A Village Homestay in Laos

Our village homestay...oh, and monkeys and goats

Thanks to Stray, we were able to experience a Village Homestay.  Yes, the name says it all; we stay the night in a remote village.

This one, unfortunately, had a river we had to walk across AND monkeys sitting and waiting, beside our walking path, for food.

And you know how much I LOVE monkeys....ha.  Yeah, right.  Monkeys can seriously rip your face off....Anyway, on to the Homestay and more on the monkeys later.

Abandoned church

After a long day of driving and seeing a few sights along the way (a gorgeous abandoned temple and turtle pond), we made our way to a huge riverbank and were told to pack a small bag to take to the Village Homestay.  (Actually, we were told to bring ONLY a toothbrush and toothpaste, maybe a pair of socks, as we'd be sleeping in our clothes.)  After getting off the bus, our guide said a little boat would arrive to take us to the other side.

But the boat never came.

Walking the river

So, being the adventurous travellers we all were, we decided to walk across the river as it didn't look to deep and, from the other side, we would make our way through the forest to the Village.

Seriously, they are everywhere

We crossed with no issues, of course, and made our way through the forest.  It was here that I was told of the looming monkeys and also was told that anyone holding food should watch themselves.  Since the whole group knew of my fear of monkeys, they all start to taunt me and give me piles of bananas.  I take them, of course, like a trooper, and proceed to walk through the forest thinking of myself as the great adventurer that I am.

And then I saw the monkeys....and what do I do???  I throw ALL the bananas I was holding at the monkeys and run....I run almost the whole way to this remote village before I realize I actually have no idea where I am going....The group comes, shortly after, laughing at me the entire way to the Homestay.

I guess I am not the adventurer I thought I was.

Prepping dinner

Anyway, the homestay was really nice and quaint.  All 12 of us stayed in a large room where the village had placed mattresses down.  Our local guide, and our cook for the evening, began making us dinner with all the ingrediants we'd picked up at a market earlier in the day.  The group of us decided to explore the grounds, find the LaoLao and of course, meet more monkeys (sigh...).

Look at their crazy eyes

Allan feeding the monkey.  The village kids thought we were hilarious...

We met a ton of monkeys around the grounds and did, indeed, find a lot of LaoLao too.  In case you aren't reading between the lines, we found so much LaoLao that our night was filled with drunken fun times and good food.  However, since we were staying in a Village, and were getting slightly rowdy (thanks LaoLao), we packed in for the evening around 9 pm.

Partytime

Group shot, minus a couple

After a nice and cosy sleep, and a quick breakfast of eggs and baguettes, we walked to the bus, crossing the river again by foot, during the hardest and longest rainfall I've ever heard.

Needless to say, it was a great adventure and one we'll remember forever!