Luang Namtha Guide

Doing An Ethnic Minority Village Homestay In Luang Namtha

December 19th, 2012

Doing a homestay at a local ethnic minority village is an experience not to be missed while you are in Luang Namtha. One of the biggest draw-cards of visiting Luang Namtha is visiting some of the different minority tribes (the other is exploring the lush, untouched Nam Ha national protected area) as this area of northern Lao is actually the most ethnically diverse part of South East Asia; a real cultural crossroads!

A homestay will give you first-hand experience and insight into how these people live in tune with the land and seasons. Also these villages have signed up for the eco-tourism project so by staying there you are supporting them financially and empowering them to understand that their tribal culture is important and worth preserving.

The best way to experience these Black Tai, Red Tai, Tai Lue, Lanten, Hmong, Khmu, Ahka (to name a few of the more major ethnic groups) tribes is to go for a complete cultural immersion and stay the night at their village! This will enable you to learn much more about the local tribe and really get an insight into their way of life. Most of these villages have been living almost the same way for thousands of years; cultivating sticky rice and gathering food species from the jungle and rivers. When you stay there you can help participate in some of the activities that the villagers are doing for that particular season for example harvesting rice or gathering river weed.

Many people who have done a village home stay in Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam are surprised about how untouched and undeveloped so many of these Luang Namtha villages are. Many villages are made up of Bamboo houses with thatched rooves and the villagers’ still use very traditional tools. This is the way they live their lives not a show they put on for tourists!

Here are some tips to help you find a great homestay experience:

Book your homestay through a reputable trekking agency; look on the internet to find recent reviews as most of the Luang Namtha guidebooks are very out of date. Ensure your guide will be properly trained and fluent in English.
Ensure your homestay village is off the beaten path to get a truly authentic experience; so not on a main road or very near to the town centre.
Find a homestay village in or bordering the national protected area, surrounded by jungle (not rubber trees!) this will ensure you witness some interesting jungle food species at the same time as being surrounded by beautiful nature.
A village located on a river will mean you can swim and bath in the river and fish with the locals, which can make the whole experience that much more fun.
Ask to see some photos of the village and find out if you will stay in the homes of the villagers or just a hut built for the purpose of housing visitors (which is fine if you want this but bear in mind it will make you segregated from the rest of village life). Also you will want to ask what the sleeping conditions are like; there should be mattresses, blankets, pillows and mosquito nets.
If you want to, do some research and stay with a minority tribe that interests you. There are many different minorities with different languages, cultures and stories.

Once you have chosen a tour to a homestay village here’s what you can expect from your experience:

The villagers should be quite new to tourism thus shy and more curious about you than you are about them! Each tour provider supports different villages so there should be no chance of staying with other groups of tourists. Think of ways to break the ice with the locals; asking the adults questions (via your guide) or getting to know the kids is a great way to endear you to the village. A gift of books, a ball, a game or something else productive for the kids will be VERY well received. Also just playing a simple game with them will make you very popular and provide hours of fun for you and them.
Standards of cleanliness and hygiene will be very rustic (and definitely not “clean” by western standards) so take some soap and toilet paper; hand sanitizer is also a good idea. You often will be staying in villagers’ homes, where they actually live, not some sanitised tourist accommodation, that said they will make every effort to make you feel welcome and provide for you with the best they have because they are proud to host you.
A shower at the village will either mean bathing in a river or stream or washing under the communal village tap! Girls should always bath in a sarong (or similar), this is in keeping with Lao culture. Toilets will be squat toilets; usually they are kept quite clean but take your own toilet paper and keep soap on hand just to be sure.
Food will be usually based around sticky rice with a few “dips” and other accompanying dishes of meat and/or vegetables. Dishes are communal and are meant to be eaten with small hand rolled balls of sticky rice like the Lao people do it. Many types of spices, vegetables and meat will be completely foreign to you. Try everything, the locals will not be offended if you do not like something. Many of these dishes will be prepared by seasonal species from the jungle, this may be the only chance in your life you get to eat this particular food!

So go to your homestay experience with an open mind and a big heart. Your hosts will try to please you as much as they possibly can and you will have an original authentic experience you will not soon forget!

Tags: Authentic experience northern Laos, Eco tourism Luang Namtha, Ethnic minority homestay Luang Namtha
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Things To Do In Luang Namtha When You Aren’t Out On A Tour…

October 20th, 2012

It’s true that Luang Namtha is a trekking mecca and fast becoming one of the hottest trekking and cultural destinations in South East Asia, especially as people increasingly realize it offers a much more authentic, untouched experience than destinations such as Sapa in northern Vietnam or Chiang Mai in Thailand.

The eco-tourism initiative in Luang Namtha’s national protected area is highly regulated by the local government and is making a huge effort to preserve and conserve primary forest and minority tribe culture and customs.

There are many things to do in Luang Namtha when you are not out trekking and it is an interesting and scenic destination for those travelers who do not want to trek/kayak or do a homestay with a local minority tribe.

