Trekking in Savannakhet Province

The two day trek in Dong Natal National Protected Area really turned out to be a pleasant surprise. There were 5 of us : me, a British couple, Ellie and Adam, and two Irishwomen, Kellianne and Laura. We took a tuktuk to the start of the trek, which was near the Hang Ing Stupa, one of the most important in Savannakhet province. The base was built in the Hindu style by the Khmer (Cambodian people) almost 2000 years ago. When the area came back under Lao control, they finished the stupa in the Buddhist style. All the women had to put on these ridiculous long wrap skirts to enter the temple; I don't remember other temples having such stringent rules.

We then started our trek through the rice fields and the surrounding forest. We had a local guide who really knew some amazing things about our environment. He showed us the larval forms of butterflies (which are edible) resembling white fluff. They are insects and will jump off the branches if disturbed. We learned about a species of red ant whose insides (when crushed) are good for treating insect and snake bites. We saw many different species of spiders, some poisonous, some not. Even the plants are amazing. We ate leaves from several different plants., sucked the nectar from flowers, and drank water from the inside of thorny vine plants. One species of tree even yields a type of tar or pitch that can be lit to use for lamps and torches.

The first day was 18Km, which is not that far, but it was very hot when we weren't in the shade. I felt bad for our guides, who were carrying all the food for lunch. The sticky rice was wonderful. The other foods were less so, except for the very tasty and filling bananas. I especially avoided the liver on a stick!! We arrived to our host village around 4 pm. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to us. Even though this village is only 15 Km from Savannakhet, it seemed like they were much less used to foreign visitors than any of the places around Sapa. The owner of the house and some of his neighbors had a welcoming ceremony for us, during which they tied on Lao-style sashes and loosely tied pieces of string around our wrists. Each one is for a different aspect of safe travelling, and you are supposed to let them fall off of their own accord. Even though I know it was made up for us tourists, the ceremony was quite nice.

We chatted with our guide in the evening, teaching him various English words. Somehow he got started on "This is the BBC, reporting from Laos. Now back to the news desk." It was much funnier said by someone with first a British, and then a Lao accent. That theme continued throughout the night and into the next day. We slept on mattresses on the floor and were covered by a big mosquito net. Quite comfortable, really.

The only bad thing about the trek was breakfast: a bowl of noodles in a glue-type broth. I absolutely could not make myself eat them, even with scallions, fish sauce, and chili. I wound up spooning some into another dish and giving them to the nursing dog who had been eyeing me hopefully. I know it was a rude thing to do in someone else's house, but I wasn't going to eat them, and the dog was starving. I hope my actions didn't offend our hosts too much.

Overall, the trek was a great experience. We visited the school the next morning and said hi to all the children, who are absolutely adorable. Ellie and Adam wound up teaching an English class to a group of 15 year olds. No one was willing to volunteer information on their own, but they did much better when they could answer questions as a group. I met the principal, who was old enough to speak French, and had a nice conversation with him. Then it turned out that our guide also spoke French. Quel surprise!!

The 5 of us are taking the bus to Pakse, further south, this evening. And stop asking me for pictures of the Swedish girls; I don't have any :)