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From Laos, as planned, we returned to Vietnam by road. Several hours of bus ride on the agenda. Armed with patience, off we went. The boarder was out in the boonies! Nothing was close to it either side. We knew we had to have our visa’s ahead of time since there is no visa delivery here. Between the Laotian border and the Vietnamese boarder, there is an approximate 2 km of No Man’s land. It is worth mentioning that, until now, the Coronavirus had served us well… no Chinese were travelling and so tourism was low everywhere we went. Who can complain about that! But here and now, things were slowly catching up to us. Here, out in the boonies, not only did we need to have our visas in hand, we also had to show body temperature under 38°C (in 40°C weather under the pounding sun… no stress). First, on the Laotian side where English language is non-existent, the border officers would simply «point» a thermometer to the middle of your forehead. I have to say that even knowing they have a thermometer in hand, having someone in authority and uniform point anything between your eyes comes with an uneasy feeling! That said, everyone was free to move on to the Vietnamese side of the border. Well, here they don’t mess around with pharmacy grade thermometers. They have an army grade machine you have to stand in front of as it scans your full body for temperature! Seriously we were quite impressed to find this technology out in the middle of nowhere!!! 4 hours into Vietnam, we had a pit stop/ sleep over in Dien Bien Phu. Only to take yet another bus the next day - direction Sapa. Several hours of minivan brought us through beautiful scenery but I have to say that the road was ever winding! Seriously, although I do not usually get car sick, this ride was not so easy and some concentration was necessary to keep everything down where it should be! The boys sat up front with the driver and so managed a bit more easily.  We were looking forward to reconnecting with the Vietnamese and discovering the northern part of Vietnam. We read soo much about the beautiful rice field covered scenery around Sapa. Once we reached our destination, we were a bit thrown off by the fog! Thick fog covered the city and absolutely no views were to be had… and the city seemed to have fallen asleep with it . Restaurants closed, no one walking the streets. It was late, we found our guest house, put our bags down and after finding something to eat we called it quits for the day.
 We took this opportunity to kick back and get some school work done. Another reason we were looking forward to exploring northern Vietnam, was to head out and meet with the ethnic minorities that live out in the surrounding hills. For this, we planned 2 excursions. 2 days one night each.  We set out on the first one. On the agenda here, trekking (as usual) in the rice fields and discovery of the Red Dazeau people with a home stay. Our host, Mia Kieu, spoke fair English and was very welcoming of us in her home. We spent the afternoon just hanging around with her and her family as they went around their normal activities. The family owns several farm animals (pigs, chickens, ducks, dog , cats) that all need feeding. The kids were happy and eager to participate. Although this is not the right time to see the rice terraces in full crop, just seeing them was quite the interesting sight! Alex and Olivier also set out to explore a small cave as Éloïse and I stayed back to watch the ladies sew their costumes. They are extremely patient and stitch every detail of their fabric to create lovely designs, by hand and stitch by stitch over months... occasionally using their same stitching needle to perform some acupuncture on a family member as if it were all the more natural to do so, resuming the stitching once done.  Mia Kieu with her warm smile leading us through her country side in the search for some herbs Alex and I were mostly looking forward to heading out to collect herbs in the forest. These would serve for our herbal bath that evening. The Red Dazeau use traditional medicine in many ways, one of which is herbal baths. Mia Kieu was telling us about how as an example, 1 week after a woman delivers, she is back out in the field with her baby on her back, helping the family with the chores of the rice field. They attribute this possibility to the herbal baths the women take daily after the baby is born. The herbal baths are prepared with the fresh herbs they gather, picking the ones they need to serve the intended treatment. They boil them for hours (3-4) before pouring the boiling hot water into hand made wooden tubs.
Day 2 with Mia Kieu was all about walking through the country side and the rice terraces from her village back to the main town of Sapa. Once back in Sapa, we regained the guest house for the night before heading back out for a second homestay trek this time with the Black Humongs. This trek started out somewhat differently. 2 young girls with their babies on their backs were there to great us at the set meeting point (rather than the lady we booked the trek with). Off we went following them as we slowly hiked up the mountain. The elevation gave us great views of the surroundings which we had plenty of time to contemplate since we stopped often giving them time to breastfeed their little ones. A few hours of walking brought us to the family home we were supposed to stay overnight. One look around and we knew we had to change our plans... we are really not very picky (actually not at all) but this was just not going to work. We thanked the ladies and went on our way. We knew we could walk down the other side of the mountain to a small village we had seen in the guides and that we could find a small guest house for the night.
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| À peine le trek débuté, on doit traverser une rivière.  Ça commence drôle quand même... | Bounma fait donc appel à un villageois afin qu’il nous transporte deux par deux sur l’autre rive à bord de son radeau de bambous à la flottabilité on ne peut plus précaire. |
De l’autre côté, ça monte sec pendant 2-3 bonnes heures et le plus beau dans tout ça, c’est que toute la famille semble être dans le même état d’esprit. On se laisse porter, on profite, personne ne cherche à savoir quoi que ce soit, on marche et on regarde défiler la forêt de bambou. J'aime être coupé du monde, pas de montre, pas de cellulaire, pas de GPS / remarque on ne sait pas où nous allons et il n’y a ni route ni de sentier entretenu/officiel de toute façon par ici. En tous les cas, on a intérêt à prendre soin de notre guide ;-) !!
