Sunday, May 4, 2014

Phongsaly, the Last Untouched Jungle of Laos


We could have just gotten a trekking guide from the agency,” my friend whined, after plunging her left foot into the mud. The right one was already soaked in the sloppy soil a few seconds earlier. Kampoon, our friend, somewhere ahead, shouted back to us, “I think we took the wrong trail. The plants are getting too savage here. We definitely can’t pass.” Up until now we had been lucky enough to frequently run into people from the surrounding villages from whom we could ask directions, but our luck had run out. According to the trek itinerary, we should have arrived at Changtern village at least 3 hours earlier. But it was now 4pm and we didn’t know where we were. We headed back to the last crossed trails we passed, which hopefully, would be the correct turn. My thoughts ran wild with all sorts of possible dangers in this forest after sunset. We were definitely being punished for ignoring the trekking agency’s warning that a self guided trek in Phongsaly’s jungle could easily get us lost. 


---

We stopped at the main town in Phongsaly province, the northernmost part of Laos bordering to China’s Yunnan, a few days before, and spent the whole time trying to arrange a rural trek with a local agency. Instead we decided to save our money for the rest of the trip. We copied a 4-day trekking itinerary for a tour of the Ahka hill tribe villages (the agency was kind enough to supply this for free). We planned to hire a local who knew the forest well. 

With the help of a man teaching English at the town’s non-profit language center, we were introduced to a local named Kampoon, who agreed to lead us. Kampoon didn’t know the forest nor did he speak any hill tribe’s languages, but he was able to ask for directions in Laotian, which was also understood by hill tribess, so we settled to the deal and left Phongsaly town at 7 in the morning.


The sea of mist on the way to the first village

Drying corn seeds

This morning’s trek was fairly easy, just a mild hike up and down mountains. We passed some deforested areas and farms, merrily greeting the locals all the way. We followed a trail, pioneered by the French during the Vietnam War, according to the itinerary. We arrived to the low-water-level Nam Long river by lunch, across which we waded our way through. An abrupt change started on this side of the river when the trail turned steep, narrowed, and nearly blocked by plants most of the time. Apparently even villagers themselves didn’t use this trail much, and this was the point we started to get lost.  



It wasn’t until close to 6pm when we saw farms and fields with burned tree stems again. This was a good sign that a village was nearby. We caught up to an Ahka woman with a basket filled with wood. Kampoon asked her for directions. We all were so relieved to hear Changtern was just right around the corner.


Entrance to Changtern village

3 bamboo poles set up in a teepee shape marked the entrance to what looked like a 30-house village. Kampoon explained they would put a swing on this structure during Ahka’s New Year rituals. That was the only thing we noticed in the dim sunlight. Kampoon informed us that we wouldn’t get electricity here. He led us to the village’s chief’s house where we could ask for food and beds. 

At the house, more like a big room built on the soil ground, dinner was being slowly cooked above a bonfire. On one side near the wall, there was a long elevated platform lined up with blankets and pillows. Chatting noises from surrounding houses was easily heard. The houses were so close that the roofs rubbed together. Flashes from torch lights came through the walls of plaited bamboo strips. Needless to say, privacy wasn’t a strongly valued concept here.



The houses in the village had no toilets and when I asked Kampoon what we were supposed to do, he pointed into bushes. He explained that that’s the way the villagers themselves did it. I was surprised as I did not see any disposals left even in the bush when I went myself, but then I left the bush and headed towards the home, and two big boars rushed into that bush. It all made sense now. I swore to myself I would never touch a dish cooked with boars.

In the chief’s house we sat on the soil ground at a low bamboo table lit by candles. There were various vegetable dishes placed on the table. We each had a shot glass in front of us in which the chief poured a light green liquor. He urged us to bottom up. Kampoon said guests were supposed to drink at least 2 shots of rice whisky before meals. After feeling the alcohol burning our insides, we ate with the chief and his sons. His wife and their daughters waited to clean up after us before they started eating themselves. 


Rice whiskey, more powerful with a centipede

The village head's wife preparing dinner

A simple meal of rice, bamboo shoots, potatoes, and some green peas

Later we slept in bedding provided, next to the family’s five young children. The wife and their two other daughters started pounding rice in the kitchen area late into the night. We asked Kampoon why they didn’t do that during the day, to which he answered their days were always too busy farming and nights were the only time left for them to finish up with less tiring work. We were exhausted from the 11-hour trek and the 20 degree cold air, so the rhythmic pounding sounds that could now be heard from all over the village actually lulled us into sleep.    

The next morning was heavy with mist. While waiting for breakfast to be ready, we explored the village. 
Domesticated boars and chickens scuffled across our path. The shy villagers, who certainly didn’t expect foreign visitors avoided eye contact. They hid behind doors, some even walked away when we got close. Babies cried as we approached them. They could probably tell by our clothes that we were from an alien land. As we tried to take pictures of women in their black tunics with colorful embroidery and impressive silver headdresses, but most of them ran away. Kampoon told us not to take their picture, because they thought their soul would be stolen by the cameras. Still, we stole a few shots of the women, who leave one breasts bare. He said it’s a tradition for married women to do so and sometimes they greeted each other by touching each other’s breasts.

