Organizamos con Julian, Gretske, dos
británicos y nosotros para ir a Muang Sing. Salimos a las 11:30 y después de 2
horas de viaje llegamos en Muang Sing. En el bus conocimos a Scott, un
americano que trabaja en Laos. Alomorzamos, nos registramos en el hotel y
conocimos a Ilu, una señora de la tribu Akha, una de las minorías de Lao que
vive en el pueblo Lakkham. Le preguntamos si ella nos podía dar un tour por su
pueblo y ella aceptó encantada. Fuimos a la estación de buses e Ilu negoció
trasporte para todos por el resto de la tarde, para que nos llevará a su casa y
nos volviera a traer.
La llegada al pueblo fue increíble, tuvimos
una gran recepción de todos los niños; yo empecé a saludarlos de mano y a
presentarme y a ellos les pareció lo mas charro. Caminamos por el pueblo un
poco pero Ilu quería mostrarnos su casa y presentarnos a todos los miembros de
su familia.
Se regó por el pueblo la historia de que
habían 7 turistas en la casa de Ilu así que esto atrajo varias visitas. Muchas
de las señoras vinieron a vender sus artesanías. Había un montón de artículos:
bolsos, monederos, sombreros, etc… Todo hecho a mano por las señoras del
pueblo. Pasamos una tarde excelente en el pueblo, la gente súper amable, los
niños querían jugar con nosotros y algunos de ellos incluso tuvieron la
oportunidad de tomar fotos con la cámara de una chica británica que se las
presto para jugar un rato. Fue una experiencia increíble y muy auténtica que
nunca olvidaremos.
Volvimos a la ciudad en la tarde con un montón
de recuerdos y cientos de fotos!
El 1 de julio nos despertamos muy temprano
para visitar el mercado local, uno de los mejores mercados del norte de Laos.
Estaba lloviendo mucho, así que decidimos esperar un poco, pero la lluvia no
paro y tuvimos que salir en medio de la lluvia. El mercado era genial, un
montón de productos diferentes, gente amable y muchas oportunidades de fotos.
Pasamos unas cuantas horas en el mercado, probando comida local y viendo gente
negociar precios.
Después del desayuno alquilamos un tuk-tuk
para llevarnos alrededor de algunos otros pueblos que queríamos visitar.
Visitamos pueblos de diferentes grupos minoritarios, todos con sus diferentes
culturas y tradiciones.
La ropa tradicional es completamente
diferente de pueblo en pueblo y esto era hermoso de ver. En algunos de los
pueblos nos dieron una gran bienvenida, podríamos haber pasado todo el día con
ellos. La comunicación era un poco difícil pero el lenguaje de señas es
internacional y pudimos comunicarnos un poco…desafortunadamente siempre habrán
preguntas e interpretaciones que no podremos aclarar.
En total visitamos 6 pueblos, la
experiencia fue increíble, la gente súper auténtica y amable. En algunos
pueblos nos ofrecieron artesanías y en algunas partes nos precionaro mucho a
comprar, pero es cómo se ganan la vida por lo que es entendible.
Volvimos a Luang Namtha en el último bus
del día.
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We arranged with Julian, Gretske, two
British and us to go to Muang Sing.
We got into the 11:30 and after 2 hours ride we arrived in Muang
Sing. In the bus we met Scott, an
American guy working in Laos. We
went for lunch, then checked some places to stay in town and met Ilu, a lady
from the Akha tribe, one of the Lao minorities from Lakkham village. We asked her if she would take us to
her village and she agreed. We
went to the bus station and Ilu hired a truck for all of us for the rest of the
afternoon, we could see that she negotiated the best price for us. We headed to Lakkham village.
Arriving at the village was amazing, we had
a great reception from all the kids; I started shaking their hands and
introducing myself and they thought it was the funniest thing ever. We walked around the village for a
little bit but Ilu wanted to show us her house and introduce all her family
members.
The rumour in town was that 7 tourists were
in Ilu’s house so this brought more guests. A lot of the ladies came to sell their handcrafts. There were lots of items, handbags,
wallets, hats, etc.; everything hand made by the ladies in the village. We had a great time at the village, the
people were friendly, the kids wanted to play with us and some of them even got
a chance to take pictures as one British girl handed over her camera to
them. It was an amazing and
authentic experience we will never forget.
We returned to town late in the afternoon
with lots of memories and hundreds of pictures!
On July 1 we woke up very early to visit
the local market, one of the highlights of Muang Sing. It was raining a lot so we decided to
wait a little bit, but at the end had to head over there, in the middle of
heavy rain. The market was great,
lots of different products, friendly locals and great photography. We spent a few hours in the market,
trying some local food and seeing people negotiate prices for food.
After breakfast we hired a truck to take us
around some other villages we wanted to visit. We visited villages from different minority groups, which
have a lot of differences between them.
Traditional clothing is completely different from village to village and
this was nice to see. In some of
them we were welcomed by the friendliest people one could meet, we could have spent
all day with them. Communication
was very difficult but sign language is international and we were able to
communicate a little bit… unfortunately there will always be questions and
interpretations to what they explained that we will never know.
In total we visited 6 villages, the
experience was amazing, people were very authentic and friendly. In some villages they did offered us
handcrafts and some of them were pushing very hard, but it is how they make
their living so it is understandable.
We headed back to Luang Namtha in the last bus of the day.
We headed back to Luang Namtha in the last bus of the day.
Ilu de la Tribu Akha, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu from the Akha Tribe, Muang Sing, Laos
Casa de Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu's House, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Casa de Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu's House, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Casa de Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu's House, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Negociando con las Señoras de la Tribu Akha en la Casa de Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Negotiating with the Ladies from the Akha Tribe in Ilu's House, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Nuez Amarga, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Bitter Nut, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Casa de Ilu, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu's House, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
El Esposo de Ilu Fumando Opio, Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Ilu's Husband Smoking Opium, Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Tribu Akha, Pueblo Lakkham, Muang Sing, Laos
Akha Tribe, Lakkham Village, Muang Sing, Laos
Mercado de Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Muang Sing's Market, Muang Sing, Laos
Mercado de Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Muang Sing's Market, Muang Sing, Laos
Mercado de Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Muang Sing's Market, Muang Sing, Laos
Mercado de Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Muang Sing's Market, Muang Sing, Laos
Mercado de Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Muang Sing's Market, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Señora Seleccionando Arroz en uno de los Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Lady Winnowing Rice in a Village Close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Fabricando Escobas en uno de los Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Making Brooms in a Village Close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Haciendo un Tamiz de Arroz en uno de los Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Making Rice Sieves in a Village Close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Pueblos cerca a Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
Villages close to Muang Sing, Muang Sing, Laos
These children have no gadgets from the First World, and still look so happy. They are certainly enjoying their childhood; something that the kids from North America don't do anymore.
ReplyDeleteMuy típico cada lugar. Los niños sonriendo siempre y con caritas de curiosidad, esta vez si se empaparon de cultura Laos por todos lados. Ustedes han conocido cada rincón de cada pueblo y han interactuado mucho con la gente local, esto es una gran experiencia.
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