Luang Prabang is a beautiful little city in north central Laos, at the confluence of the Nam Kah River and the Mekong River. Since the beginning of our trip, this is definitely the nicest city yet, with a wonderful fusion of Lao and European colonial architecture, and very friendly Lao people. We spent one week in Luang Prabang, two of which we went on a trek through the jungle -just the two of us with a guide- and visited local tribes. The rest of the days we just explored the city by bike, strolled around, visited a beautiful waterfall, and relaxed. As it used to be part of the French Indochine, the heavy French influence is noted in many ways, especially in the cuisine and certain decoration. We had some of the best croissants and cappuccinos, as well as a tasty “Fondue” with buffalo meat.

The highlight of our stay in Luang Prabang undoubtedly was our two day trekking into northern Laos where we discovered Lao Loum, Hmong, and Khmu ethnicities. There are 49 recognized ethnicities in Laos, however the above are the major categories. The Hmong people came from South China approximately 150 years ago and inhabit elevations of 1000m and above, of animist belief practicing shamanic healing rituals.

Our trekking was led by Sue Yang, a fantastic guide of Hmong ethnicity who grew up in a village similar to the one we visited, and later on he moved to Luang Prabang to study to be a monk. After 5 years of practice, he decided to stop and work as a tourist guide. Despite having gotten used to the city luxuries, Sue regularly goes back to the village he grew up in to see his relatives. He is a very special and knowledgable person, extremely kind, and shared with us many stories about his upbringing, Lao culture, and Buddhism. Sue cooked all of our meals always taking great care of us!
A two hour walk led us to the second village, of Hmong ethnicity, where a lovely lady of 100 years old hosted us in her cabin. It was simply astonishing the strength that this lady had, and the happiness in her face. These villages live very simply, without electricity or hot water (in fact the shower is a bucket filled with cold water outdoors), and have a survival lifestyle. However, everyone seems to be very happy! We also saw the school, the metal fabric, and the flour wheel – see the pictures – which are beyond imagination. These villages are also only accessible via foot, no cars or motorcycles can arrive from the city as the roads are not good. So if they need any goods from the city, 5 hours hiking is the only solution.

This trek was eye-opening, and it is simply not possible to put in words what we felt during our visit. How to describe the pitch-black darkness of the night combined with the sounds of the shaman ritual that were invading the silence of the village! Hopefully our pictures can give you a small idea of what life is like in these Villages.

After one week, we decided to head even more North to Nong Khiaw, a wonderful little town along the Ou River in Laos.