Trekking from Chi Pat.

I was heading towards the side line village of Chi Pat from Sihanoukville. The bus dropped me off in a nasty rainshower at Andoung Tuek, a handfull of houses next to a bridge. It feels way to away-especially when arriving in heavy rain. A German tourist and I was immediately approached by people wanting to take us up to Chi Pat village a 45 minutes motorbike trip away. For 7 dollars. Or a 2 hour boattrip upriver-for 30 dollars per boat. The alternative of scheduled community boats for 10 dollars a head was not mentioned without me drilling for it. We opted for the motorbikes-the prospect for massive rain showers and two hours out in the open didn't tempt us that much.

The motorbikes left us on the eastern riverbank, a small ferry took us across the river to the main village where we walked up to the CBET office. Where homestays, trips, tickets and even meals are handled. It is a well run and efficient establishment. Probably by far the best of its kind in Cambodia. They offer a lot-cooking classes, trips to waterfalls and burial jars. There is a bat cave. There are possibilities for volunteering. Many things can only be done in the dry season, though. My first decision upon arrival was to return in the dry season with a visa not about to expire as my was. The second decision was to join forces with the German for a two day-one night jungletrek with a riverboat trip at the end of it.

The foot ferry across the river. There is also one able to take cars and trucks in a ferry site close by.

English teaching in our homestay. We got a place 20 minutes walk away from the nearest beer. Homestays are assigned on a rotating basis so nobody knows where one ends. there is one room in each homestay-costing 4 dollars. We were two-paying 2 dollars each. Perfect for long time travelling budgets. It was an OK place-except the neighbours started playing loud music-LOUD music-at 0430 hours in the morning!

Along the main road of Chi Pat.

Posing, laughing, enjoying. Children here are true sunshine.

just been photographed. running to see the result of it.

Afternoon past time. Volleyball. These guys have no television to divert them, so they are good, really good, players.

Board gaming.

A little gambling for money.

Down by the river side.

We got a backpack, hammock-with mosquitonet and a blanket plus 3 liters of water at the office. One of the few english speaking guides available and a cook was to follow us on the hike. To begin with, there is farmland, a savanna like landscape and some secondary forest.

Some ants virtually fortify the entrance to their underground cities.

Caution if you see this one. A fire snake. It is venomous, highly so. If bitten out there by this one your only hope of survival is a helicopterlift.

A strange seed.

An old termite mound.

On a clearing in the forest we found these meat eating plants. Insects are lured into the cup with digestive juices. For them there is no escape.

Arriving at the camp. Basic but sufficient. The best thing about the camp is the swimming pond in a stream 50 meters away. A pretty, cool place-with a school of skineating fish.

Food on its way.

Afternoon hike to a wildlife watching spot. We only saw a group of monkeys far away, appearing to settle down for the night.

Creatures of the night. A hunting spider. I love to stand out in the dark. just to listen. There are a lot of sounds out there. some of them rather intense. The jungle at night-and often at day-is not at all a silent place!

A walking stick. They are so incredibly well camouflaged.

A antnest built around a branch.

Sour but edible fruits.

At the end of the walk. A refreshing bath before embarking on a two hour boattrip back to Chi Pat.

Lunch on the boat. Tina, our guide.

Our second homestay. close to the main road, yet far away from it all.

The room. Rather cosy.

I was buying beer when this guy suddenly jumped on me. He had a very strong grip. The locals backed away-apparently they do bite.

The end of it. Drinking beer and ricewine in Tinas Home.

In and around Luang Namtha. Jungle and tribes.

I would complain anonymously-complaining about the state isn't necessarily such a good idea in socialistic, democratic one party state Laos.

In my noodle soup shop I like their calendars. Actually i love their calendars. And by the way-they have food as well. Their noodle soups with different choices of meat rank among the better thanks to a mountain of different aromatic herbs served with it.

Two types of Laolao at the market. Moonshine with hangover as a common key ingredient.

Banana flowers-used as a vegetable in soups and stews.

Rattan, one of the important items harvested in the forests. There are many types and they have a wide variety of use-from building materials to rope to medicine and food. These pieces are for food. The outer layers are peeled off, uncovering a brittle, tasty core. A delicious vegetable-i would love to introduce the idea of rattan salad.

In a village of the Lanten people just outside Luang Namtha. A good way of keeping rats out of the house.

A Lanten woman prepares yarn for weaving.

Trekking is the big thing in Luang Namtha. I signed up for a trip trough jungle to a tribal village. Here i pose as the forest god in an established rest site in the jungle.

Served on banana leafs, lunch in the green. Fellow trekker, British Paul enjoys.

It is that perfect jungle, with sunlight being filtrated trough the dense canopy roof above. The sunlight being reflected in small streams trough the greenness. The air is filled with the sounds of playing insects. Walking there was mostly easy-but thee were a couple of more demanding slopes-made demanding by slippery conditions and the fact one of my sandals broke.

Arriving at the village. At first glimpse it looks rather modern, but it soon became evident old ways still live on there. We were put up in the compound of the village chief. A small addition to the main house with a sleeping platform and mosquito nets in it. The toilet was across the street-a hole in the ground style loo under a roof not suitable for the heaviest of rain showers.

The old animistic belief system is visible and dominant. Here is a row of spirit houses. If people want their spirits to reside and protect, they have to supply them with accommodation and offerings.

A grooms house. Once a groom is appointed, a tinny house on tall stilts is built near the home of the "to be"bride. Here the guy is supposed to live.

A spirit catcher. They can be seen everywhere-below buildings. Placed on roofs. attached to trees. They are highly sacred objects with a definite no touch rule applied to it.

On a wall in the home of our host. Fungus hanging-more spiritualism visible.

Returning with firewood from the forest. No gas or coal there.

We wanted beer, and was given directions to a shop which was not at all very evident. We passed it but eventually found it. We instantly became the star attraction of an ever growing audience of people of all ages and both sexes. Seeing the white people drinking beer obviously was exiting. Some of them was trying to communicate a bit more and was rewarded with cigarettes and a sip of beer.

A group of lovely villagechildren.

Early morning, the village is slowly getting to life and making ready for a new working day out in the forest and in the fields.

The kitchen fire of our host.

Not a good morning for everyone. A pig gets killed-a knife piercing its heart. The blood is collected.

They dug a hole in the ground and put the pig in it. Then pouring hot water over it to ease the removal of the fur.

An elderly woman inspects the work.

A bystander. The slaughtering event drew a big crowd. Many of them waiting for a share of the meat.

On our way out of the village we passed a scaffold with lot of sticks attached to it-offerings to the spirits. On our way from the jungle to the main road we went to rubber plantations, passed remote ricebarns and into pristine jungle. We were showed a little jungle food-i got to eat red ants-living red ants-straight from the log they were travelling along. An acidic taste which could do the trick in some dishes.