Vieng Phouka and the the highland Acha villages trek

This was by far the most remote cultural experience we have had yet. But how do I even begin to describe it? Imagine the truest camping experience you have ever had. No direct access to water, no electricity, cooking on open fire. Getting up with a sun and finishing the day by the fire or a candle. Your water is a stream a walk away which you use for drinking, bathing, laundry etc. Imagine bathing wrapped in a sarong, just as dozen other people bathing at the same time. Imagine cows and buffaloes bathing just a few feet downstream from you. Occasional motorcycle and car will bathe there, too. That is life for most people in the small "town" Vieng Phuka. Imagine now that the nearest stream to bath in is a 1.5 hour up and down steep hill-trek. Imagine that the closest community is about 6 hours trek through hills and forests with no vehicle access. Your village has no vehicles at all as none could take the terrain. Imagine that the only money that you get is from selling produce you grow at a market the same 6 hours foot-only distance away. Imagine an elementary school for the village with only 1 teacher and no substitutes when the teacher is busy or sick. No hospital, only a visiting doctor when necessary. Imagine existence on elevated lands which you "claim" by slashing trees and burning remaining vegetation to be able to farm on it. Well - you might be getting the idea of the Acha villagers' life. Once we got to Vieng Phuoka we were startled that this lifestyle is still considered a town. Bathing is the stream was not very appealing but what else is one to do. Lucky for us our guesthouse was a privileged place in town and for 2 hours daily (7-9PM) the generator would be turned on and there was light before falling asleep. Hatched roof and walls ensured a good air circulation. Guesthouse's menu consisting of two items "vegetables" or "omelet" filled our tommys well, too. Early in the morning we headed off to market where we had noodles and then we started our trekking experience. After a short drive on a back of a pick up truck we were dropped off close to a small Khmu village. People there were as interested in seeing our faces as we were in theirs. It was nice to start our trip in this village as our guide was originally from there. His personal connection made the transition into "a different world" much smoother. We even got to snap a few pictures.

Soon we were off on the Acha trail. Literally we went of a small dirt trail that the Acha people use daily. We passed them carrying their produce, collecting wood, tending to burning fields, bringing home wood and water... Life "as usual"... It was just amazing to see these tiny ladies carrying loads that I am not sure James could carry. Their faces worn by a hard life, their teeth black or missing. Yes - the belief here is that black teeth are healthy teeth so people chew on betel nuts constantly which makes their spit bright red and teeth eventually turn black. Really spooky to see. What I really liked about them is that the ladies have not lost apparel battle to modern clothing (like almost everywhere else in the world). They still wear their silver coin hair ornaments, traditional black shirts, and pleated skirts. In no Acha village have we seen the older generations wearing anything else. It was so special.

Kids on the other hand were wearing whatever was available. After all day hiking, 8 hours with one stop for lunch, we reached the first village. It was just hard to imagine that we would encounter such a large village right in the middle of forests and fields, with no civilization signs for hours. There was several rows of "rice huts" - where the rice is stored and the 15 year old have fun at night, followed by the spirit grounds (not for photos), a school building, and then the village of family huts. Our hut was constructed just like the the other family houses in the village: all hatched walls, high, also palm-made roof, and firepit in an extra "room". Picture an open fire pit on the elevated wooden/hatched floor or your easily combustible house. I must admit, I was a BIT concerned. But all was safe and fine and the food cooked with simple ingredients bought from the locals was delicious. Boun Yee is an awesome cook! The ginger and garlic combination added to all foods was just super delicious.

The second day we also walked a lot. Half day in we encountered another large Acha village. This one was even further from "shower facilities" (2 hours to the nearest stream) We were welcomed to a family house of a grandma who was taking care of the kids while the parents were off working "their" fields. We walked a little in the village, took a couple of pictures, ate another delicious lunch cooked in grandmas kitchen and continued our trek. At night we got to our last Acha village. This was a lucky village . They were connected with a world via a dirt road so there was even a few motorbikes in the village. Also the EU help got here. There was a "shower" set up for the entire village. It was awesome. About 2 huts away from us there was a large bamboo "pipe" which was directed via long other bamboo pipes to some stream. All I know is that there was running water under the pipe and once I waited in the line for my turn - I was able to take a shower without worrying about leaches or anything else. This time I felt like I was really rinsed and cleaned even though, as before, the shower was taken totally wrapped in a sarong as everybody is right there watching you, waiting their turn. After another awesome dinner (unbelievable pumpkin dish) and rough Acha massage and we went to sleep. In the morning we were going to walk around the village but we got invited by the chief to come and meet him. The chief (in charge of all local Acha villages) was in this village as their was a funeral that he was going to lead the ceremonies for. This turned to be a real treat experience. The chief was a very nice man, quite open to the outside world. He invited us into a hut where he was spending the morning with the locals. It was the house where the body of the deceased lady was resting. A mother from a different village was visiting her daughter (living here with her husband and kids) and within a week of the visit the grandma passed away. In real sorrow the son-in-law wanted to give the best possible burial for her. So the local men the night of our arrival went into a local forest looking for a perfect tree for a coffin. What we saw in the hut was more than just a box which would be the norm. It was a fan carved sculpture on top of all hand carved out coffin - all from one piece of wood. Incredible. The body was sealed in there yet the coffin was still wet as the wood was so fresh... On the coffin there was food for the trip to the outer-world and there was an egg to give to the guard of a river that the soul has to cross. Very interesting how distant cultures have similar beliefs. Greek mythology anyone? We were allowed to snap a few pictures since we promised to send some prints to them. Interestingly, they were going to bring the pictures to the deceased woman's village to show her remaining family what a splendid casket she had in order to convince them that there was no foul play in her dying away. We hope that the pictures were sufficient although the logic might not make much sense. We sent the prints from the nearest place we could to the guide's office and hopefully he'll be making a trek tot eh Acha hills soon to deliver them. We sent prints of all pictures taken on this trek to Boun Yee as the locals appreciate getting a print if they allow any photography at all.

After enjoying fascinating conversation with the chief and snacking on some local pork with the locals (a pig was killed to commemorate the funeral and a piglet was sacrificed for the spirits too) we were off. The last day we hiked to a local cave and a couple more "civilized" Khmu villages. The cave trek was really tough. Very steep uphill with a lot of leaves on the ground making it even harder to climb.But once we got there we were in for a treat. The cave is huge and was totally to ourselves. This is the first cave of this size that I have ever been to (and I have been to many) that was so remote and so "uncivilized". Many much smaller and less impressive caves are all tourist accessible with colored lighting, guides, sidewalks... Here we were with Boun Yee and our flashlight, trying not to slide too much on the guano around and look around so as to not break any mineral formations. Oh how I wish we had a stronger flashlight and overall better equipment to see more of this beauty.. Next stop was unplanned but very eye-opening to us. Our guide stopped in the woods where we heard a chainsaw, to talk to the local logger about the wood for his house. Here we experienced a tragedy. A tree thicker than my height *see picture for scale), easily more than 400 years old, was taken down and cut into slabs of wood. This gorgeous tree was gorgeous tree the thickest we could see in these woods was becoming raw lumber material for the loggers house. Can you imagine it? You get this indescribable sick feeling when you see it happening. The shortsightedness of the people in need is so so sad! and infuriating!

The last two village stops were short but it still was great to see yet different people and how they live. Check out the hairstyles. Coming back to the 2 hours of electricity in Vieng Phouka was nice but the vegetable and omelet menu had nothing on Boun Yees culinary delights that we so got accustomed to. If you would like to look into getting on a similar adventure, check out: http://www.greendiscoverylaos.com/nt-t-15.htm