Bounma déclare ensuite la pause diner, on se fait une petite table avec des feuilles de bananiers et c’est là qu’il commence à déballer son sac, du riz collant, des mangues, des nouilles épicées, des légumes, etc. Un vrai régal !!
Éloïse et Olivier à l'oeuvre pour la création d'une table à manger!
On apprendra que notre guide est natif de la région et qu’il a longtemps travaillé comme instituteur dans différentes communautés reculées de la région. Il est génial, attentionné et très bon pédagogue. Chaque pause est l’occasion de nous apprendre quelque chose sur la vie des Laotiens, la faune, la flore ... même Olivier n’est pas venue à bout de lui poser une question à laquelle il n’a pas su répondre. C’est tout dire !! En chemin, vers le premier village dans lequel nous allons séjourner pour la nuit, Bounma nous explique qu’il est le seul guide à y aller à l’occasion. En fait, nous serons le 3e groupe de touristes à s’y rendre. La dernière visite remontant à novembre dernier. À la question, les habitants savent-ils que nous venons, nous avons droit à un regard incrédule puis à un « Ben non, je n’ai pas de moyens de communication pour les rejoindre, mais ce n’est pas un problème, vous verrez, ils sont très accueillants. »
À l’approche de ce dernier, on rencontre des femmes du village en train de couper la forêt sur tout un flanc de montagne. C’est bien sûr l’occasion d’une pause. Elles viennent à notre rencontre, touchent les cheveux d’Éloïse, caressent les joues des enfants ... C’est la première fois qu’elles voient des enfants blancs.
J’en profite aussi pour essayer leur instrument de travail, la machette, et couper, moi aussi, un petit arbre.
Wow! Elles sont impressionnantes c’est femmes et le travail qu’elles réalisent est titanesque. Bounma nous explique qu’elles préparent le terrain pour planter le riz. En fait, elles coupent comme ça, entre décembre et février, tous les arbres et arbustes d'un flanc de montagne. Ensuite, elles laissent le reste de la saison sèche faire le travail et en avril,-mai, elles mettent le feu (les feux ne dégénèrent pas, semble-t-il, puisque lorsque ceux-ci atteignent la forêt non coupée, celle-ci est trop humide pour bruler). Elle plante finalement le riz en mai -juin et le récolte en novembre avant de tout recommencer sur une nouvelle parcelle l’année d’après. Oui, oui, vous avez bien lu, sur une nouvelle parcelle. On parle ici bien sûr d’agriculture strictement biologique et comme le sol en montagne est plutôt pauvre, il a besoin de la présence des arbres et arbustes pour se régénérer/fertiliser. Ce qui prend en général une trentaine d’années, parfois plus. On parle donc d’une récolte tous les trente ans. On comprend vite que ce type d’agriculture n’est possible qu’à très petite échelle et encore, pour combien de temps? C’est incroyable ... En plus, tous les 5 à 10 ans, une fois que les flancs des montagnes environnantes ont tous été utilisés, ils sont contraints de déménager le village. À ce point-ci, je vous avoue que notre cœur balance entre l’admiration devant ce savoir ancestral, cette détermination, ce travail gigantesque et cette absurdité écologique, qu'est de raser la forêt pour y récolter un peu de riz tous les 30 ans. Peut-être qu’en côtoyant les habitants on arrivera à se faire une meilleure idée...
En arrivant au village perché au sommet d’une petite montagne (au centre), on est gratifié d’une magnifique vue à 360 degrés sur la jungle est les collines avoisinantes.
On a tôt fait de se faire accueillir par les enfants du village mi-curieux mi-farouche. Ils regardent les enfants, semblent bien intrigués, mais prennent grand soin de bien garder leurs distances. Cela n’en prenait pas plus à nos deux infatigables randonneurs pour se décider à leur courir après... Le jeu de la tague sans contact est lancé et c’est au milieu des rires que bien vite, tout le village sait que nous sommes là. Enfin, ceux qui y sont présents, car, à cette heure, il n’y a pratiquement que les enfants et les ainés. Les hommes étant à la chasse/pêche pendant que les femmes sont à manier la machette.
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Bounma nous présente ensuite le chef du village et sa femme chez qui nous aurons l’honneur de partager le toit et le couvert.
Après une bonne douche revigorante à la source, on explore le village. C’est incroyable, tout, mais absolument tout est fait de bambou ici : les maisons, les poulaillers, les enclos à cochon, les jardins surélevés, les tapis, les paniers, les ustensiles, les verres, les ballons, les voiturettes d’enfants et même les échasses.
Incroyable, en moins d’une heure Oli c’était fait deux amis qui nous suivaient partout avec leurs échasses. Leurs habiletés étaient tout à fait remarquables par devant, par-derrière, en sautant les petits talus, en jouant au soccer, etc.
Au bout de quelque temps, un des deux acolytes disparut quelques minutes avec une machette et entrepris d’en faire une paire pour fiston.
