at our toes. Later we followed a steep, rough track which led us to the top of the falls. We found a shady spot with a pool and a bamboo swing perfect for cooling off.
With the end of the year looming, Dave and I decided to bring in the New Year hiking in the northern hills near Nong Khiaw. This quaint little village, four hours north of Luang Prabang on the Nam Ou river, is home to some of the hilltribe people. The village was a perfect base for both day trips and longer trekking hikes, some only accessible by boat. There were a few tribal communities dotted around the area, some with no electricity, and plenty of beautiful waterfalls and numerous caves to explore. ‘Pi Mai’ (happy new year in Lao) became our catchphrase for the next few days. We trekked with our guide Ping, a Hmong man, and three others who included a Costa Rican lady and a couple from Belgium. Ping led us through a few paddy fields and up the steep incline through bamboo, teak and banana plantations; then down into a valley along a slippery, rocky water course, along river flats, past grazing buffalos towards the first village.
We could hear the music well before we got to the village, the new year party was in full swing mid-afternoon. Excited children ran to greet us, one little girl pushing her baby sister in a wheelbarrow. We continued towards the cluster of bamboo shacks. Enthusiastic youngsters and inebriated adults all vied for our attention, offering glasses of beer and local whisky, egging us on to drink. We sat around a fire with some of the village elders. They were fixated with our ages; at one stage Ping announced that one of the elders was even older than my husband Dave!
One of our group, Thien, a charismatic magician from Belgium, performed some simple tricks which left the locals completely flummoxed and confused. Giggling and astonished, there followed a very animated discussion about the performance.
The special new year banquet consisted mostly of duck and vegetables on a long trestle table held at the village chief’s dwelling, the speciality dish being duck blood soup. It sounded unappealing; however, it turned out to be rather tasty. The elders kept passing the dishes our way, encouraging us to eat more; not wanting to seem impolite we tried our best. However, some food did makes its way under the table, and one of the skinny village dogs had a good feed that night.
The shenanigans continued well into the night – laughter, silly dancing and whisky shots to a backdrop of jovial, tinny Lao music. We somehow managed to sleep as the ruckus continued well into the night. We woke to the crowing of roosters at an ungodly hour, a truly memorable start to 2024.
