COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: Expeditions
PROJECT: Leadership Expedition
WRITTEN BY: Penrhos College
Hello beloved relatives and missed friends,
We have had such an amazing time since we have last emailed from our not so smooth bus trip from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. After a day in Luange Prabang we adventured through the mountains and valleys on the traditional trucks (of course) with our bags piled on top, laughter the whole way! We arrived at our project with an amazing first impression of our new home for the rest of the week. The school children made a very warm welcome showering us with flowers and clapping as we walked into our home stays. The Boum Phaseng village was on the edge of a steep valley leading to a pristine river where we washed in the afternoons after our hard day of working as amateur brickies.
The houses were very cosy and were up to scratch with our village expectations, we had cute mattresses all laid out neatly along the floor with children at our feet 24/7 mimicking us constantly. The next few days were pretty intense as we rose with the locals and were sent off to our day at work where we learnt how to lay bricks, pave the floor and mix cement occasionally including carrying water from the river to the worksite. We are all very proud of our biceps and bruises. Not only did we work at the project site in the high school but we also got time to take a weaving course with the whole village, play a soccer match with the local school girls, sit by a campfire and play games, engage with the children, learn how to cook traditional Lao meals and finally a farewell bonfire at the high school where the locals taught us their groovy moves.
While engaging in the project we had a chance to glance into the classrooms and even try and teach the students some of our English skills... we were shocked to see seven students all sharing a bench and 1 textbook. Over 600 students all squeezed into 5 classrooms with an average of 90 students in a room at one time. As we took interest in them the students also took interest in us with small crowds gathering to watch us work on their new classroom, some even giving a helping hand. By the end of our project days we had become professional tradies. We ended up completing more of the project than was expected we accomplished finishing the whole floor and most of the walls.
The children were possibly the happiest children we have ever seen. Despite having very little they still found countless things to play and have fun with or things to laugh and smile about. The whole village was very grateful for our donations, clothing and efforts put in at the school. It was nice having the opportunity to remove ourselves from the comfortable lives we live and to immerse ourselves into the different culture and ways of life. It was sad to say goodbye to a community that we had grown so close to.
We arrived 'home' in Luang Prabang tired and dusty, definitely ready for a well deserved shower and massage but completely satisfied with our efforts in the previous week.
In our days exploring this beautiful and diverse city we had time to experience climbing to the top of a Buddha park perched on a rather large hill where we engaged in conversation with young novice monks for a few hours before we climbed to the peak, witnessing the amazing sunset over the valleys surrounding Luang Prabang as well as another couple hundred tourists which was amusing at times. Later that night we adventured through the narrow streets overflowing with vibrant colours and patterns of the night markets in which we spent our money wisely...
Our first full day was definitely one of the best we have had as we transported ourselves from our guesthouse to the amazing Tad Sae waterfalls where we got to ride elephants and then spontaneously decided to swim with them. Bareback and soaked we were able to encounter these massive sized animals up close and personal. We then kept adventuring on through the water park to discover many small waterpools and waterfalls upstream where we swam and splashed. It is yet to be decided whether the water is dyed blue by the elephants or is naturally crystal blue.... coming home we tried the street food which was absolutely delicious with divine crepes on offer a well as baguettes, a range of shakes and some meat on sticks.
Today we awoke with the sun as we witnessed the monks collecting alms nearby only to return to bed where others had decided to remain. We then divided into two groups one heading to a traditional Laos weaving lesson where the group chose the pattern and colour of the silk that they then crafted into unique pieces of fabric. The other heading out to the Kuang Si waterfalls to see the sun and moon bears plus the amazing blue lagoon.
Its been fun, tiring and a hugely rewarding experience so far, however our English skills are going down the drain with each passing second! In our next week we will be travelling on the slow boat up the Mekong and trekking to our next home stay village.
Lots of love and enjoy the warm Aussie weather!
The Gumnut Warriors
xoxoxo
Milla's Message from last week
"Dear Family I am having the most amazing time in Laos, I swam with elephants for the same price as a table runner. The waterfalls here are incredible. I miss the majority of you and cant wait to see you all. Lots of love your favourite daughter who is almost broke (no, not you Elle)
PS. Dearest mother pls book me an eyebrow appointment as I currently resemble Bert from Sesame Street...
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