We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the area around Luang Namtha.
Saturday we rented bicycles (very basic mtn bikes) to explore some of the area around town. Luang Namtha sits in a broad and mostly flat valley, so it's easy riding. We first headed north out of town and out to a small waterfall a few kilometers away. The road to the waterfall is unpaved and quite bumpy, but we took plenty of photo breaks. After walking around the waterfall area, we headed south through farmland, mostly rice paddies. Visited a small and very unadorned temple in a small town, then turned onto another dirt road southwest through the farmland and past several small villages. As we rode by, people--especially children--would often call out sabaidee (hello) and wave. At one spot there were three men in a paddy next to the road harvesting rice plants by hand (virtually all the agriculture we've seen in Laos is non-mechanized). We stopped to take pictures, and one of them called out, and then beckoned to join them and help out. I rolled up my pants and waded out into the paddy (shin deep) and pulled rice plants with them for a little while. They seemed to find it hilarious; we all laughed a lot and they thanked me profusely for my help. They also helped me walk back along the very slippery and narrow berm between fields so I didn't end up on my ass in the mud. We continued a few more km through farmland and villages back to the main highway, stopped at a roadside stand for some oranges, and then rode the few km back to town.
Sunday we rented a motorbike so we could explore a little farther afield. After warming up and getting comfortable on the bike on the easy streets around town and up to a stupa at the edge of town, we headed south toward a Thai Lue village known for weaving. A few km of dirt road brought us to Ban Pieng Ngam, which is at the end of the road and surrounded by farmland. It's a very small village, maybe 20 families, and as soon as we stopped the bike we were approached by several women offering to sell us their hand-woven scarves and other items. Ellen of course obliged, and then gave them gifts of embroidery thread she'd brought along. One of the women took us to her home to show us how she weaves. Almost every house has a loom underneath, and many of them were in use as we walked around the village.
From there, we headed north to visit another stupa. This one dates to the 1600s, but was bombed and destroyed during the war. They have a new one right next to it. Another 10 km or so of dirt road brought us back to town. After lunch we did a little more exploring north of town, then returned the motor bike.
Today we took a minibus from Luang Namtha to Luang Prabang. The ride was about 8 hours almost entirely on rough unpaved roads (paved roads are scarce in Laos). Great scenery, though. On arrival here we took a tuk tuk from the bus station into town, and found a nice guesthouse conveniently located to the city historic center (a UNESCO World Heritage site). Had a great dinner in the market area and walked out some of the kinks from the bus ride.
Timing note: Mom was concerned that I'm posting to the blog and sending emails in the middle of the night. Not to worry. I've left my computer on Oregon time (in part so it's easy to see what time it is at home), and that's the time that records when items post. For those keeping track, Oregon is at GMT-8 hrs; here we're at GMT+7 hrs.
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