Pendant ce temps, Bounma se mit à la recherche des victuailles et entreprit de nous préparer à souper avec la famille du chef. Riz des montagnes, poulet assaisonné aux herbes, oiseau, escargot… et alcool de riz.
Ici, Bounma nous explique qu’on ne boit pas tous les jours, seulement lors des occasions spéciales et c’est un cadeau qui ne se refuse pas. De plus, il est de coutume de débuter le repas avec 2 verres et de le finir en beauté avec un minimum de 2 verres. Chose inédite, même Karine s’est pliée au minimum de la tradition. Je dis bien au minimum, car le chef étant visiblement ravi de notre présence, nous en a bien servi 4-5 de plus. Du coup, avec tout le monde qui parlait de plus en plus, le pauvre Bounma qui devait tout traduire n’était pas au bout de sa journée !! Sans farce, ce repas fut pour moi un moment magique comme il en arrive peu dans une vie. J’avoue avoir bien de la peine à le décrire. Il y régnait une ambiance chaleureuse, teintée de bonté humaine, de respect et de curiosité, chacun essayant de comprendre le monde dans lequel l’autre vivait sans le moindre jugement, envie ou …
| Bref, c’est le bedon bien rond et la tête, mais surtout le cœur bien rempli que nous nous sommes tous endormis. |  |
Deux familles, deux univers complètement différents. Allongés côte à côte sous le même toit au milieu de la jungle. L’espace d’un bref instant qui marquera nos esprits à jamais. Imaginer un peu l’homme, de plus ou moins 78 ans, qui n’a vraisemblablement jamais été en ville, m’expliquer à quel point son village de 130 personnes est rendu grand et développé. Il n'y a pas si longtemps, il a vu apparaitre les premiers vêtements dans le village, me dit-il. Le lendemain matin, on a le droit à un copieux petit déjeuner d’omelette et de riz collant avant d’assister à la démonstration du chef.
C’est avec fierté qu’il nous montre toute l’ingéniosité de son peuple qui fabrique toute sorte de pièges et de trappes destinées à capturer des plus petits aux plus gros animaux de la forêt. Certains sont de vrais, alors que d’autres servants à la chasse de plus gros gibiers (buffles, etc.), sont des répliques miniatures, qu’il a confectionnées juste pour nous, histoire de nous les montrer.
Le nouvelle ami d'Olivier. Comme ils ont eût du plaisir! Sans échanger un seul mot, la complicité était au rendez-vous!
Voilà, il est déjà l’heure de poursuivre notre chemin. Nous serions bien restés ici quelques jours de plus afin de partager un peu plus longtemps leur quotidien. J’aurais bien aimé aller à la chasse avec eux, cela doit être épique. Et les enfants, comme ils sont ingénieux à se confectionner leurs propres jouets et comme ils sont beaux à voir jouer dehors tous ensemble en permanence. Ça fait réfléchir, pas sûr qu’on a raison avec chacun nos grosses maisons, notre internet et notre TV.
Cette deuxième journée fut, comment dire, sportive... À dire vrai, Karine et les enfants m’ont surpris. À la fin, j’avoue que j’étais vanné, mais tout du long, le panorama et les explications de Bounma en valaient largement la chandelle. Nous sommes passés de la forêt de bambou, à la jungle, aux rizières et aux villages abandonnés, aux pans de montagne coupés, prêts à être brulés, etc. Bref, une journée avec des paysages tout en contraste. En fin d’après-midi, on aborde une longue descente de plusieurs heures en suivant les ruisseaux au milieu d’un vrombissement assourdissant. Il doit y avoir ici des millions d’abeilles et pollinisateurs de toutes sortes, c’est impressionnant.
À l'approche du village, Bounma nous dit que nous sommes le 2e groupe de touristes à y mettre les pieds et le 1er avec des enfants bien sûr... ça promet!
On cherche un peu la maison du chef puis on y dépose notre bagage. Encore une fois, rapidement les gens du village viennent rapidement à notre rencontre.
Les enfants font fureur! Ils leurs touchent la peau, les cheveux, les joues! Et ça rigole!!
Direction, la rivière maintenant, pour une petite baignade bien méritée. Nous sommes accompagnés de tous les enfants du village.
| Arriver au lieu de baignade, ils se contentent tous de nous regarder en rigolant. L’ambiance est un peu particulière. |  |
Tout autour les enfants rient et courent!
De retour au village, notre bon Bounma se met en chasse de nous dégoter à souper. Cette fois, ce sera poisson suri (particulièrement bon), poulet, riz collant et rayon de miel pour dessert. Le tout, accompagné de, deviner quoi, he oui, un peu d’alcool de riz. Peu de temps après le festin, Bounma nous quitte pour aller dormir. Il est claqué le pauvre. On reste donc, assis de longues minutes face à face, avec nos hôtes et quelques femmes du village venu boire le thé sans dire mot. On se contente de se faire quelques signes et de se sourire. Après un moment, la fatigue est de plus en plus présente. On nous fait alors comprendre qu’on peut aller se coucher, mais eux ne bougent pas et nous observent. Spécifions qu'il n'y a pas de chambre donc il s'agit simplement de reculer les fesses de quelques pouces puis de s'allonger! Les enfants vont se coucher, pas de réaction. Je vais me coucher, pas de réaction. Karine, finit elle aussi par abdiquer et aller se coucher et, deviner quoi, pas de réaction, ils continuent à nous observer avec le même intérêt !! J’avoue que c’est un peu étrange, mais comme on ne se sent pas le moins du monde en danger et qu’on est fatigué, on ferme les yeux et hop, on est parti. Comme c’est bon de se coucher après l’effort !!
