Trekking Day 2

We were woken up way too early by the animals. We could have easily taken out the rooster and the pigs! :) Sleeping on the floor was tough, and our bodies were really sore. During the night, Honny woke up thinking he had gone blind. It was pitch black! No matter if you held your hand up to your eyes or not, it was just as dark. The pigs had snuggled up in the embers from the fires to keep warm. They were all piled on top of each other, cozy as can be. For breakfast, we had eggs, boiled rattan, coffee, and of course, more rice. There was no water left, so we had to boil some and fill our water bottles before we could head out. The water was boiled over the fire, which gave it a strong smoky flavor. So we didn’t drink much until we got back down to Luang Namtha. Today, we were set to trek for 6-7 hours. At one point, we had to climb up a steep slope, which would take about 30 minutes. It might not sound like much, but it was really steep and hot. Honny and I were the champions of the group, always leading the way! :) Before we started the trek, we were shown around the school. There were three teachers, and they taught up to 5th grade. 1st and 2nd grades were taught together by one teacher, with two boards in the classroom—one for 1st grade and one for 2nd. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades were also combined, taught by two teachers with three boards available. Along the way, we passed a Khamu village. The government wants this village to be relocated and merged with another village, the Lantern people, so they can have better facilities like a new school. After three hours of trekking, we finally reached the Lantern village, which is also set to be moved. We took a lunch break here. The Lantern people have a rather unique marriage rule. You can ONLY marry someone who shares your birthday. The year doesn’t matter, but the date and month must be the same. It’s fine if the person comes from a different tribe, as long as the date matches. But that does put quite a limit on options... During our trek through the jungle, we learned a lot about natural medicine and which delicacies are edible. We learned about plants that are good for promoting breastfeeding. We also learned about a plant used to detect malaria. If someone drinks the juice from this plant and doesn’t get itchy, they have malaria. Healthy people can’t tolerate drinking the juice from this plant. Throughout our two-day trek, we didn’t encounter any other tourists. That’s pretty rare! We had to cross several streams, and in wet areas, there’s always a risk of getting leeches. Honny ended up with two leeches on his feet. It’s not a big deal, but they leave a big red mark where they’ve been sucking blood. By around 4:30 PM, we finally made it down from the mountain. Covered in dirt, we hopped into the tuk-tuk that would take us back to Luang Namtha, where a shower, clean clothes, and a big meal awaited us.