Huay Xai – Day 27
Woke again this morning with the sun at 7:00 and packed up. Breakfast was a quick snack where we were told that we had been invited to join the New Year celebrations down in the Hmong village. The program volunteers seemed nervous about our intended presence and sorted us into 2 groups so that we could remain in the background and not interfere with the festivities. They were also very concerned about us taking photographs since no-one has ever been in the village on such an occasion. I felt lucky to have the opportunity, as did the volunteers who seemed very excited.
At 8:00 we set off to hike back down the mountain, a much easier task than the ascent. The walk down took far less time and was not nearly as tiring. The cloud was still lifting and the sunlight behind the corn fields looked magical.
The village was alive with festivities, the atmosphere was fabulous. All the women were dressed in traditional Hmong clothing as were some of the men. We were invited to one of the homes of the villagers for the New Year feast which the women prepared before us in a single roomed, dirt floor house with a small fire place in the middle of the room. Whilst the food was being prepared we sat with ‘the man of the house’ who fed us rice whiskey shots. I accepted the first because we had already been warned that it was very rude to refuse but at 10 in the morning it was about the last thing I wanted and I barely kept it down. It was not unlike rocket fuel and it burnt the whole way down my throat and sat like a fireball in my stomach. I politely refused the next half dozen shots that were offered, but many of the others went on to down about 8 shots over the course of the morning. I have no idea how they managed to stand up afterwards.
The feast was enormous and the food was delicious. After breakfast we learnt a small amount of the Hmong language and then walked back into the village to join in the games. The program co-coordinators hopes of us remaining in the background as silent observers was clearly not going to be accepted and we were asked to join in games of catch and a version of volleyball played like soccer, using only the feet and head to get the ball over the net. The children were so gorgeous and thrilled to be able to play their games with us. They were captivated by my digital camera and each time I took a photo and showed them a small crown would form to ooh and ahh. Even the parents wanted to get in on the action.
About midday the decision was made that it was time to leave, so we all piled into the back of the truck and awaited the arrival of the driver. He of course never showed up because he was off drinking lao lao with the village chief who was by now more than slightly intoxicated and encouraging our driver to join him in his happy state. Luckily an alternative driver was found and we were soon on our way back down the China to Thailand dusty ‘soon to be’ highway. Being in the back of the truck, by the time we arrived in Huay Xai two hours later I had transformed into an orange, fluffy haired monster and wanted nothing more than a long hot shower. I managed to get at least a long shower at my guesthouse, which despite being cold was bliss.
Feeling once again human, I ventured out to the balcony, only to find half the tour group there chatting. We decided to book a speed boat together for the ride to Luang Prabang tomorrow, but each boat only had 6 places available for farang. I happily volunteered to take another boat. It doesn’t matter to me and as lovely as some of them were, other had become very wearing. We all had dinner together at a restaurant down by the Mekong River, looking across to Thailand. It was really gorgeous and both countries were still celebrating the New Year [they will continue to celebrate for almost the next week] and letting lanterns up into the sky. 2006 has begun…..
Tags: Laos
Nic
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