Day 5

Not an overly exciting day today, compared to the rest of the week. We arrived for breakfast and were greeted by the locals of the village. After eating they conducted a ceremony to send us on our way to our next destination. The locals presented us with a collaboration of plants that were in a castle like structure surrounded by rice and long, skinny pieces of cloth. We had to sit around in a circle and place one hand on the structure or each other if we could not reach. After a few prayers and thank yous the locals came around and tied all of the pieces of cloth to our wrists. This represented good luck for a safe journey and our future studies. We were told to wear these for at least three days as it is part of the Buddhist belief.

We spent the rest of the day travelling on the bus for a total of eleven hours. We then proceeded for a quick dinner before heading back to the lodge for bed and showers. The long bus ride was a great opportunity to share stories with one another.

Reflecting on this morning, the villagers were so thankful for us visiting and the donations we provided to them. I think our visit has provided them with a sense of hope that they can grow and sustain the development of their village. I just hope that we can share our experiences in Laos to people back home and continue to support them.

Day 4

After a well deserved nights sleep and a feast of a breakfast we were on the buses again to visit the Pak Xeng District Centre where we spoke to the district officials. We firstly spoke to the Head of Tourism, Miso who gave us a background on tourism in the Pak Xeng district. We asked him specific questions in regards to ideas, current operations and future needs. We also presented Miso with several Griffith University caps, which we later saw being worn on locals around the village. It is becoming more evident with each meeting just how grateful the locals are that we have come to speak with them. This is portrayed through their sense of welcomeness and the lengths they go to in order to make us comfortable.

We walked up to a building on top of a hill to meet with the Education Board. Although we had many questions to ask them, they were very interested in finding out about our own education system.

We then headed back down to the local shelter for lunch (prepared by our cooks) and had an hour of free time to roam the village. Most of us went and purchased a few snacks from the local supermarket to support the village, even though we really could have done without them. I think doing these little things is important to show the villagers how tourism can support the village and bring money to the locals, acting as what we call an ‘injection’ (in economics) in to the community.

Following our visit of the Pak Xeng district we drove to visit another school, Thana High School. We could not get to the school via the trucks due to the road conditions and therefore had to trek along the muddy roads in the heat to the school on the top of the hill. This was the first time the school had group visitors and also the first time they had received donations. I thought it was great to see each other working as a team to ask questions and present the donations. One student was never left to do all the work and we often stepped in to help each other in explaining questions or answers to the translators.

On our way back from Thana High School we quickly stopped by Pak Xeng Hospital and was given a tour of the buildings. The hospital official gladly accepted our gifts to them. As I was the person to hand the gifts over, the man shook my hand and suggested getting a photo of the two of us each holding a handle of the donations bag. I found this to be a rewarding experience especially the sense of gratitude that was conveyed by the official. It has made me begin to think of ways I can constantly be able to offer this to other people during my career.

Our final visit was to a small village where we arrived to an overwhelming crowd of at least 50 locals ready to greet us. We had the opportunity to speak with a local female and male as well as three children who volunteered to tell us about their daily activities/schedule. I talked with the other students after we departed that village and they too agreed that it was the best gathering we had been to as there were so many people. They were also very interested in learning about our lifestyles as we were theirs. I’m not sure whether it was their willingness to learn about our culture or the light-hearted jokes about our “beautiful white skin” but I really feel as though we connected with this particular village.

At dinner tonight a few of the locals brought with them some goods for us to purchase (scarves, wallets, bags). Most of us purchased a few items to help them out as opposed to buying the same items from the markets in Luang Prabang. This way we know that more of our money is going to the villagers who made the items themselves and the funds are staying within the village.

After today’s events I have begun to consider (as previously mentioned) ways in which I can continue to give back to those less fortunate than myself in the most beneficial way I can. Hopefully some ideas will develop over the next week where I can think of certain long-term ways of doing this with a focus on the Pak Xeng region.

Day 3

What an eventful day. We were up early this morning at 5:30am to see the local monks walk the streets as the locals offered them items of food (alms). While most of the others stayed up for breakfast I went back to sleep until 8:00am as I knew we had a busy day.