Le lendemain matin, on se rend vite compte que Bounma n’est pas pressé, alors on déjeune, boit un premier thé puis un deuxième et .. On se promène dans le village, on va visiter l’école, la plantation hévéa... jusqu’à ce que Bounma se décide à m’apprendre à pêcher à l’épervier. On le voyant faire ça avait l’air tout simple à lancer, le filet se déployait et retombait en un ovale quasi parfait.
Aller à mon tour, bon alors mon premier lancer était mon premier lancer et après disons que j’ai rapidement progressé de la ligne droite emmêlée à la figure en huit, au quasi ovale au … à la plus grande joie de tout le village venu assister à l’événement.
Après un certain temps, me jugeant prêt ou du moins ne voyant plus d’amélioration marquée, le chef du village et Bounma m’amènent à la pêche. La vraie, cette fois!! Premier lancé de Bounma, 1 poisson. Il me met la pression celui-là!! Le chef quitte avec un filet qu’il tend un peu plus amont. Un des jeunes quitte avec l’épervier et en attrape quelques-uns. Pendant ce temps, Bounma se promène dans la forêt et entreprend de nous récolter une salade et des herbes pour aromatiser nos prises.
| Ça y est, c’est mon tour, je m’efforce du mieux que je peux, mais rien. |  |
 | Je persévère, et pour tous ceux qui me connaissent, à la pêche, ça peut être long longtemps. |
Éloïse et Olivier sont sur le point de m’abandonner quand un malheureux petit poisson se prend dans mon filet. Ouf, l’honneur est sauf. Juste à temps, car on m’appelle. On en est déjà à la préparation du repas et le feu crépite. Ce midi, ce sera poissons grillés au bord de la rivière. Le chef est tout content de me voir arriver avec mon méné. Allez hop, ça n’en prend pas plus on coupe un bambou, confectionne des verres, sort la bouteille d’alcool de riz et c’est parti. C’est assis sur le bord de la rivière sous une touffe de bambou à se faire caresser par la brise et le soleil qu’on partagera un autre excellent moment en compagnie de nos hôtes.
C’est incroyable à quel point nos vies ne se ressemblent pas. Le chef, il a tout son temps et le partage avec nous, simple voyageur de passage, le plus généreusement et chaleureusement du monde. À un moment, il me dit : « J’espère que tu te souviendras de nous une fois que tu seras rentré chez vous, dans ta grande ville à l’autre bout du monde ». S’il savait, à quel point des moments comme celui-ci peuvent être précieux pour des gens si différents et pareilles à la fois, il n’en douterait pas une seconde !
Une fois le fond de la bouteille trouvé, c’est bien calmement et le sourire aux lèvres qu’on entame la dernière portion du trek.
Rien de bien difficile cette fois, on redescend tout simplement la vallée en suivant la rivière. Le seul petit défi consiste à la traverser de temps à autre. On découvre alors les pièges à poissons et une jungle des plus luxuriante.
À l’arrivée nous attend un pont de bambou flottant duquel nous en profitons pour piquer une dernière plonge avant de remonter dans le tuk tuk en direction de Muang Kuah. Incroyable, c’est déjà la fin pour notre périple au nord du Laos. Prochaine étape, la douane de Diên Biên Phu en direction de Sapa. On n’aurait vraiment pas pu espérer mieux comme périple. Le nord du Laos est à l’unanimité un de nos plus grands coups de cœur de voyage à ce jour et on n’est pas près de l’oublier!!
A childhood dream come true...for Karine anyways!
We spent 3 days at an elephant farm on the outskirts of Louang Prabang. We had plenty of time to observe, ride, feed and bath them. This experience was indescribable... and magical! It's hard to believe, without pinching yourself, that you are actually riding an elephant in the jungle when you are living it... so recounting it makes it seem all the more unbelievable!