Here are some top tips for things to do in Luang Namtha:

1. Walk five minutes out of town to the Nam Tha river, cross the bamboo bridge (washed out in the middle of wet season but rebuilt a few months later) and visit the traditional Tai Dam villages with their charming local crops on the riverbanks. The Tai Dam minority tribe are well known in Laos for their weaving abilities, and you can often see them weaving in the village, or sometimes even getting the silk off their silkworms. Walk out further to the left and explore some nearby sticky rice paddies.

2. Walk about 10-15 minutes (5 minute cycle) to the new golden stupa on the hill behind the town. It has some cool Buddha statues behind it and gives an amazing view of the rice filled valley surrounded by mountains. If you get up early enough this is the best place to watch the sunrise, and in winter the mist rise off the mountains. There is a trail at the back right of the stupa that goes up through rubber plantations and villagers crops to a very high mountain that rewards the climb with panoramic views of the town, rice paddies and surrounding mountains and jungle. You can also bike the newly sealed road in front of the temple (at the foot of the stupa) out into the countryside to the old ruined stupa; a very scenic trip.

3. Rent a scooter or bicycle and travel 6km out of town to the Lanten minority village of Ban Nam Dee. Explore the village with its thatched bamboo houses and traditionally dressed residents who hand make their indigo blue clothing. If you are lucky the women will be making bamboo paper in the river by hand which can also be purchased. Take the 10 minute walk on a good path through the jungle up to the nearby small waterfall; which is pleasant and worth the trip.

4. Travel 2km north out of town, cross the roundabout and ride 5km out on the main road to be in the middle of a huge “ocean” of rice paddies bordered on all sides by mountains. This stunning scene is dotted with bamboo huts made by the rice farmers and you can follow the little trails out to them and chill out in the huts and witness the peace and the wildlife rich rice paddy ecosystem. Insects and birds are found out there in abundance. A great place to read a book, take a picnic and watch the sunset over the mountains.

5. Do a minority village trail; get a map then on scooter or bicycle go out to visit some different minority villages on your own as a cultural trail. You can visit the different ethnic minorities of Ahka, Black Tai, Khmu, Lanten, Tai Lue and Pounoy villages all in one day, thus witnessing first hand their different cultures, traditions, style of housing and clothing, cooking methods and languages. All of these tribes co-exist peacefully together in Luang Namtha.

6. Take a scooter or motorbike 60km north towards Muang Sing. You will pass through the stunning, densely jungle-clad mountains of the Namha NPA, where you can walk a few km through the jungle to a beautiful little waterfall. This you will find about 10km before you reach Muang Sing, on the right hand side of the road, clearly signposted. There is little traffic on this road and many scenic spots to stop including some ethnic minority villages.

7. There are various little trails down from around Luang Namtha town to get to the river where it is not only beautiful but a good place to take a dip and a wander along its banks.

So, there you have it. There are many great things to do in and around Luang Namtha when you are not out on a tour.

Also another must do in the town is to chill out in the soft chairs of Forest Retreat Laos’s Bamboo Lounge using the super-fast Wifi with a good cocktail, sweet tunes and an authentic wood-fired pizza.

Tags: Luang Namtha Attractions, things to do in luang namtha
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Sightseeing Around Luang Namtha Town On 2 Wheels

October 7th, 2012

This blog post is inspired by one of our most common questions at Forest Retreat Laos from tourists to Luang Namtha “what is there to see and do around the town on bicycle?”…

Luang Namtha town is situated on the western side of a huge, flat valley surrounded 360° by green, rolling mountains (with the Namha national protected area (NPA) beginning just behind the first set of mountains). Beautiful rice paddies and the river with charming villages and their agricultural crops on its banks mostly take up this flat valley.

You can go on an organized cycling tour and see quite a bit more or you can create trip by yourself at your own pace.

A great place to explore Lao local culture and nature…

The valley is very flat, there is little traffic and the main roads are all nicely sealed which makes it a great place to explore on 2 wheels, bicycles and motorbikes can be rented, from 3 places in town for just a few dollars per day. There is a wide range of 2-wheeled vehicles to choose from.

A 30km circuit of the valley can be made by following the main roads, which basically skirt the valley and you can make some small detours to get to the most scenic spots:

The highlights of Luang Namtha valley:

- Surround yourself in a virtual ocean of rice paddies dotted with bamboo huts, which stretches uninterrupted 20 km to the mountains.
- Climb the hill to check out the view of the pretty valley and mountains at the new stupa (best at sunrise or sunset) 2 km from the town.
- Check out some of the interesting, traditional local minority villages either along the banks of the Namtha River, at the Nam Dee waterfall or at the edge of rice paddies.
- Go down to the river for a swim (depending on the season) and take a stroll along the riverbanks passed the traditional bamboo fenced food crops of the local village.
- Climb the many steps up to the old, ruined stupa and enjoy the view and ambience from the top.
- Go to a little roadside food stall or local Beer Lao hangout and enjoy a beer and a snack along the way.

