Off the Beaten Track: Kong's Village

With no permanent electricity, and packs of playful and smiling children following you everywhere, it was easy to feel like a rock star in this small village. I knew I had reached celebrity status when I counted 21 people watching me shave. Fair enough, many of them probably had never seen a cordless electric shaver before. But with greater and greater contact with the larger world, they were bound to see one sooner or later. We did our very best to tread lightly and respect their culture.

1

We spent most of our time talking with people, playing with the children and taking pictures. As the village did not have access to medical services, Kong's status as a medical doctor was widely known. Between treating patients, translating for us, and cooking our food, I'm not sure that Kong had much time to spare. Of course, we didn't need a translator to play with the kids. Their favorite game seemed to be "Sa Bai Di" where we would say sa bai di (hello) and they would start running away giggling and laughing. They especially enjoyed it when we chased them, as soon every kid in the village would be gathered around. A foot taller than the tallest guy in town (who actually asked us how we got so tall) these kids had never seen anything like us before.

1 Kids

The going away cerimony was a special experience for us. First we were given a folded hand knit cloth, a glass of Laolao, and a boiled chicken. Holding these three items in front of us, strings were tied around our wrists for good luck. From the ceremony it was predicted that we would have a safe journey, and we did.

The villagers we met were incredibly friendly and always had a smile for us. They were happy to have us and we were happy to be there. We appreciated Kong and his family's efforts to keep us well fed and comfortable. The experience was one that I will surely not forget any time soon.

2 More Kids

3 Having a BBQ

4 The Tractor

5 The School

6 Learning is fun!

7 Typical Village House

8 Our Wonderful Hosts

9 Saying Goodbye, Lao Style

9.1 Thank You!