Long Yuck, Laos

A two hour truck ride on a dirt road followed by a six hour trek uphill through a teak and mahogany jungle to a remote village untouched by tourists.  Perhaps the most impoverished community witnessed, the minimum needed for subsistence provided through one annual rice crop.  Twenty flimsy bamboo huts built on stilts, the menagerie of livestock intermixed in the sea of dirt below.  The animals used more for ritual sacrifice than for food.  No roads.  No electricity.  No running water.  The men exhausted their days in the field only to spend their off day working in collaboration to build someone a new home.  The families shared a communal water source for showers; modesty impossible due to its location in the village center.  

   

Duck, duck, goose.  Hokey pokey.  Paper origami.  Crayons.  Children’s books.  Pure joy erupted from the hearts of Khmu village children from this universal entertainment.  Initially dirty faces concealed behind their mother’s skirts, unsure of the foreign visitors’ intentions.  Slowly slowly curiosity overcame shyness.  One by one they advanced, until en masse they encircled us peering into our magic camera lenses, giggling at our awkward pronunciations, and mimicking our English words.  Childrens’ eyes illuminated with sheer jubilation as they buried themselves in the books we carried.  Without question, the most fulfilling $12 we have spent in our lifetime.  In the school, no books or chalkboard, only rows of warped bench seating for 50 kids to their one teacher.  

The mountain fog rolled in, the household fires provided warmth and light.  Slept on a soiled mat atop plywood two feet above a dirt floor.  Our group could not fit in the shed provided, so Ken and I overflowed into the chiefs house.  Essentially the same accommodations except men slept together with the women separated upstairs.  Food cooked over wooden campfire on the floor of the house.  Mother nature’s call in the dark woods near the stream, no outhouse, no toilet paper provided.  Wild pigs scavenged.  Awoken by thunderous roosters at 5am, the original alarm clock free of charge.  An eight hour strenuous trek back to civilization.     

An experience of humanity more meaningful than we can describe.  A peaceful aura enveloped us... the joy of living a simple life a blatant reminder.  Such a striking contrast to city life, we were so fortunate to see the authentic Laos.  Words insufficient, their faces reveal the tale.

The kids were so enthralled with Ken's camera he handed it over to a seven year old villager and can you believe
this is the picture she took.