If you don’t want to do a circuit around the valley you can just do various side trips in one area with many things to see. Here is the link to the best map of the area

Here is our favorite half-day itinerary that takes in most of the best sights:

1. Travel a few km to the roundabout at the north end of town and turn right over the Nam Tha River bridge go up the road towards the rice fields for 1 km or so until you see the sign on the left for Nam Dee waterfall.
2. Travel up this dirt road for about 4km you will go past small villages towards the jungle. At the end of the road you cross the river to your left is Nam Dee waterfall, which is worth the 10-minute walk through the jungle to see it (2,000 kip admission). To the right is Nam Dee village.
3. The real attraction here is the village, which is a traditional Lanten minority village, where they still wear their traditional dress of Indigo blue died cloth and makes their livelihood from the river. This village is very scenic and also makes bamboo paper in the river, which you can purchase.
4. Follow the Nam Dee road back to the main road and turn left onto it. Travel up the road for about 2.5 km and you will pass the Tai Dam (Black Tai) village of Ban Pa Poua, just before the bridge you can turn left onto a little dirt road and follow the road to the river and end up at a charming little village, have a swim here or stroll along the river bank framed with dinky little bamboo-fenced crops.
5. Head back out onto the main road and turn right to head out into the rice paddies proper. Head out about 1km more passed Thong Dee village (Ban) to see them in all their glory. Walk out into a little rice paddy hut and chill for a few hours enjoying the scenery. This is the best place in the district to watch the sunset over the mountains.

Another nice 3-4 hour excursion is to go up to the (new) stupa; That Luang Namtha on the hill behind the town and follow the newly sealed road in front of it about 10 km south out of town through villages and rice paddies to the (old) stupa, Poum Pouk Stupa. A very scenic and a pleasant ride, you also pass through a couple of ethnic minority villages along the way to complete the experience!

Tags: luang namtha, things to do in luang namtha
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The Luang Namtha Fresh Market

August 4th, 2012

So you think you have seen it all at produce markets in South East Asia?

Wrong! You haven’t seen the Luang Namtha fresh market; one of the coolest of the many we have seen throughout South East Asia.

For a start the local ladies running the market are lovely, encouraging you to try a free sample of the weird and wonderful foods they have prepared. And if you don’t want to buy they will still give you a smile as you walk away.

The diversity of fresh produce from the local river banks (where they grow all the food crops), the jungle and from southern china is amazing! You are sure to see many types of vegetables, fruit, herbs and animals you have never seen before and get some amazing photos to show people back home.

Highlights of the Luang Namtha fresh market:

The cooked food aisle: Sample northern Lao delicacies like boiled chicken innards (apparently the best part of the chicken!), dog liver on a stick, stuffed Rhinoceros beetles, dried water Buffalo skin jerky, bamboo rat or smoked squirrel. There are also plenty of snacks more appealing to the western palate like delicious fried bananas, sweet sticky rice balls flavoured with Pandan leaf, deep fried bamboo parcels stuffed with pork mince and many other palatable delights.
Local “wild” foods: Animals unfamiliar to us westerners gathered from the forest, rice paddies and rivers are still on the menu for the local Lao people. Freshwater snails, strange tiny fish and invertebrates from the river, huge beetles in swarming bowls, giant wasp larvae, Silk worm pupae, many varieties of frogs and even flying squirrels can be found for sale with enthusiastic owners telling you how good (sep lai) they are! Occasionally a protected wild animal will slip into the selection, so if you see a protected Lao animal be sure to take a photo and tell the vendor you will show it to the department of tourism; with continued education and reinforcement local people will stop harvesting the amazing animals from the jungle.
Awesome jungle fruit and berries: We are still finding new fruits and nuts we have never seen before from one tree or another in the jungle. Everything is seasonal and fresh and is only on sale depending on when the fruiting trees bear fruit. The vendors will show you how to eat whatever fruit/nut/seed/plant it is. Some highlights are giant purple fig-like jungle fruits filled with jelly, “pumpkin” fruit; a teardrop shaped fruit with flesh the colour of pumpkin and taste of pumpkin pie and wild cardamom berries (quite possibly the most delicious, aromatic fruit ever).
The meat section: Live fishes in small ponds is one thing but the butchery section has an impressive selection of offal and curdled blood jelly. It is amazing to see that no piece of animal goes to waste and if you are feeling peckish for that pigs face or water buffalo foot it can be found here. Vegetarians will rejoice in their choice of diet after visiting the Luang Namtha fresh market meat section; not to be missed.
The Chinese market: Located behind and to the right of the fresh market is the Chinese market where you can buy cheap chinese clothes, toys and electrical goods priced for the Laos market. The fashions are hilarious and most items break on first or second use. Worth a visit for the amusement factor.

Even after being here almost 2 years, we still see jungle fruits we’ve never seen before, vegetables that are out of this world, and parts of animal anatomy that we’d rather not see. The fresh market is always an adventure and highly recommended!