We found the tour guide operator throwing back beers with his buddies in a nearby restaurant. It was easy to understand, we were still in Vang Vieng after all and on top of that it was Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Now, you’d think that wouldn’t matter much, us being in Laos and all, but – false.
Tet was really causing a log jam in our logistics. Anyone and anything Vietnamese wasn’t working for two weeks, all the embassies and consulates were closed which means we couldn’t arrange our Vietnam visas. So, we had some time to kill. Well, Adam had some other things to kill, but we’ll get to that later.
While we waited until we could get a visa into Vietnam, we decided to spend a few days kayaking laos by way of the Nam Ou river. The tour guide operator, showing the signs of his celebration, reluctantly left his buddies, followed us back into his office, and helped us arrange a three-day kayaking adventure from Nong Khiew to Luang Prabang.
It was a two-day bus journey to get to the picturesque town, which included one night in Luang Prabang where we left our bags.
New fiends Louise and Martin from Sweden hopped aboard our tour. All of us kayak rookies, we felt pretty psyched to have some other beginners to provide mutual courage and some serious laughs.
The five of us pointed downstream, not sure exactly what to expect from the river, or anything else. The first day on the water was stunning. Surrounded by steep jungle-covered mountains, we left the towns and roads behind as the current took us deeper into the real Laos. The only people we saw were villagers who relied solely on this river for food, water, washing and travel. Even in rural Laos, it seems the most commonly known word is “hello!!”
The mostly gentle river was punctuated by exciting rapids. Nothing too extreme, just enough to make us pay attention and threaten to tip you out of your boat. I mean, that’s what we signed up for after all!
Sloshing through the winding river, we navigated under a massive dam project under construction. A Chinese project, this was a massive structure. We had to shoot the narrow rapids between the massive concrete pillars. On the other side of the dam, we noticed a huge banner requiring hard hats, which probably would have been a good idea.
This dam is not only a tremendous construction project, but there’s a significant amount of side work being done as well. Since a dam creates major water rising on the structures back side, the multitude of local villages who live by their life blood, the river, won’t be able to remain in their current locations. They’ll get flooded out.
So, China is relocating them.
Against the will of these people, they are uprooting their villages to one settled upon higher grounds. They are placing many very different villages together in one space. This will dramatically change their culture. But, on the upside, the government is providing a school and a hospital to this joint town. Something that most of these people have never had at their disposal before.
To our surprise, we were going to be spending the night in the village where most of these people were going to be relocated to. Rapid progress and development are sweeping through the region. We feel lucky we were able to see this place when we did.
As we explored the village, we were welcomed by everyone we saw. The people were so friendly and seemed so happy. We spent our first evening of the trip with a welcoming, happy family in the expanding riverside village. They were thrilled to have us, and treated it as a special occasion. They invited some friends over for dinner, and prepared a traditional feast. We reminisced about BBQ’s at the cabin, and missed everyone in Boulder lots.
The men of the household caught two ducks from the village, and brought them into the yard as our honored dinner. We were humbled to be treated so well, and offered to help prepared the meal in any way we could. Michelle got to prepare some greens, while Adam got a more unexpected job.
