Luang Prabang, Laos

Sabaidee, hello from Laos on my last day here. I ate breakfast at my hotel at 7:45 to be ready for pick up at 8-8:15 by the Living Land Farm. Why do we not do watermelon juice in the US? Or pineapple jam??

While I waited, I talked with the manager of the hotel, from France. He had lived in many places with his parents and continued to do so, including USA (Texas), Morocco, and now Laos. He has been here for three years, first in very rural Laos then Luang Prabang.

He told me that most of the local hotels and restaurants are teaching the local people hospitality, so he believed the restaurant I went to last night to essentially be a racket. Oh well, I still like the idea. He said to check out the calendar of Buddhist festivals if I come again, and that his favorite is the light festival where the temples light up boats along the river. Apparently there are over 70 temples, that are aligned with households and traditionally had been the center of both religion and education for the family. Traditionally only boys received an education though that is changing.

At 8:15 my hotel called the Living Land Farm to make sure they were coming and were assured they were. At 8:45 we called again to be told that the driver said we were not in the lobby waiting so it was too late and the tour started. Never piss off a Frenchman. The manager was quite angry and had a rather not happy call with the place.

They sent a tuk tuk to pick me up which left me time to get more cash. Nowhere here really takes credit cards, and since I usually try to pay by card (both for the exchange rate and to not carry cash), that isn’t working for me here. The ATM was closeby and the tuk tuk was there when I got back.

It was a 15-minute ride through a different part of town. Riding in a tuk tuk is an adventure if you haven’t tried it. Now, they are different in most countries, and the ones here are like a small van open in the back and sides.

I arrived and was welcomed with an apology and excuse (the driver said he couldn’t find anyone.) Due to the lateness, I was given a private tour as it would be much faster than in the group. I wasn’t impressed thus far, but that ended quickly. Mind blown as I learned all about growing rice. I will never look at a ‘simple’ bowl of rice again in the same way!

There are 14 steps to cultivating rice to eat. I got to do every single one of them! The land here is beautiful, with some native-looking structures where some locals live that work the farm. There are many patches of green and tan areas where the rice is grown. The mountains flock the area in the background and there is a garden area as well where they grow flowers and vegetables for sale in the local market.

·      Step 1: prepare the rice (including the husk). A large amount of salt is added to some water to test the seeds. An egg is floated to see if there is enough salt: when the egg floats, it is enough. Seeds are then added to the water and the ones that float are removed. The seeds that sink to the bottom are the only ones that are planted.

·      Step 2: Go mid-calf deep into the rice paddies consisting of mud. The seeds are sprinkled on top and water added. In one week, the rice becomes a small seedling maybe two inches long and in one month a full plant.

·      Step 3: prepare the paddy for planting. A paddy is cleared that was previously cut down. A water buffalo was used for this traditionally, and it’s believed this is better for the rice as the buffalo poop is used for compost (I was told AFTER I waded into the mud.) In I went, mid-calf deep into sucking grey-brown mud. My guide and another older man readied the water buffalo, Rudolph. He is a pink one, and 7 years old. I was told by my guide, Mua, that Rudolph is very hard working and very friendly. It was no small task tried to pull the metal “thingy” (I have no clue what he said it was called) to till the ground. Water is added to start the process. The work is considered men’s work, and I see why! When it was set up he had me go in to do some of the tilling. Only around twice, I almost did a complete face plant when Rudolph got on a roll! You move the part back and forth to make it easier for the water buffalo. Getting out of the paddy is challenging as well as the mud sucks you back in. It was fun, but started my really appreciating how much work it is to grow rice organically in the traditional way.

·      Step 4: plant the seedlings. You get in the mud, grab a handful and separate out 4-5 seedlings then plunk them an inch or so deep under the water into the mud.

