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Our journey path
(as featured in Treks in a Wild World)
Zay Harding goes trekking in Laos, from a terrifying flight
to Luang Prabang onboard Laos Aviation - the worst
airline in the world. He traverses the Mekong River
to Luang Namtha, the heart of the Golden Triangle.
Things to see and do
- The World Heritage city of Louang Phabang is full
of ochre colonial houses and swaying palms where saffron-robed
monks glide through the morning mists to the hypnotic beat
of temple drums. Its a great place to taste the local French
delicacies from a patisserie (cake shop) before heading off
on a trip up the Nam Ou river into the heart of the
Golden Triangle.
- Take a Joseph Conrad style journey north up a tropical
river snaking its way through impenetrable jungle where thick
vegetation drips from limestone peaks, and the river washes
onto miniature beaches of pristine white sand.
- Visit a medicinal rainforest where amazing herbal
remedies are on hand.
- Visit Phongsali - the capital of Laos' most northern
province. From here it is possible to trek towards the Chinese
border, meeting colourful hill tribes on the way, in particular
the Akha who are the most stunningly dressed of all
the highland hill tribes. The Akha are fond of singing and
there is even an Akha blues: songs about poor Akha villagers
struggling through life surrounded by rich neighbours. The
Akha are animists and rely on a village shaman.
Did you know?
- The general absence of wildlife in Laos is due to poaching
for food and chinese medicine.
The Akha villagers live high in the mountains where they cultivate
rice. They originally came from Southern China.
- The Akhas build a pubar when a boy reaches the age
when he wants some privacy to have a relationship. The men
of the village help him build it. It takes just two hours
to make out of bamboo and woven rattan, using no nails. A
celebration follows where much rice whiskey is drunk by the
tribe.
- Laos' rivers are the main means of transport for the majority
of the country and they still prove to be the quickest route
for certain journeys. Boats are the cheapest way of getting
around Laos.
- Women aren't allowed on the deck of cargo boats unless
men are there, as Laotians believe it will offend the spirits
and bring bad luck.
- Most Laotians live near or on the Mekong, the source
of sustenance for most. It is the 12th longest river in the
world - and one of the roughest. The Mekong stretches 3000
miles from Tibet through to Vietnam.
- The Lanten people of Luang Namtha are only one of
some 39 different ethnic groups found in the province.
- The Lanten people make their own paper, a painstaking
process. They are one of the few ethnic groups in the region
to have a language.
- Air travel in Laos requires the patience of a saint and
nerves of steel. These old Chinese planes are cancelled without
a moments warning and pilots have no radar traffic control
and instead guide the plane by sight.
- Luang Prabang was a tiny mountain kingdom for more
that a thousand years and home to the Lao royal family. It
is now a world heritage site thanks to its legacy of French
colonial architecture and ancient temples. After the communist
came to power in 1975 they arrested the King, Queen and crown
prince and banished them to a re-education camp based in the
caves in Sam Nua where they disappeared and are rumoured
to have been starved to death.
travellers tips
- Bring your own gear if you are thinking of camping
- In the North bring warm clothing - It gets much colder than
you think.
- A inflatable pillow can really come in handy.
- Bring a silk sleeping bag
- Bring flip- flops to use in toilets and rivers and give
your feet a chance to recover from hiking boots.
- The trek takes the best part of a day through virgin monsoon
rainforest to reach the village of Ban Demagou - a
UNESCO preserve for rare and endangered species. |
