............ an oasis in the middle of nowhere. Rice paddy's, an ox, looks like a village to the right and two open sided bungalows. We find out later that one is the restaurant and the other the lounge/bar. Magic, magic, magic and hear that? Not a soud except for the noise we make ourselves.
We are given a lovely wee flower, a cold lemon grassd irnk an dled to our "room". A huge tent, two beds, ensuite bathroom fully kitted out and a verandah that hold two chairs with a view out to the Mekong that is to die for. The tent is along the lines off the east african tents with a sideways perspective, so the beds face sideways and not towards the view but very well done. Gorgeous in fact. (Check out the new bag on the bed)
The room is very cleverly done with the modern trappings disguised so that they do not detract from the rustic feel. Electricity consists of two rather dim lights, one for the main room and another for the bathroom. The room comes with a torch and room security is in the form of a padlock to catch all the zips together. The light switches were my favourite, partly concealed in a piece of bamboo.. Clever.
We have a wee while before lunch so I potter for a few minutes and then go and take in the view from the bar area. Some kids are playing petanque (boules, or bacci or whatever you want to call it). Thier excitement is contagious. I watch them for a bit until I am called to lunch, just two of us, the german guy that was in the boat with me and I. We are served larb, fried rice, sticky rice, a soup, buffalo meat, stir fried veg. A feast for two. Not the most appealing meal I have had but better than some and it filled the gap.
Free time for an hour. I went and got my book fully intending reading for a bit from the comfort of the bar area where they have settees and loungers. Bad move as there was too much happening here. The buffalo was being used to till the soil, children were humping large bags of sand on their backs, other children continued to play petanque, a lady was collecting veges from amongst the rice paddys, a guy was tidying up the area being tilled for when they plant the new rice crop. I am told that some of the rice we see is at nursery stage and once it reaches a certain stage it then gets moved bit by bit to the main paddy whre it will stay until ready for harvesting. 2 harvests a year and length of harvest depends on the sort of rice it is. Fascinating, but sitting in the warm sun it becomes too much and I eventually drop off lying on the lounger. It is a tough life.
Time for activities so our guide leads us down to the river, the most sublime space with a view to die for. A fisherman comes along and shows us how they catch fish with the weighted circular nets. Its all in how you hold the net before swirling it into a circle as it lands on the water. I wasn't going to try as the idea of getting drenched just didn't appeal. I left the locals to it. They only caught one. Whitebait size but looked like a cat fish.
Next we are shown how they pan for gold with a bamboo dish that looks very much like a large coolie hat, scopping from the river and then swirling it in the water until the heavier pieces are swirled off the side and all that is left is the gold. Only if you have a magnifying glass that is.
We are shown how they replant (from the nursery patch) the rice plants and are offered the chance to stand in the cold water and plant our own. Don't think so my love. Not this kid. My toes have only just warmed up from this morning.
We move on to the archery range and we are shown how the Kamu people shoot their prey. I would starve as I shot way off target by miles. The sun is now beating down and it is starting to get really hot. What a change from this morning. They tell us the cold of the last few days is very much unseasonal and unusually cold for any time of the year.
Our next activity was a visit to the Kamu village adjoining the resort. Some 700 odd people live there in about 70 families. The village used to be a Lao village but the Lao people have moved to the city and the Kamu people have taken it over. Many of the people are employed in the resort so the business helps to sustain the village as well. Win win. We saw about 30 different people working there so quite a good proportion of the village would be earning while others provide produce and expertise.
They village was lovely, far more sophisticated than I expected but then I guess it is a model village and just for us, the dollars. It is not open to the general public, but just to visitors at the resort so I guess not so commercial as others. It certainly didn't appear to be staged other than a couple of guys sitting doing crafts. But what else would you do all day anyway.
Basic housing and from what I saw immaculate inside. They have three outdoor shower areas, a number of artisans plying their trades, a good sized school, livestock running round (some are pets the other lunch), a basic shop selling smokes, water, washing powder and Laolao. The Laolao comes in different varieties, plain or with any of a number of additives like scorpions, bugs etc. I'm not game enough to try either with or without the bugs. The shop also sells herbal cures for all sorts of things including malaria. The school was like a western school, but more basic. Long benches with joined on desks, similar to what I saw in Kenya where six or seven kids shared a desk, a large blackboard, play area, so nit too dissimilar to ours, just basic and a but dusty.
The adults were all smiles. The children, like children everywhere, mischievous, curious and smiling. I took lhotos and showed them and their eyes got big. I took a video and they were amazed. A few were admiring my big beads and my jewellery. Their eyes big in amazement. I felt so mean but thenthought about the cost of my 'diamonds' and realised they they could probably afford these too. Coloured glass comes quite cheap. By this time we were perspiring. The temperature had risen and it was super hot.
As we leave the village I am again walking with tears in my eyes. The young children pass us with bags of sand on their backs, smiling as though they are the chosen ones, proud that they are doing something useful. Our world really is stuffed when little kids live like this in one country and in another sit on their butts playing computer games, eating junk and complaining. So much injustice.
We return to our rooms in time for a quick freshen up before walking down the hill to the spa. I get given lounging clothes to change in to and am shown to a matress on the ground of a stilted building overlooking the river. My massage begins, softly but deftly she massages my muscles, not the strokes I am used to but gently folding bits and sliding her hands over them. Lovely. The only sounds are the occasional speed boat going up the river or the call of the monkeys in the opposite bank. Sublime. Peace.
It starts to get dark and quite rapidly the temperature drops dramatically. I was cold but nothing to cover up with and time was nearly up. The cold spoiled the beauty of the massage a bit but my muscles felt pampered and I was so relaxed. What a shame I cant just go straight to bed, but at least I had time for a quick sit down and to get changed into my warmest gear before going to the bar area for a drink. Coke was needed. Already there was the German guy from the boat, three guys from Switzerland and a couple also from Switzerland (he a pom and she French). A magical scene from the bar, pitch black save for the lanterns lighting the paths.
Dinner is served and we move to the restaurant. So nice to be eating with a bunch of people. Two times in two days and so different to eating alone. We were presented with fried fish, a great sweet and sour dish, soup with veg and pork balls, a stew of beef with onions, plain rice and sticky rice. Everything was yum, much tastier than lunch time. Dinner was followed with fruit, nashi pears again - Yes! and the sweetest watermelon I have ever had.
After dinner conversation got on to fixing the world and All Blacks. Great, I enjoyed both discussions and then called it a night to return to my tent, write this while pondering how many layers of clothing I was going to wear to bed and what I was going to keep clean to wear tomorrow. Some human would have to sit next to me on a plane which might be unfortunate for them if I stay in the clothes I sleep in. Oh well, not my problem really. It turned out to be quite warm in the tent despite the fact that I had the flaps open at the front so I could lie in bed in the morning and gaze out. Dream on.
As I write this the only sounds I can hear are those of the monkeys opposite. I was hoping there would be some close by that it's not to be. Peace. Sweet dreams I hope.
I crawl in under the duvet and instantly feel warm and comforted. My pillow was great and I knew I would sleep well.
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