The farm per say is not a large elephant farm but rather a family home where they own 4 female elephants. 2 mahouts look after them on a full time basis. One of the 4 elephants was absent, as she was vacationing for 3 months in the jungle with wild elephants in the hopes of successful reproduction ;)
Context and animal welfareIn the past, elephants were used in Loas for working purposes, primairily heaving lifting chores. This is something that is not looked upon positively in our modern times. Elephants in the wild still exist in Laos, however they are under real threat from poachers. Their numbers are truely endangered with only a hundred are so according to the last head count available. The dilema between keeping elephants in the wild versus domesticating elephants that should not be used as working elephants and therfore used for the tourist industry is one that is present. Animal welfare activists obviously advise against any tourist activities that involve mounting, touching or feeding the animals. On the other hand, how much are tourists willing to pay just to see the elephants and not interact with them? The balance between an ideal world and reality is not that simple. If they are left in the wild, they are in danger of poachers. Domesticated, they come with a cost to their Mahouts that have 2 options, use them for the tourist industry or use them as working elephants. What is best for them in the end? Obviously, the tourist option is not necessarily the best option, depending on the owners. Some Elephant farms do mistreat the animals if not only by overfeeding them foods they would not naturally eat and therefore causing obesity, or diabetes or number of other illnesses not present in wild elephants. Physical mistreatment can also be observed in some places. We opted to go the tourist way after some debat on the question, and we did not regret it for 1 second! |
Since we spent 3 full days with them, we were able to witness their daily activities but first and foremost we saw that the relationship between elephant and these Mahouts is quite impressive!
We could tell that the Mahouts really cared and adored their pachyderms! They are here treated as family members. The mahouts know everything about each one of their 4 elephants: their individual personalities, the likes and dislikes, etc. They do not encourage mass tourism on their farm and are convinced that the rate at which they do allow tourists to mount and encounter with them is no different for them than carrying around an ant or 2.
What also impressed us, honestly, was to see how agile and comfortable they are handling them... they jump from one elephant to the other as they are on the move, wearing old flip flops, as if it was all the more natural.
We could tell that the Mahouts really cared and adored their pachyderms! They are here treated as family members. The mahouts know everything about each one of their 4 elephants: their individual personalities, the likes and dislikes, etc. They do not encourage mass tourism on their farm and are convinced that the rate at which they do allow tourists to mount and encounter with them is no different for them than carrying around an ant or 2.
What also impressed us, honestly, was to see how agile and comfortable they are handling them... they jump from one elephant to the other as they are on the move, wearing old flip flops, as if it was all the more natural.
A day in the elephants life here is quite relaxed. The mahouts retrieve them from the forest in the morning and make their way to the farm. They spend the day here, quietly in the shade. Tourists come and go (individuals or small groups). During this time, they will ride the elephants for about 30 minutes in the jungle. At the most, 2 tourists at a time mount the elephants, and they do so directly in the neck of the animal. We only saw them go out for a maximum of 2 walks in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. They are brought to the river where they can drink and take a bath in the morning and again in the afternoon.
| During the day, they are also fed reasonable amount of treats: bananas, sugar cane, banana tree trunks, etc.  | |
They are extremely agile with their trunk! It is strong, yet delicate and meticulous. (this was obviously before COVID-19, and for those who might worry.. all is good, none of them were coughing!)
Finally, they make their way back to the jungle late afternoon where they will spend the night. During this time, one would think they sleep, but they actually eat most of the time sleeping an hour or so at the most. So you see, they have pretty peaceful days and are far from being overworked ;)
On their way back to the jungle for the night
Not many people spend as much time as we did with them, so we had many privileges including close encounters whenever we wanted during this time. We did ride them often as we were permitted to mount them as they waddled about the property feeding here and there, and also to and from the jungle morning and night.
We were also allowed to mount them as they made their way to the river for drinking and bathing and yes we got to bath with them everyday!
It was surreal to be so close to them and most of the time it was just our family with the mahouts and elephants, no ne else!
The first evening, after accompanying the elephants back to the jungle, we spent our time cooking with the family and enjoying each others company. We slept in a small guest house right there on the property.
The second night was... well let's say different. Mid afternoon, we left on a small boat up the river and transferred onto a bamboo raft on which we drifted for a while. Scenery was gorgeous and kids swam along side as they pleased. We finally set foot in a small village on the opposite riverside. After a swift walk through the village we arrived at destination. Let's just say that it was not what we expected when they told us we would sleep in a bamboo house in the village! This place was just outside the village and was composed of very (now I mean really!) basic accommodations: an outdoor "kitchen", a bamboo house made of a bamboo floor on stilts and a bamboo roof... now: who needs walls right! And a bamboo floor should be comfortable enough.. who said we need a mattress? Hey we had the luxury of a mosquito net so all is great! Ok so not the most comfortable night but a night we will remember none the less :)
The second night was... well let's say different. Mid afternoon, we left on a small boat up the river and transferred onto a bamboo raft on which we drifted for a while. Scenery was gorgeous and kids swam along side as they pleased. We finally set foot in a small village on the opposite riverside. After a swift walk through the village we arrived at destination. Let's just say that it was not what we expected when they told us we would sleep in a bamboo house in the village! This place was just outside the village and was composed of very (now I mean really!) basic accommodations: an outdoor "kitchen", a bamboo house made of a bamboo floor on stilts and a bamboo roof... now: who needs walls right! And a bamboo floor should be comfortable enough.. who said we need a mattress? Hey we had the luxury of a mosquito net so all is great! Ok so not the most comfortable night but a night we will remember none the less :)
Kitchen in the forefront, bamboo house in the back with the nice pointy roof ;)
Just after supper, which was actually really tasty, we set out to explore the village. Small village of more or less 35 families. People where joyful and happy to see us there. Many smiles and hellos! Here, hello is "sabaidee" and it is said in a signing kind of way, it's uplifting just to say it :)
Alex got caught.. litterally, by the village men. He had no choice but to stop and share some Loas whiskey (home made, undertermined % of alcohol) with them. 1 shooter here, and another shooter there... they would let him go!! I had to tug him out of that one!!! No words were exchanged but great smiles and laughter.. it was a delicious moment (says the one who didn't actually drink the potion!)
