A delightful experience--Homestay on an island in southern Laos

After What Phu, we headed to our island homestay.   The island has 7 villages with 3000 people total (about 500 families).  The village where we were to stay was the biggest with 1000 people. The people on the island grow rice, fish and grow tobacco.  The fish is sent to Pakse and Vientiane.  Some people live here and work on the mainland.  Some work in Thailand.  In the past, animals used to live under the homes, but they learned it was not very clean so now most of the animals are kept near the rice fields.  People have lived here many generations.  The main village has a primary school and a middle school (the latter serves the entire island).  It also has a small clinic.  The clinic teaches the villagers how to protect from dengue fever and malaria.  They collect rain water and cover it to protect form having mosquitoes settle in the water.  People who are really ill go to the hospital across the river in Pakse. 

We took motor boats across.but first we toted our luggage to the river.

and Kakada accompanied it to the other side in another boat.

We went in three boat contraptions including a woman driving one:

When we landed, I got up and the bench tipped.  Poor March landed on the floor!  As we landed, we saw some boys and men unloaded rocks (?) by the shore from another boat.

The view back toward the beach as we walked up to the town almost looked like a painting.

The island has several towns.  One of the first sites in our town was the local temple/wat.

and these pretty varigated flowers.

We were hosted in four homes:  the 4 couples in two, the 3 single men (including our 2 guides) in another, and the single women (6 of us) in the other home.   This was one of the homes.  None were entirely closed off to the elements and all were raised like the one below with usable areas underneath the homes.

We dropped off our luggage inside our home.  The house was mostly an open space.  This was the area that Marcy and I had for the night.  My hostess arranged my suitcase.  There is electricity in the house, mainly for lights, a very small refrigerator, and fans.  You can see the main circuit above.

Then we headed out for a walk near the homes.

Many of the men had roosters for fighting such as the animal below.  At least they did not add hooks to their feet.  People did lose too much money on the gambling, we were told.  Birds that lost consistently were often cooked and eaten.

There were small gardens around many of the homes.

Shira made a friend:

Not sure what the people were drying on risers (tobacco?)

Kakada and Dennis playing soccer in a field with young boys--not TV dish

 Below is the road we were walking down.  Wouldn't it be nice to have such a path to walk down regularly?

 House above fancier, probably owned by someone working off the island or someone not originally from the island who built a home there for part-time use.  More common house below.

 Water buffalo off on a side road, closer to the water.

Woman watering her vegetable garden:

 

 There is a posh resort at the end of the island, past the villages, where elite tourists come to stay.  At one point our group could swim in the pool for a note-to-expensive rate, but the rates have been raised so as not to annoy the guests at the resort.  It just seemed so out of place, but I do hope it brings some income to the island.  A few of our group used the bathroom, I think.

 We turned around as it was getting darker.  About half of us walked just below the path, a bit closer to shore.

 A plant whose leaves closed when we touched it.

 Interesting bird of paradise flower

A man cleaning his rooster.

Shira and friend who was fascinated by the camera

Back near homestay--Wat after sunset

Oops, Marcy and I walked past the homestay but saw the village's elementary school.  The next morning Marcy meditated by the temple and when she opened her eyes, there were a number of people watching her!

Then saw this plant on the way back with branches covered with egg shells!

Our guide told us a bit about marriage customs on the island.  He said that nowadays they people choose their own spouses.  The dowry that the parents of the groom pays is often around ten million kip (about $1200 US) but it is less for a poor family.  In Buddhist families, the monk chooses an auspicious date for the wedding, which is held int he home of the bride.  There is some custom with a banana leaf.  The groom walks to the bride's home where a cousin protects her and tells her the groom is a good person.   There is a custom with cotton ties on their arms.  An older, well-respected woman who has never been divorced and takes the couple to another room.  The ceremony used to last about 3 days but probably lasts less now.  The groom stays in the home of the bride until he has money to build their own house.  

We washed up for dinner and then went to one home (the village chef's) where we all ate.

Cooking

Our local Lao guide and translator and my special little friend, Cao

   The women had been chopping and cooking food over a small charcoal fire near an opening on the side of the house.  We guests all sat on the floor by a cloth where a wonderful meal was laid out in front of us.  I sat by Shira who ate vegetarian as she kept kosher and I sat by her as I preferred vegetarian food most of the time.  I was more interested in the food and discussion than in taking a lot of photos.

 Some of the delicious food.  The dishes with meat basically used the meat for seasoning more than a main part of the dish.

Wife of village chief-

The woman above is 48 and was married at age 16.  She had ten children with only 1 at home now and has 3 grandchildren. She finished primary school on the island (which means she had 4 or 5 years of education). She was definitely an intelligent woman.  Some of her children have moved off the island and she does not see them much.  The oldest woman in the group was 54.  She had 11 children but 4 died between the ages of 1 and 3 from fever or diarrhea.  She has 6 grandchildren.  Now many woman have learned about birth control.  People are taught to use condoms.  There is a funny story of how the men are taught to use condoms through putting them on their finger.  One man complained that his wife got pregnant even though he used a condom.  When pressed for details, he showed how he put it on his finger! 