·      Step five: control the water. The water comes from the mountain and is controlled through channels. When enough water is added, the channel is closed. The process of adding water is 4-10 days, then the rice is dried and weeding is done. If you water for ten days, you dry for ten days. Families and many people do this together and they have a family song to help the rice crow. We sang one. J Weeds are used to compost, and they are rolled into a ball and then mashed into

·      Step six: harvest. A sicyle is used to cut the rice stalks. I waded in, grabbed a good-sized handle of the rice stalks and cut carefully. Once I had a handful, I tied off a bundle of them and laid it on the other stalks. The bundles are left to dry for a few days. Kondauna are located throughout the paddies.. they look like scarecrows made of the rice stalks and are used to protect the rice. When rice is yellow it’s ready to harvest. Men and women harvest. We walked through the area where the vegetables are planted, and I walked barefoot through the rough ground to go to where the flowers were planted. They also have some sugar cane and bamboo. The leaves and dry stalks are burned to be used for the vegetables. No chemicals are used at this farm, only compost. They also teach English classes for free for Lao students. Rice isn’t sold from the farm but instead goes to feed the village families. We walked past a small hut with a roof only which is Rudolph’s house. He said they put lots of warm straw around for him.

·      Step seven: Crush the rice after you dry the bundles on a rack. A nunchuck is used to grab the bundle and you lift it over your head to smash it on a large flat stone. You stop when no more rice appears. The remaining straw is used to feed the buffalo, build houses, make brooms to clean among other uses.

·      Step eight- wind the rice by waving a large wooden fan at it. The bad rice will fly away but the good rice remains. Twenty percent of the good rice is used for next year’s planting and the rest goes to feed the people.

·      Step nine: put the rice in a basket to carry home. There are three types of baskets of bamboo used for this. The Hmong mountain people use a basket that is held on the back with straps like a backpack. The lowland style is two baskets attached to a wood bar, held on the shoulder. In order to control the baskets, Mua said you do the ‘sexy bottom’ walk, wagging your butt to cause some sway in the baskets. The third basket is called khamul and is balanced worn in back with a strap on the forehead. The person bends over so they can carry longer, and may use a long stick for balance.

·      Step ten: produce the rice. Two do together with a machine that looks like it might be in a kid’s playground, like a see-saw. One person goes up and down on the see-saw and the second turns the rice scooping it in the bowl so the long stone part attached to the see-saw can continue crushing the little husks. This is usually women’s work. I was told women in Laos must learn to do this or they may not marry! What is left is used for rice wine, feeding fish and chickens. The rice Step eleven: grind the rice, which can be used for making rice candy and noodles, making rice flower. It is then filtered through a tightly women bamboo plate. Doing this, it’s flipped in the air and lands back in the plate. The large pieces are removed by hand. The woman that showed us this made it look much easier than it was!

·      Step twelve: soak the rice in water before cool, overnight is best but at least for 4-5 hours. It leaves the water milky and this milk can be used for shampoo or medicine.

·      Step thirteen: Steam the rice.

·      Step fourteen: eat!

My guide is in his last year of school at age 17. He has been working there for 3 years, since the age of 14. He works all weekend to help support his family.

We finished the tour and then it was time to eat. On the way, we met two men who were working with straps of bamboo to make things. Men and women use this for relaxation at night while working the farm. They use a knife to make the straps flat and thin and make baskets and other items for use or for fun.

I was offered a tray of rice treats that were quite interesting and tasty. One looked like a sea sponge and it was quite impressive. I’m curious how it was made. I was presented with a certificate for completion of the course, that I now know how to make rice. I’m a little nervous this now makes me eligible for marriage!

I rode back to twn in a tuk tuk and after I was dropped at my hotel, I decided another massage was a great idea and headed back to Frangipani for a head, neck and shoulder massage. Heaven! I grabbed a bite at 3 Nagas for a lunner Lao eggplant dish which was a salad wrap. No, I haven’t been overly careful about my food and water and thankfully wa told that most of the restaurants (the tourist ones, like this) do use bottled water. Hope so! It was mashed eggplant, which is green and very sweet, with some green beans, white noodles, mint, and a couple of things I couldn’t identify. Quite good! I also got a pork larb, which was mixed with greens and mint, lettuce leaves, green beans and slivered cucumbers, mint and what may have been watercress or something like it. There were also some small –what looked like tiny Chinese eggplants but had a slightly tart taste to them. This place is highly rated on Tripadvisor and was good.

I spent my last hour walking around part of the town and along the dirty water of the Mekong watching boats pass. It was a nice cool day in the high 60s, and lower humidity, which felt so good after the last week! I really fell in love with this place and wish I had a couple of days more. There are a couple of other things I would have liked to have done, and of course, just taking in the slower pace here.