The first day after a delicious breakfast of three whole bananas wrapped in crepes and a DECENT cup of tea - finally! We piled into out Tuk Tuks and were taken along to The Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, to learn about the many ethnic groups living in this tiny country. with all the information there is i could probably write a whole tome, so i will try to be concise: three main groups depending on whether you come from the upper, middle or lower lands, then within each group are more sub groups, which basically work out at 43 different 'tribes', all speaking their own language, (remember the population is tiny), but when the government came to power they passed a law that everyone has to learn to speak Lao as a second language.
Exhibited in the cabinets were the multi-coloured clothes worn by the Akha, Hmong and Khum people, to name but a few. (They made 'Joseph's technicolor dream coat' seem quite bland!).
And then we were educated on some of the courting rituals used by some of these groups. The main one that stuck out for me was a system whereby a young girl looking for her husband would sew together a little red shoulder type bag, place a cooked chicken she had prepared in it, then hand it to the family of the boy that she is interested in.
If it was returned the following day, filled with nothing but jewellery, she would know that her proposal had been accepted and the courting would begin. However, if the bag was returned empty, then she would know she had been refused. (Or maybe they just didn't like her haberdashery and culinary skills?) All I can say is, that coming from a traditional Jewish family as I do, where Roast chicken is practically the staple diet, (as well as smoked salmon of course!), if my chicken in a bag was refused, I think my nana would turn in her grave!
Our next stop was the Kuang Si Falls. I know I mentioned to a couple of people in my emails that I was off to see a couple of FOUNTAINS, but I was slightly mistaken! The Kuang Si Falls are in fact the most magnificent water falls that spill out into natural crystal blue pools!! (Yes I know a slight mistake on my behalf). People come here to picnic, take photos or swim - which includes swinging into the water from a knotted rope hanging above from one of the trees.
I didn't participate but had great fun watching the men/boys doing their 'Peacock' thing in front of the girls, by swinging Tarzan like and plunging (often belly flopping) into the freezing water below. Grinning like Cheshire cats as they puffed out their chests and flex their arm muscles whilst trying not to slip on the rocks as they 'coolly' step out of the water, trying to stop their teeth chattering and ignoring the goosebumps appearing all over their bodies! And although ere were signs advising people to respect Laos modesty by not wearing bikinis or trunks, but instead to wear t shirts and shorts. We could still spot the Italian male striding around in his little speedos (or Budgie smugglers as they are affectionately known)!
Before returning to the bungalows we stopped off at the Bear sanctuary, where bears of all ages had been rescued from poachers who like to cut off their paws for ornaments or drain the bile from the live bears bile duct to be used in Chinese medicine!
I found it quite distressing so had to treat myself to some more shopping that night!
The following day was a 'free day' and while a small group from our crew went off to ride the elephants I just wanted some time to myself to potter around. In the afternoon I met up with Karen, Nicola (vet from Oxford), Andrea (ex stunt woman from New Zealand) and Sergio (retired University Lecturer from Chile) to go and see some traditional dance at the Royal Ballet Theatre. They were performing Chapter 4 (Offering the ring to Sida), from Phralak Phralam - the National Epic of the Lao people, adapted from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The story follows the usual line that involves rescuing a princess held by an evil man who wants her for himself. She considers suicide in order to preserve her purity but is rescued at the last minute by the Monkey god Hunaman. You know how it goes.
The performance was quite mesmerising, the costumes even more so which transported back to a childhood memory of watching The King and I with my grandparents.
After the show, it was time to go back and pack for the next leg of our trip. The following day it was going to be goodbye to Luang Prabang and hello Vang Vieng ... After an 8 hour bus ride along a windy and pot holed road - hmmmm.
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