Hmong Visit

In Laos for only a few days but they are busy days. All around Luang Prabang yesterday and today was are all wearing strands of magic string around our wrists as reminders of our welcoming ceremony last night - keep them on for three days then hide them in a secret place to ensure good fortune. Now we are on a nice six mile walk (hike?)  from a traditional small Hmong village through fields, hills and jungle to a sweet public park with a lovely waterfall.

Hmong.  These are representatives of the region's hill tribes that have fought to maintain their traditional ways since the dawn of time, when they moved into the region from Southern China. These are the guys that fought beside US soldiers and against communists in the 60s and 70s. These are the guys who are independent even today, maintaining language and religious beliefs separate from Buddhist Laos. We start a walk at a village that displays structures built from nearby materials; lumber,  bamboo, and thatching for roofs. Before we begin our walk, our guide Toubee, who tought us hello and thank you in Lao yesterday now repeats the process for the Hmong language. I notice him slipping some Lao kip to a villager to greese the wheels as we entered their domain. As we wander, we are regarded with either indifference or tolerance by the adults but curiosity by the children who wave in the street or just peek from doorways. We are walking through a classic history textbook only updated by the TV satellite dishes at each house.