All of your health needs met

Don’t know why anyone would worry health-wise about coming to a county like Laos.  At the local market in Nong Khiaw today was a lady selling natural medicines she has grown and collected from the jungle.  She was also offering on the spot consultations.  And if all else failed she even had IM procaine penicillin available should you require!!!!  

Weaving, waterfalls and the river. Nong Khiaw up to Ban Sop Jam by boat

The bridge and Nong Khiaw in the morning.  

This bridge was built by the Chinese in 1975

This map shows where we went today.  By boat from Nong Khiaw to Ban Soph Khong where we walked through rice fields to Tad Mork.  Went for a well deserved swim before "lunch from plastic bags" with sticky rice - yum.

Buffalo - just hanging out.

Is this the best photo I've taken??

Bann Sop Khong

Bamboo - 101 uses.  For use when the rice is harvested

Walking to the waterfall

chick peas growing

A hemp tree

Tad Mork

Walking back to the Nam Ou

The "road" between Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi

Blacksmiths making knives - pretty hot work in this climate.  

The man turns a handle on the cylinder on the right and this blows air onto the coals

Bann Sop Jam - weaving village. Beautiful cotton and silk weaving.

What a beatiful sinh.  

See the blue, orange and red sinhs that are under the one she is working on?

Pretty hot and dusty.

Cotton laying out to dry

Leaving Ban Sop Jam

Back home - that's our little Bamboo hut 5th from the left with Jo's shirt hanging out to dry

Around xiengthong

My friend Jo is visiting from home, so of course, one of the things you have to do is go to Wat Xiengthong -arguably the most stunning temple in town.  

Think these go on the prow of the boat for the boat racing festival

Funery urn for royalty?

Some of the glass mosaics

Pre-nuptial photos

Nong Khiaw - stunning part of the world

The view from the bridge towards Mung Ngoi

You can just see our cottages on the right shore

Just a 3 hour minivan trip north from Luang Prabang is Nong Khiaw.  On the Nam Ou river, Nong Khiaw is surrounded by stunning karst mountains.  The distance from Luang Prabang isn't that far, but the roads are in poor condition so it takes a while.  So pleased that Jo is visiting which has prompted this trip.  It is also good to get out of the city.

Heavily bombed during what we call in Australia call the Vietnam war, there are caves where people people sheltered and a danger of unexploded ordinance if you go too far off the beaten track.

Some beatuiful rice fields along the way here.  It's October and some of the rice is ready to be harvested.  This is the far north east of the country with China further north and Vietnam to the east.

Anyone from rock climbing?

Views from our balcony - how hard is this to take??

The sun going down

Jo and Christmas have all come at once

Jo, my friend from home arrived today.  It is so good to see her and hear news of life at home and familiar things. 

And, not only that, I feel like it is Christmas.  

She brought - 

• many beginners books from the op shop for my students to read, 
• soaps and shampoo from our natural soap shop in Castlemaine, 
• numerous roll on personal insect repellents
• AND,,  (I don't know whether this is what I am most excited about ) - thermal long johns and long sleeved singlet from Kathmandu for those few freezing cold weeks in January.  

The stash

I feel very excited.  When I was living Castlemaine, I could have come up with these items in less than an hours walk around town and I wouldn't have even thought to comment on them.   (though the Kathmandu underwear would have required a drive to Bendigo) 

These things are so familiar at home,  but here NONE of these simple things is available. 

So thankyou Jo.  Until recently there have been no books in the Lao language, so books and reading have not been a part of peoples lives.   I can't wait to see my students faces when they see what a picture book is like.