We came into trouble on our way to Sop Jak as the road was flooded and completely full of mud, due to road works. After waiting for a while we drove back to the nearest village and stopped for something to eat. I was quite surprised at the attitude of a few of the other students when offered the noodles. Whilst I fully understand that many people have allergies and certain beliefs I find it incredibly rude and disrespectful when a student says “There is no way I am eating that!” and then asking for “normal fruit” when offered local fruit as an alternative. This experience today made me realise that we are all at different stages of understanding the wider world in our lives. I think it will take some students longer than others to adopt to the Laos culture and I personally believe this starts with respect for their culture and way of life as opposed to our own selfish needs.

As the rain slowed down we made a second attempt at crossing the road. However, after two trucks became bogged we had to all walk in the pouring rain, through the ankle deep mud to the other side whilst we carried our luggage, backpacks and donations with us. It was definitely an adventure and unlucky for me I had one of the girls that was in front of me wearing thongs, which flicked all the mud up into my face as we walked through the sludge. We could not help but laugh with each other at everyone’s attempt of walking through the mud without toppling over, a fun and memorable experience.

Whilst the delay in our arrival to Sop Jak was an inconvenience as it took most of our day as opposed to a few hours, I actually found that it gave us yet another opportunity to interact with each other. After being on the bus with another different set of students we all had the opportunity to tell stories, play games, tell jokes and just get to know each other. The students from the other bus told us when we arrived that they could hear how much fun we were having from their bus whilst we were driving. This bonding came into use in our activities later in the night when we had to form discussions with the local villagers.

We went for a tour of the local high school, meeting the chief of the village and also talking to locals gave us a substantial introduction into the understanding of the Lao lifestyle. When talking to the local medical professional I asked him what he believed in his opinion would be the number one thing that could help to reduce illness/injuries. He replied and said that a record or daily report of the villages activities/tasks completed, where & who it was completed by and reporting accidents would help him diagnose the problem and further prevent it from happening in the future. With our help I feel this is something we as business students could implement and fund as it is very low cost.

After dinner the villagers and Seuang River Committee came to visit us and we began conducting discussions about daily activities and their seasonal calendars. Although we had translators we all found it extremely difficult to engage with the locals and to get them involved. Although these language barriers set us back, our group worked extremely well to make the most of the situation. We did this by getting the locals to draw pictures on butchers paper with markers. We drew pictures of our own daily activities to make them feel comfortable and share with them a piece of our own culture/lifestyle. 


As our team were from the same bus that we travelled to get here I feel that we connected even more so and worked together to make the best of the situation. Eventually the locals felt comfortable and most of them were contributing. This gave us a great understanding of their day to day lives and how these activities change during the seasons of the year.

I look forward to our journey into the Pak Xeng district tomorrow to meet the government officials and distribute some of our donations.

Day 2

After an early wake up call at 5:30am, breakfast was served at 6:00am and we were on the road again by 7:00am after being picked up by Nao and the bus drivers. After an hours drive we arrived back at Bangkok Airport ready for our flight to Luang Prabang. We began reading through the activities guide provided by Buffalo Tours (the Laos tour company). We separated the different activities that were to be conducted with the Lao locals into teams according to individual preference and our university degree areas in relation to the requirements of each task. I chose to be a part of the team to conduct a ‘Seasonal Calendar’, which basically involves examining the economic factors of the region (i.e. household income patterns, food availability, etc.). I chose this and found it perfectly suited me as my degree major is economics.

On our arrival we were greeted by Graham Harper (Manager of Buffalo Tours), Chipseng and Khankeo (our Laos tour guides). They took us back to our hotel soon before Khankeo took us on a tour of central Luang Prabang and the Nam Khan River. Khankeo took us to the famous temples where the monks reside and gave us a detailed explanation of the history of Laos and the four hundred and fifty year old temple that we were standing in.

Being the second day that we have been together as a group, I have noticed that relationships are beginning to form and we are all becoming closer to one another. I am trying to get around and talk to the other students that I am not familiar with, particularly the Nathan campus students. I feel that these bonds that are being formed will be utilised later on our journey beginning tomorrow when we venture into the villages of Sop Jak.