Nam Kheow, Laos

I knew I needed some time in the mountains in the North where I could get exposure to what Laos life is really like in the more remote areas.

It was stunningly gorgeous here.
Our little bungalow over the river was the perfect spot to listen to Trisha play the guitar, make an attempt at the harmonica, and wait out the intense thunder storm that swallowed the town upon our arrival.


We rented bikes the first day to visit the local caves which were similar to the other 50 caves I feel like I have checked out, but much more in the middle of nowhere.


After our cold and wet day of caving, we treated ourselves to an amazing herbal steam bath/sauna that smelled like wood and cinnamon with breaks for jasmine tea and then an hour long Laos massage.


The next day we went on a trek which was actually a legit trek beginning in a local village of 42 families, through fields, past many water buffalo, and then through the rapids up to the top of the waterfall (which we actually rock climbed up - probably one of the coolest things I have ever done) to arrive at our bamboo pad for lunch. Dewy, our guide, set up an amazing local lunch of sticky rice, eggplant spicy mush, veggies, and cucumbers to eat on a giant banana leaf he picked up on the way. It was perfect.




The highlight of this trip was our invitation to hang out and socialize with the locals who were busy partying since the 10am wedding that took place between a beautiful young bride and her husband that day. Needless to say, that by 4pm, all of them were bombed. Going into this socializing session, we knew that it was rude to not embrace their customs and take whatever they offered. What they offered involved rice, some veggies, and mystery meat, along with bottomless Laos Laos which, for those who don't know, is the local Whiskey. So here we are, sitting at the table with the men, while the women sat at another table watching and laughing at us while we were fed shot after shot. I looked at them pleading for their help to remove me from the situation after about 8 shots, then was finally able to get the message through to that enough was enough and I could not handle any more Whiskey!!! At that point, we were asked to join them in their house to hang out, talk (well, more like gesture), and then 5 minutes into it were forced to drink more shots.


It was an honor to be so welcomed by this village. The kids were fun to play with, the women were so beautiful and nice, and the men were just...hilarious.





On a boat on the Mekong, life just seems so simple and day-to-day. The boat ride back from the waterfall treck was spent...hammered...but checking out the river side villages, laughing with the kids that were playing in the water and racing us in their canoes, watching the men net fishing, and the water spiders dancing about on the river's surface. The land and the sunset were just beautiful.