Preparing a squirrel for a meal 

Pounding rice




The village's only school, with 30 kids

We stopped at Sop Ngam village for lunch. The village of Lao Sung sits in a green valley with a river cutting through, providing the locals plenty of fish. We asked some girls playing near the river to take us across the river on a bamboo raft, in exchange for a small payment. We continued on the trail passing thick and tall wild yellow Cassie flower bushes. The path curved behind mountain, into an area that was not exposed much to sunlight. Humidity felt stronger here and now the trail was wet from dewy leaves continuously dripping onto it. 


Sop Ngam village, nestling in a valley


Lao Sung villagers


 Cassie flower bushes

Then we discovered the muddy and slippery trail wasn’t the only challenge of trekking in Phongsaly’s forest in November, a month after the rainy season. At one point I fell a soft but sharp poke on my foot. And when I looked down to see what it was, I was shocked to see probably more than 10 leeches happily burrowing up and into my sneakers.

“Leechesss!,” I screamed with fright and disgust. I hurried to take off my shoes, socks. I rolled my pants up to the knees, trying to balance myself with one leg while pulling leeches out of the other leg off the ground. I looked at the ground where I threw the leeches, only to see I was surrounded by leeches, crawling and  stretching their long slimy black bodies straight up, searching for somewhere to land. They were everywhere on the trail, near and far. I looked over my shoulder, my friend was more or less in the same situation.

Kampoon, ran back to inspect the cause of the noise. He started giggling once he saw two girls jumping around scared of the leeches. He pulled out a lighter, picked up our shoes and burned one leech after another. I noticed there were some on his pants and shoes too, but he didn’t seem to care. Once we girls calmed down a bit, we started walking again, now faster, with the fear that leeches could hook onto our shoes if we paced slow. We paused several times to get leeches of our legs. At the end of the day, we felt it was no use since they would always find a way to get onto us. We eventually got used to the tingling feeling on our feet. We stopped pulling them out and just wished them to enjoy the feast.         




We arrived at New Pei Yesang village about 3pm. This village was bigger and had some of the houses equipped with solar power generators. The locals were curious about us foreign visitors but much less than the people in Changtern. The first thing we asked upon arrival for was a shower. The villagers pointed down a mountain slope. We climbed down a slippery trail to an open area below. A tiny fountain of water poured from a cliff and through a bamboo stem that the villagers had rigged. 


New Pei Yesang village



Not prepared for an open-air and super natural bathroom, we striped to our underwear, and wet ourselves as quick as possible before other people arrived. To my surprise, I felt a thumb-size lump on my thigh. It was a round and fat leech. This one d%# leech had made its way up this far! I pulled it out and smashed it with a sharp stone, feeling satisfied seeing my own blood splash.  


Our (clean?) source of water 


Exciting kids seeing their portraits in the camera 









We toured the village a bit and then joined the chief’s family for dinner. The news about us visitors had spread over the village. Several people, mostly teenage boys, dropped by to peak at us. The chief started serving local whisky to everyone. A small party was launched. We retreated by 9pm, and went outside to brush our teeth in the mountain’s cold and fresh air. It was very dark, but still we were treated to a beautiful view: a supremely clear, moonless sky dotted with millions of stars.


Sucking on a bong, a routine activity of the village's head



The next day we were given dried tobacco leaves, which we were told to soak in water and apply on our feet and legs, to prevent leeches. The leaves did the job very well. We passed Old Pei Yesang village at about lunchtime and arrived at Chakkhampa village, our last overnight stop, a few hours after that. While hanging out in the village, we met two lovely school teachers of the Phunoi tribe who were relocated to Chakkhampa. They invited us for dinner.



On the way to Old Pei Yesang village

Old Pei Yesang village


An Ahka lady heading out to work on a farm. While walking, she span thread
that would later be used to weave their tunics


Chakkhampa village


Our source of clean water. yes, this one is pretty clean...




After the meal, we circled around the bonfire and chatted. The conversation ranged from our lives in Bangkok to their daily routines in the village. They told us about the Akha people’s favorite meals during festivals, which is uncooked animal parts and fresh blood. They explained how they buried dead bodies of their relatives in the bushes just behind their houses. It wasn’t nice to imagine there could be spirits peeking over our shoulders and listening to our conversation, and knowing about that tradition, it left us no choices as where we would go toilet-ing: the bushes in the front.

The next morning, it took us 4 hours walking down the mountain before we eventually saw Nam Ou river snaking at the base. At first I felt a rush of happiness and comfort knowing the hard beds, cold weather, and leeches were going to end, but I also realized how grateful I was, and how privileged I had been to get to experience pristine forest, fresh air, and the generosity of the villagers during our trek. It made me feel a bit sad, not knowing when I would be able to experience an adventure like that again.  

At the trail’s end, there was a sandy beach where passing boats picked up passengers. We got on a long-tail boat heading downstream to Hat Sa, where we could catch a public pick-up truck back to Phongsaly town. At one part of the river, men were building a dam. A huge sign in Chinese advertised the construction company. Kampoon said in the next 3 years the villages around the area would all have electricity. He said they would spend much less time traveling to Hat Sa, on a smooth concrete road. While enjoying the scenery on both sides of the river, I started to picture these Ahka ladies back in the villages wearing T-shirts and sin (sarongs) just like flat land Laotian women did, and had their traditional black tunics folded away.


...
..
.



No comments:

Post a Comment