Alex got caught.. litterally, by the village men. He had no choice but to stop and share some Loas whiskey (home made, undertermined % of alcohol) with them. 1 shooter here, and another shooter there... they would let him go!! I had to tug him out of that one!!! No words were exchanged but great smiles and laughter.. it was a delicious moment (says the one who didn't actually drink the potion!)
One cannot go to Cambodia, let alone Siem Reap without visiting the Unesco World Heritage site of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area. We did as everyone should and set out for some temple visiting!
While we were on Koh Rong Samloem Island, we met two charming men (father and son) Nicolas and Théo from Bretagne. They had already been to Siem Reap and recommended we visit the sites by tuk tuk over 3 days and shared the contact of the driver they had come upon and really appreciated. So this is what we did.
It's hard to explain the feeling of walking and exploring these ancient sites, trying to imagine all the work that was put into their construction and how it could have looked while it was thriving. With out going into details on everything we read and saw in these different sites, here are a few facts that struck us in Angkor Wat more specifically:
While we were on Koh Rong Samloem Island, we met two charming men (father and son) Nicolas and Théo from Bretagne. They had already been to Siem Reap and recommended we visit the sites by tuk tuk over 3 days and shared the contact of the driver they had come upon and really appreciated. So this is what we did.
It's hard to explain the feeling of walking and exploring these ancient sites, trying to imagine all the work that was put into their construction and how it could have looked while it was thriving. With out going into details on everything we read and saw in these different sites, here are a few facts that struck us in Angkor Wat more specifically:
- Over 50 000 elephants were used to haul the stone that was cut out from the mountains sometimes as far as 80 km away. each stone weighing several hundred kilos!
- Over 300 000 people participated in the construction over 37 years!
- Towards the end of the 12th century, Angkor was one of the biggest cities in the world with nearly 1 million inhabitants over 1500km2! To put this into perspective, at the same period their were only 50 000 people living in London!!
- 287 temples have been identified in the Angkor site.
Here are images of our visits. Better images than words :)
Tohas, our tuk tun driver, also took us out to visit a floating village on the shore of the Tonlé Sap lake.
 | It isn't floating per say, but the houses here are built on high stilts. The rainy season rises the level of water of the Tonlé Sap by several meters annually. Although the stilts appeared super high while we were there, we could see the signs of water left up high on some of the posts and therefore witness the necessity for the height! We were told that when the water is at it's highest, villagers move around by boat as the roads are clearly submerged at this time. They laugh that during this time they can actually fish right from the comfort of their kitchen! LOL |
Some of the houses, a bit further away from the lake are on lower stilts but still see the water level reach up right underneath there living space
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From the Tonlé Sap, a river runs up and divides the village in two. There is a lot of activity on this river!
| A few less fortunate families cannot afford a house. They live on their boat, afloat during the wet season and on land when the water is low like now. |  |
We witnessed here, first hand, that it doesn't take much to be happy. We took a video of these children playing (with a lot of talent I must add) a game using available items... chop sticks and something that serves as a ball. They were soo happy to show off their talent!
| | The objective is to pick up the chop sticks in increasing groups. initially 2 at a time, then 3... until 10 in one time. The pick up must happen while the ball is in the air so in a fraction of time! If the amount of sticks picked up is inaccurate, it's the other one's turn. Same if the ball is dropped. First to finish 2-10 consecutively wins! |
These littles ones wanted to see a picture of themselves. The giggles we got from them as they where looking back at themselves on the camera :)
We also saw the tedious work of these women.
| They clean these tiny fish, decapitate them and then put them on sticks brochette style (4-6 per stick). They are then placed on racks and set out to dry in the sun for several hours. They are then smoked for a few hours in a smoke house to finally be sold at the market. Each brochet made gives them a revenu of approximately $0.01..it's soo little!! |  |
Time has come for the digging of the water wells we fundraised for! We are super excited and don’t really know what we are getting into, which makes it even more intriguing!!
To get to this point, there was quite some preparation involved. The Facebook fundraising was quite a success! Family and friends were also generous to this cause. Eloise and Olivier wanted to do their part and so they went around door-to-door selling chocolate. Our goal was to finance 1 well while giving a personal contribution of at least $1000, we ended up with enough money to finance 2!!! We just have to say a huge thank you to all for your support!!!
Other than the financial aspect, there were numerous correspondences with Syreyra (co-founder of the ONG) to coordinate everything with our arrival in Cambodia.
To get to this point, there was quite some preparation involved. The Facebook fundraising was quite a success! Family and friends were also generous to this cause. Eloise and Olivier wanted to do their part and so they went around door-to-door selling chocolate. Our goal was to finance 1 well while giving a personal contribution of at least $1000, we ended up with enough money to finance 2!!! We just have to say a huge thank you to all for your support!!!
