We arrived at Kon Sai village in the Wapi (Vapi) district of southern Laos (4 hours or so from Pakse) about 430 am. We were met at the bus stop by family members and we rode another hour down a dirt road. We will try to summarize our experience here and select some telling pictures as it has been 4 days and over 700 pictures taken! Kon Sai Village has about 200 families, 90% of which live in bamboo huts on stilts. Luckily our in-laws are in the “upper class” of this village in a “wooden” home on stilts with some brick walls and electricity but no AC. This has been one of those “once in a lifetime experiences” in the truest sense. We would not trade one moment of these past fo
ur days but would not want to do it again (you know we will). What we have seen here is so complex that we really can’t put it into words to accurately describe what goes on here. Hopefully pictures will help. It’s hard to believe people still live like this. Nothing about this place and their way of life has changed in 100 years except for electricity in some homes but even they still cook on fires. A few do have (us) running water (not hot) from a small wooden water tower in the village. Toilets remain a hole in the floor and showers remain pouring cold water on you from a bowl. The one’s without “running water” send their barefoot 9 year old with two buckets and a st
ick over their shoulder to fetch water from the community pond which is an enormous storage of water gathered by very innovative methods from the rainy season. When we say innovative, we do mean there is a village full of “McGyvers” here. Give them a piece of wood and a string and they can do ANYTHING. They grow all of their vegetables/rice and raise their own chickens, roosters, turkeys, ducks, cows, goats, buffalos etc (all of which roam freely). They still plow their fields with the buffalo, too! They make their own thread and sew fabrics from wooden and bamboo looms. Many do wear some “modern” clothes obviously third hand from somewhere else.
They are just about entirely self sufficient.
The children are very well behaved and have very few luxuries in life. We visited the school here with an aunt one day and saw that the kids arrive one hour before the teachers, stand in formation outside the building and recite various “chants” or something in unison with no supervision, all standing (squatting) still. Their desks were about to fall apart and several classrooms had dirt floors. The children are actually the same way in the home. They help cook, clean, whatever it takes to survive…..no questions asked and automatic. No Ritalin, restless kids here. Something is wrong on our side of the world in this respect. They are really incredible.
There is a temple in the village with monks many of which you see at times and hear chanting. Every morning about 6 am the “news” of the village and pertinent world news is broadcast over a speaker system to the village. Although he couldn’t understand it, it reminded Roger of the propaganda broadcast by the Germans in WWII.
Currently it is dry season so the rice fields are dormant; the harvest is in storage or has been sold. It is hot as hell and extremely dusty everywhere. They have more time on their hands than usual without the all important rice crop to tend to, hence, there was time for them to show us how they do things (weaving, irrigation, gardening, tending animals, temple, catch fish, etc. One thing we thought was interesting was how the rice fields are dependent upon floods in the rainy season to keep them irrigated. Many people have dug deep trenches (ponds) for the purpose of trapping fish when the water finally recedes and this pond feeds them for months until it dries up.
The food has been a bit scary for Roger, and even Seng. The mangos, papayas, rice, etc have been fabulous. We are quite sure most everything would be as well, however, we are/did not drink the water or any raw vegetables that could have been washed in unclean water. All food has to be boiled, fried, or peeled for us to eat it. While we both love Lao food, it’s just not worth the risk here, and it has paid off so far. Our hidden stash of Clif bars have come in quite handy. In the village and surrounding markets, we have seen for sale or prepared multiple body parts in various states of freshness and degrees of being cooked of cows, chickens, goats, ducks, frogs, lizards, bugs, etc. Andrew Zimmerman would quit his job if he came here.
Quick note, this village is so remote that most people here have never seen a “falang” , or white man” and they are literally uncontrollably staring and tripping on their own feet ,etc when Roger walks by. Still very friendly, and not scared though. Her grandparents said that “falangs” have come to the village before but only to check out the “medical facility” and never make it past there.
The people have been really warm and accommodating and would give you the shirt, or lack thereof, off their back for you. Seng’s family is remarkable. We have met 8 of the 9 siblings of her mother and their families. The last we’ll mention is the ceremony they prepared for our departure to wish us luck and safety with our travels. It was called “baa sii”, or something like that. They prepared boat loads of food, invited all friends, family, and neighbors, and made by hand a very impressive and ornate piece made from rice, string, and paper that would be the center of the ceremony. After some chanting by a village member, they each tied strings and money they scrounged up around our wrists and wished us luck, good health, and travels, followed by the feast. All four of us were in awe. Afterwards, we gathered the money, (USD $50), added 1000 Thai baht, and donated it to the school there, which made us all feel really good and was a huge deal to the teachers and the school administrator. Most of them were in shock, however, because none of it went to the temple! Lol.
Through the dehydration, sweating, heat, dust, smoke, insects, soreness, unclean water, risky food, poor sleep, and lack of all of the luxuries of everyday life, it was still very emotional for us leaving this village. We and they were literally in tears for various reasons that are difficult to explain ranging from saying goodbye to feeling guilty for going back to our “luxurious life”. Several even asked us to take their child with them. We will definitely never forget this!
