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The destination village is an arduous three hour drive inland, although the first couple of hours are on a sealed road. A short distance out of Savannakhet, the scenery quickly turns from suburbs to dense jungle, the road pretty quiet, which is no surprise for a country the size of England with an essentially poor population of less than 7 Million. The flat, jungle scenery was only broken by a large transmitter mast at an intersection on a high point.
Eventually, the vehicle slowed and we turned off the sealed road onto a dirt track. The driver told me to prepare myself for a long drive over a very poor road and this was the view for the next hour...
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... and indeed my head became very familiar with the roof of the vehicle. Fortunately it was the dry season and the road was dust but come here in the rains and this single track road, with steep inclines, would be very hard to navigate. 4 wheel drive is essential. This went on and on and on, occasionally passing through a tiny village, usually consisting of nothing more than a few small wooden houses on stilts.
Eventually, we made it to our destination and I was sure glad to get there. I actually enjoyed the journey but it took it's toll on my bones. The village is fairly large, with it's own large temple and associated grounds. I'm told there are around 250 families here.
This place is way off the beaten track. Western faces are a source of amazement here. I'm not talking about the Isaan style of novelty, where the school kids will shout 'farang farang' at you... No, here everyone stops to look at you, with speechless fascination. Westerners simply don't make it this far and they're wondering why on Earth you're here in the middle of nowhere. The children are the best, instantly forming a silent audience and they just stare at you, waiting to see what you'll do next...
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The first thing I noticed is the profoundly quiet atmosphere of this place. Coming from central England, my ears are used to the constant 24 hour noise of a motorway in the background, or some kind of industrial noise... not here though, the silence is wonderful. During daylight hours, all you can hear are the birds and the soft chatter of villagers. During the darkness, utter silence, except for the bugs. There is also zero light pollution in this part of the World and on a clear night, you are treated to the full spectacle of the milky way in the night sky.
No danger of road noise here... a typical village street, this one with the entrance to the temple...
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After a night of being munched upon by every mosquito in Laos, we headed over to market. I assumed this was just a few kilometres down the road. In fact, it was hours winding though rough single track unsealed roads. We were also to make this journey on 100 cc motorbikes... and I was one of the designated drivers! Pictured is one of the better road surfaces of the journey. The dust is several inches thick in places and can easily throw you to the ground when on two wheels. I would hate to do this in the rainy season...
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The roads are really quiet. This is probably the busiest roundabout in the area!...
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Typical 'busy' street in town, this town being the nearest to our village...
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En route back to the village, stopped to chat with a friend of Lao girl. It seems Laos also has it's share of ladyboys...
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This reminds me. The typical mode of transport around these parts (when not on two wheels) is this versatile single piston agricultural contraption (can someone please tell me the correct name?). It can plough fields and has paddle attachments for the muddy wet season, can be used as a powerful static water pump, can pull a small trailer... all manner of uses and indeed is often used as the family runabout...
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Back to the village and a look around the temple grounds. One of the shrines is in a small wooden construction in the middle of a pond. Previously, the pond was well maintained with plenty of aquatic creatures but in recent years, many young folk have chosen to leave for the cities, causing a serious shortage of those willing to dedicate some of their lives to becoming a monk. This entire temple complex (which is a really tranquil place) seems to have fallen into serious disrepair and is becoming overgrown...
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The surrounding countryside of this village is rice paddies of course. There's nothing I enjoy more than wondering for hours in the woods with a slingshot and a pocket full of stones. Unlike many parts of Isaan, there are still plenty of extensive, unspoiled wooded areas to explore. This particular village has invested in an irrigation system of some kind but my stay was too short to have a closer look. Notice in the background patches of water in this pic (cellphone image, not so clear) even though it's the dry season... a clever series of water channels fed by gravity help them to make good use of the water to grow rice...
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After decades of isolation and closed borders, Laos has opened itself up to tourism in recent years. In my opinion, there has never been a better time to see this country. It's still raw and unspoiled and if you can make it inland, you'll be treated to a view of life from the old days. Don't expect it to stay this way for long though, reasons for which are far too lengthy to discuss in this post. For now, it remains a mysterious and unexplored territory as far as tourism goes. In a way I wish they would close their borders again.
I feel like I've found the last paradise on Earth in Laos... the simple, tame, wholesome and quiet life.