The women enjoy the rainy season as there is plenty of work to do but the dry season is boring.

They told us that on March 21 there will be a special festival with a big concert and a ceremony with monks.

We were given bottled water for free.  People paid for beer or soda, which was kept in the refrigerator.
The village chief is chosen based on whom the people feel is the most competent/responsible.  It is not a hereditary position.  The chiefs are elected every five years.  Some have served multiple terms if they do a good job.

After dinner we asked the women questions and they also asked us questions.  One question they asked was why we did not return as they enjoyed meeting visitors.  Several of the women, especially the older ones, had lost children to diarrhea or malaria, but since they started using mosquito netting and since the establishment of a small clinic on the island, such deaths are much less common. 

There are several midwives on the island and births on on the island unless there are complications.  Women sit on a heated bamboo bath and drink hot water and bathe.  After giving birth, there is a custom of the husband throwing hot water on the wife for 12 nights for the first child, 9 for the second and 7 for the third.  Unfortunately, it has been over a month since we visited these wonderful people, so I do not remember more details of the conversation.

 It really was a lovely evening.

A lot of dignity in the face

Several of the women in our group then asked if we could have our pictures taken with the local women.

A visiting praying mantis

 After the gathering, we got ready for bed.  It had been a long, busy, tiring day.

Marcy checking out mosquito netting

Before going to bed, our host mother tied a string around our wrist for good luck, health, and a good night's sleep.  I later learned we were to keep it on until it fell off.

I was tired, but unfortunately, didn't sleep well.

The next morning, I was up around 6 but the local women were used to getting up at least an hour earlier!

I met my friend Cao by the outhouse where she was washing her hands with soap.  She is 7.

My host family had a dog that gave birth to several puppies.  Unfortunately, she died.  I could not understand how through  pantomime though.  The family was bottle feeding the remaining two pups wo were 12 days old and cared about them deeply.  There were the only doggies I touched on the trip.  I held the tan one on my legs and was rewarded with a bit of poop left behind.  They were so sweet, but we were not sure if they would make it without the immunity from their mother's milk.

 

Watching puppy

Marcy holding smaller puppy

My friend learned the word "flower" in English and I took a photo of her with the flowers in her yard.

While the women were cooking breakfast, I went to the main house to sit with them.

 One woman was holding the 7-month-old baby (who already had at least 4 or 6 teeth!).  After a while I got to hold the baby for close to half an hour and also feed him with a bottle.

Baby in hammock swing under house after breakfast

After breakfast, we went for another walk.  We passed the relatively new secondary (middle) school.  Most of the children walk or bike to school.  This was the regional/island middle school.

We walked farther on and saw a new elementary school in a smaller village.

Sign on porch in front of the class

  Only one room (half) of the school was finished, but the materials were in place to finish the other side.

  It was Monday, and the teacher, who lived on the main land, had not arrived yet.

Children greeting us

One of two blackboards in classroom

  The children were waiting, so Marcy went in front and sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and Shira and Sarah then taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and  Toes."

 

Primary school teachers should be at least 18 to teach.  They can also marry and still teach.   

We then continued our walk and went through a dry rice field.

 

Tiny flowers growing in the dried rice stubble

We passed another, smaller Wat/temple by a smaller village on the island and saw quite a few stupas (burial "stones") there.  You can see how tall they are by looking at the walkers to the left.

 Some are quite ornate.  Others not.

We found out that there is a difference of how bodies are treated if they are children under 12 or if they are older. Buddhists usually cremate but young children are burried. Also there is a special area for people who die due to accidents. Most of the people on the island are Buddhists but about 20% are anamists and they bury their dead. 

 One of our hostesses walked with us (I think the village chief's wife).  She was collecting these small green things which were actually tiny mangos that fell off the trees.  I was told to try it and it was quite bitter.  She was collecting it to grind into a special spice mix used for cooking.

 The island was quite clean, so I was a bit surprised to find what looked like paper diapers in a circle.  I think they were drying so that they could be burned later.

We later came to a special "stove" used to burn wood to make charcoal to use for fuel for cooking.

Other views along the way:

Bamboo stand

Another village sign

Nice place to sit in the heat by the lovely beach.  Note roots of tree on right.

Several people ran out of water (or did not bring it) and could not find a place to buy it.  Our guide did manage to get several warm bottles. 

Small building used for annual religious ceremony

Final photos as we leave:  Bye, bye my little friend Cao.

The man on the right in the white shirt was not part of our host families.  He lived on the island and spoke more English than most and wanted to be in an important position.


The visit was a highlight of our trip.  Not much more to say.