Time in the hills with the Lahu tribe

The Lahu village of Huay Nam Rin was a welcome shock to the system after island-hopping, visiting temples and generally being lazy tourists. It was a great opportunity to become involved with the local tribe and understand some traditional culture as well as learning Thai massage in a beautiful environment.

Lahu dancing

Celebrations for Lahu New Year, the date of which is decided by the local shaman, and alters each year. The women hand-sow ceremonial clothing, the colours of which change each year - this year is blue, green, pink and black. Some items of clothing take up to 3 months to make!
It might look like simple dancing round a circle but I can tell you the footwork's pretty complicated - just when you think you've got the hang of it, it changes again!

A Lahu sunrise

Morning Tai-Chi

morning meditation starting at 5.30am!! I only managed to drag my self out of bed for  it once.

Eager to begin our different way of life for 12 days, we travelled to the village in the back of several pickups (my new found favourite way to travel). 10 people squashed in the back for an hour and a half made quick acquaintances from the very beginning.
Stopping at the local market on the way to the village to collect supplies, including 50kg of passion fruit! yum!
Our accommodation was simple wood or bamboo huts on stilts with the most breath taking view.

Our daily routine consisted of 6am Tai-Chi (a fantastic way to start the day watching the sun slowly rising over the mountain, warming the chill from the air), at the top of the village at the King's Project - a strange resort-like plateau overlooking the valley. Breakfast - sticky rice, pumpkin and papaya (which I have renamed sick fruit - I can now no longer stand the smell of it!) then 3 hours of massage, starting with a morning chant followed by a traditional song (with such a diverse range of voices it gave a powerful gospel feel), lunch - sticky rice+vegetables, cracking back into another 3 hours of massage after which we stopped again for dinner of sticky rice and veg (surprise!). Shortly afterwards we met again for meditation practice for one hour, by then feeling thoroughly knackered - our thin mattress on a wooden floor was a welcoming retreat!

Ha! Take that, Marius

Our bamboo dining room

It was quite a shock to have to be aware of the time of day - we were reminded of this by the village clock played a random comical tune hourly followed by chimes (3pm was the Popeye theme tune!), often accompanied by a local on a tannoy announcing unintelligible news.

One perfectly rolled Lahu cigarette!

The time in the village was the most special experience, all 30 members interacting beautifully and involved in quiet conversations sharing stories and experiences from all walks of life. In our massage group in addition to that our teacher Andrea and his 5 assistants we had a wide range of nationalities - Swiss, French, Italian, Spanish, Latvian, Australian, New Zealanders, German, Dutch, Cuban, American, Irish, Austrian, Slovakian, English and Thai. I learnt so much from these people in the 12 days, and it was hard to leave as we had all bonded so well it really did feel like a family, all supporting each other and offering advice where needed.

Bobby, the local dog, couldn't resist following James around

James planned to spend the time I was massaging catching up on some work... however he was so popular with the local kids that climbed into our hut through the window that he rarely got much work done. The Lahu children have infectious smiles and an inquisitive nature, little fingers in every bag but they never take a thing... also they learn the dangers of life from a very young age. So seeing a 4 year old wandering about with his bag of bangers or a foot-long machete is a normal sight.

Attacking James was their favourite pasttime

So with spirits high and new skills to gain 5 of us headed to the border of Laos, while the remaining group headed back to Chiang Mai. The following morning we revelled in delights such as fresh croissants, butter and muesli for breakfast - needless to say we didn't miss sticky rice one bit! The time in the Lahu village was incredible however it was great to have clean clothes, comforts and choice, and not to be woken each morning by the cockerels - one of which I'm sure sat right next to my head!

The Lahu family