Other than the financial aspect, there were numerous correspondences with Syreyra (co-founder of the ONG) to coordinate everything with our arrival in Cambodia.
The first day into this adventure goes something like this
 | Syreyra arranges for us to be picked up at our accommodation in Siem Reap. We are on our way to the site of the digging of the first well. The ride to get there is both long and bumpy but we get our eyes filled with images of rural life along the way. |
This time is also informative as Syreyra is able to fill us in on the organization, how they proceed in general, the different steps involved in the digging of the wells and soo much information about the life of Cambodians as she points out different things along the way. This certainly puts our expectations into perspective!
| Context : Her very little team is composed of herself along with 1 head machine operator and his son (that will eventually take over for him) and 1 or 2 other handy men that join sporadically in time. 
The organization was cofounded with Pierre (a guy from France) who passed away last year. Michel, another French guy living in Switzerland, has also been very involved over the years (especially financially as he was the main source of contributions to this ONG) but he is currently very sick and unable to provide at this time, leaving Syreyra quite by her lonesome to handle it all. Syreyra is native to Siem Reap and is an incredible woman, to say the least! She is strong and resourceful, resilient and soo passionate about helping her people. She does all the work for the NGO on a voluntary basis as her main job is in the cinema industry. She is married to a French guy and shares her time between France and Cambodia trying to hold everything together. We had the chance to hear much of her life story and what a life story it is!!! We are quite admirative of this woman and that is an understatement. She is unsure at this time how much longer she can hold all this together by herself, so to all of you readers out there, the world is small, if you know of anyone who could be interested in investing their time to partner up with her please let us know and we can make the connections back to her It’s mostly the business part that she could use help with (finances and fundraising), not that can’t handle it but more because it’s the part she doesn’t like doing and it’s weighing heavily on her. Syreyra also explained to us that over the years, they have been digging wells in the province of Siem Reap with a success rate of finding water of 98%! However, after being involved in the making of a documentary, she came across the villages where they are currently digging. She knew bringing water to this area would be very complex but the need here for water is indescribable. She made the decision to take the risks and set out to dig 10 wells . |
 | We arrive at the digging site after about 2h30 of driving. The team is there, the drilling is underway. |
It’s day 4 of digging for them, the first 3 sites in this village ended with no water… Our first impression of this small village : it’s so far away! They have very basic living conditions… but they look so happy!
| We look around. The adults are gathered around the drilling site, their eyes filled with hope that water will be found (they know the odds are not in their favour). |  |
 | The children also watch with hopeful eyes… as long as we don't get too close to them as they are genuinely afraid of us and run away and hide when we get too close! |
Syreyra brought along a pot of candy. With that, we were able to get a bit closer to them but never mind the camera.. all pictures of them (except the one up top with Syreyra) were taken quickly without their knowledge .
1 well is supposed to provide for 50 people. One look around and the question that pops into mind is "how will they choose just 50 people as there are more or less 100 in this small village"? Syreyra reassures us that they will all have access as 50 is a number on paper, in reality it is many more.
We watched for hours as they drilled deeper and deeper. They sample the soil every 2 metres and with one look at the sample they know where things stand. See the pictures lower of the sample trays. Each small compartment holds a sample of soil representing 2 meters. They can tell when its sandy, rocky, etc. Water is usually found when the sample looks somewhat spongy for a few compartments in a row.
Ideally they want to find water below 8 metres and above 20. Above 8 metres, they can’t be certain that the water isn’t contaminated with surface water. Below 20 meters, the static component makes it harder to pump the water. They have enough piping to dig to 40 metres at the most.
It’s past lunch time, they hit 36 metres and still haven’t found signs that there is much water. They can’t drill any deeper as they have hit a rock slate that they are not able to overcome. They are faced with a dilemma… stop everything here or give it a try anyways?
These people really need water, this is the 4th attempt, they have found some water but the other 3 attempts found none at all. Normally, they would not consider keeping this site and would not install the PVC tubing and the equipment for the pump… but how can you tell people in such need that there is water just not enough according to the standards they strive for? Syreyra and the chief machine operator discuss with the owner of the house and the chief of the district. If they stop now, only 20% of the fees will have been encountered. If they keep going, with no guarantee at all that it will work, the costs will build up fast. They decide to pursue.
These people really need water, this is the 4th attempt, they have found some water but the other 3 attempts found none at all. Normally, they would not consider keeping this site and would not install the PVC tubing and the equipment for the pump… but how can you tell people in such need that there is water just not enough according to the standards they strive for? Syreyra and the chief machine operator discuss with the owner of the house and the chief of the district. If they stop now, only 20% of the fees will have been encountered. If they keep going, with no guarantee at all that it will work, the costs will build up fast. They decide to pursue.
They proceed to « developing the well ». This consists in installing the perforated 4’’ PVC tubing and then sending down a large boar hose sending compressed air to the bottom of the hole. The idea is to force the water up and out. Keep reading about the second day of drilling and you will find pictures and more info on the setting up and also the development of the well.
This process lasts several hours… it’s past 4pm, the sun goes down just before 6pm. Syreyra informs us that we must leave to make our way back to the main road before it is dark.
