A Khmu village named Jaleam Souk was our first stop of the day. It seemed to be a very friendly community and was equipped with a nice looking school with many smiling children. We passed some men chopping down a tree and when I asked about it, the guide told us about the strict regulations imposed on the tribes people to stop poaching. They have to apply for a permit to cut a tree, which can only be given if the tree is for personal use, ie building a house. Violations will incur a large fine – it’s a shame the generals that we’ve heard about becoming extremely rich by selling off enormous chunks of the forest to the Vietnamese and Chinese aren’t expected to face the same reprimand these villagers are, who are only doing what they’ve been doing for centuries.

Our lovely guide Deang gave a very informative tour and even had us try lots of the food the forest had to offer. Fortunately he also provided a really great picnic because bitter twigs and sour fruit are not my idea of a good lunch!

Visiting this Lanten village was my favourite as the people were really lovely and they let me just sit and hang out with them, watching as they made their distinctive clothing. The landscape we trekked though was stunning, and so interesting to see how the farmers live.

Our last ethnic group to visit was an Akha tribe, where a wedding happened to be going on. They are a very interesting tribe with a long lineage throughout the region, but it was a very different feeling to the other villages we’ve seen as everyone was very drunk (probably due to the festivities) and some of the women rather aggressive in trying to sell their wares. It seems they are much more savvy about the increasing capitalism of Laos and are not shy about jumping on the bandwagon. Still, it was fascinating to see, and we were even persuaded to join in the wedding dance which consisted of a few hand movements and jumping around and around in a square formation – fortunately they’re no photos to blackmail us with later!! The first picture shows the spirit gate, a frame of wood that wards of evil spirits whilst inviting benign ones, and the second picture a huge wooden construction that's made every year for the Swing Ceremony where thanks is given to the spirits of the village's dead ancestors. The couple at the bottom right are the newlyweds.