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| Don't plunge, it is NOT a spa |
We woke up at 6:30am after having had a bad night. We consequently decided to find another hotel before the meeting for our trek at 8:00am. This night was gruesome because I had an unexplained fever and the heavy rain pulled the worst smells from the toilet sewers, which didn't help.
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| Drinking water |
We finally managed to change hotel and were on time to be picked up by our guide in a tuc-tuc. There were the Korean couple and an English girl with us. Our first stop was after 15km, that is a long time in tuc-tuc, at a salt mine and factory. We were explained the different ways of extracting salt from water and how families work together. Much of the product is exported to Vietnam. Here, an employee works 8 hours a day for around 5$, the wage depending on the production. If an employee is very efficient, they may receive a buffalo as a bonus. We saw children playing "petanque" at break.
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| Scorpion |
After this visit, we started our trekking in a Lao national protected area, joined by a 62 year old local guide ready to share his knowledge of the plants, wildlife and culture. He was also strong enough to carry all our drinks and food for lunch. We walked in line for 3 hours before reaching a lake. The path was narrow and the vegetation rich. We tasted a big variety of plants and fruits, some of them used as medicine to thwart Malaria or treat stomach pains. We drank pure water from branches and saw edible mushrooms.The guide showed us how to make a torch and we met scorpions and dangerous spiders.
We had a typical lunch with a very tasty Mekong fish. In the afternoon we walked through paddy fields, stopped in a village and visited the Wat Inghang Temple. It was an opportunity to learn more about the Buddhist culture.
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