This process lasts several hours… it’s past 4pm, the sun goes down just before 6pm. Syreyra informs us that we must leave to make our way back to the main road before it is dark.
Below, some images of this day spent with these local village people, witnessing their way of life and feeling blessed to have been part of it even if it was just for 1 day. Such an authentic experience, we leave feeling overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions and can't wait to find out if this will all work out for them.
It's now time for day 2!
A few days have gone by since the first day of drilling. We have had some time to visit the Unesco world heritage site of Angkor Wat that we will write about in another blog. We also spent some time with Syreyra and her family as she invited us to lunch with them in their home. Our opinion of her did not change during this time. On the contrary, our astonishment in the face of this amazing women only got stronger!
Before digging into the details of day 2, here are the basic steps to digging a well:
1. Finding the right drilling site
1. Finding the right drilling site
- Talking with endless people to get approvals for digging:
- the chief of the Siem Reap province
- the chief of the district in question
- the chief of the village
- a community meeting to decide where exactly they should dig
- the owner of the house where the digging will happen
- In order to drill they need to set up in a way where they can ensure a supply of water to maintain the drilling equipment cool. You have guessed that in this context that is not a simple task! In this area where water is such a rare thing, they dig up huge ditches that fill with water during the rainy season and that evaporate slowly during the dry season. This is their water supply for the year and it is used for everything: drinking and bathing for both animals and villagers (yes we saw cows and ducks waddling around in there), laundry, cooking, etc. So of coarse they are a bit weary of letting people come in and pump out so many liters of this precious resource. See below a brief video showing the water source and the set up to pump towards the drilling site.
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- Once the water supply is set up, the machinery checked for levels the drilling can start. If all goes well water is found within a few hours
- As mention during day 1 description above, every 2 meters they sample the soil. See here the sample trays from day 1 (left) and day 2 (right). They are substantially different!
 |  |
3. Installing the 4'' perforated PVC tubing (and unperforated for the last 8 meters under the surface to avoid collecting possibly contaminated surface water)
 | Haven't mentioned yet but cambodians are very handy people, they fix everything with nothing and always have a solution to whatever is thrown their way. Here is an example, the PVC tubing needs to be closed off at the end (the first one to go down the hole) to avoid it gets filled with debris. Since they don't have a special part to do so, they hand make the piece so it works. They first saw out triangular pieces, They than start a small fire and gently melt the tips in order to bring them together giving the result you see here on the left. Not bad!!  |
4. Adding gravel around the PVC tubing to hold everything up straight and also to help filter the water before it reaches the PVC tubing.
5. Developing the well
5. Developing the well
- This is a long process that can last several hours. Once the PVC tubing is installed, they need to clean out the piping as it is filled with the dirty water used for drilling.
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6. Let everything sit quietly for a few days
7. Pouring a cement slab around the Well and let it sit for a few days
8. Return to finalize installation of the pump and a small gate around the cement slab to prevent the animals from getting to close (hygiene).
7. Pouring a cement slab around the Well and let it sit for a few days
8. Return to finalize installation of the pump and a small gate around the cement slab to prevent the animals from getting to close (hygiene).
We didn't get to witness the last 2 steps as we only had a limited time to stay in the Siem Reap region and with the difficulties faced with the drilling, we were content in seeing the process as we did. Syreyra will keep up posted with a few images of the rest of the process that we can also share with you when we get them.
Finally, once everything is up and running, they ensure that a repair kit is given to a trustworthy person who is also shown how everything works and can make repairs when necessary or minimally is able to identify the faulty part to order them for replacement.
A glimps at the 2nd digging site
The days starts out similar to the first... 2 hours of bumpy ride in excellent company!
We arrive on site just as they are finishing up with the initial set up. We therefore witness these preparation steps and the excitement of seeing the drill head hit the ground. A quick video of the gives you an idea of the drilling process lasting several hours.
We arrive on site just as they are finishing up with the initial set up. We therefore witness these preparation steps and the excitement of seeing the drill head hit the ground. A quick video of the gives you an idea of the drilling process lasting several hours.
| |
We decided to bring along some incentives for the local children to want to hang out with our kids... so we packed a watermelon and some lollypops! They were running away at first but then decided it might be ok to stick around and see what was on offer. We giggled when we saw them pop the lollypops, unwrapped, into their mouths before anyone could take it away!
| They seemed to appreciate the watermelon in the afternoon just as much! |  |
Below, the owner of the house where the drilling is happening today, watching intently as the day unfolds
Again, a few snap shots of the day...
During the time we spent in this village, we had a chance to watch as an elderly women was hard at work making the necessary to change to roof of one of the houses. Not certain what material she was using but watching her was mesmerizing, serene and impressive.
| Slowly, the day comes to an end. Water has been found! Less that their usual standards, but more that the previous digging site. The well has been developed. They cap it for now and the team packs up getting ready to move to the next digging site. They will return for the last 2 steps in the upcoming weeks and Syreyra will keep us posted. |  |
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Karine et Alex, amoureux de la vie et de leurs 2 magnifiques enfants!
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