Luang Prabang, Laos - From paddy fields to the Mighty Mekong

Our 2nd day in Luang Prabang was not too bad. I managed to fulfil my long-time desire of stepping onto a paddy/rice field, saw my first orange-robed monks (or in Snufkin's words: the men in orange t-shirts), had coffee/late lunch at the legendary La Banneton while listening to the sound of drum-beating from the nearby wats, boated (and dipped my toes into) down the mighty Mekong, had the obligatory fruit shake (this time mango and banana) and a heavenly Lao massage in-room for only USD 15. Snufkin got his much-awaited boat ride and by the end of the day managed to get his shirt and trousers soiled with chocolate ice-cream, fruit shake and sediments from the Mekong river water.

While planning my itinerary for this Lao trip, I came across the glowing reviews of Living Land Farm's Rice Experience on Tripadvisor. It was rated 5 stars. I knew then that this was something that we had to do. Tiger Trails quoted USD72 pax which I thought was ridiculously expensive. We managed to get a cheaper rate by booking through the hotel. At 8am, our tuk-tuk was waiting for us and it took 20 minutes to get to Living land Farm. This is an organic farm using land-friendly methods and more importantly it is a Community Enterprise, employing locals with little employment opportunities and from remote villages. If responsible tourism is your cup of tea, then this is for you.

The Rice Experience is the farm's half-day programme intended to educate the participants on the various (seemingly endless) processes of rice farming, from preparing the soil to planting and harvesting. As we reached the farm we were greeted by Laut Lee, the farm manager who always had a smile on his face. Each of us was given a straw hat and we were first taken to a large wooden house where we were shown the various implements used in traditional farming as well as the seed selection process.

This was followed by Laut showing us how to toil the land, starting from using the buffalo to plough the paddy field in preparation for rice planting. I had a try in pushing and steering the plough and let me tell you that this was no easy task as the blighted buffalo had a mind of its own. After a mere few minutes, I was panting for breath.

 And then there was the rice planting itself where my legs were treated to a free mud bath. Snufkin initially looked repulsed at the thought of sticking his legs in all that goo but he relented when Laut showed him some snails he caught in the mud. I asked Laut whether there were any snakes and he said "Only during the rainy sesaon". I was not sure whether that was a reason enough to breathe a sigh of relief.

 We then had a try in harvesting the crop using a sickle, then threshing and seperating the rice grain from the plant straw.

Other activities were also shown to us, including how to make rice flour, juice sugar canes from the garden, weave a rug, weld metals to make sickles and even make toys using bamboo strips and plant straws. It was a great show of sustainability and a reminder of how, in our world of convenience, we do not  always fully utilise on what we have and are never resourceful enough.

Laut and his team planted a variety of vegetables in a large garden at the edge of the farm. He brought us to see many types of plants including citronella, lemongrass, strawberry, okra, beans, pumpkin and spinach and even plucked some rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes for our lunch salad. There were also plenty other things to keep kids entertained including a fish pond and fighting roosters kept under baskets.

The rates we paid included lunch. Although the food served (white rice, salad from the garden, an assortment of rice products and some buffalo by-products that we totally ignored) will not make you full, it was as local as you could get with next to nothing carbon footpritnts. 

At the end of it, Laut presented us with a "certificate" proclaiming "I Planted Rice in Luang Prabang" and bade us goodbye. We were tired and feeling hot and sticky and at one point I asked myself did I really pay a good amount of money to slave under the sun? But then again, this was an experience that you could not get elsewhere and if anything, you will not take a single grain of rice for granted again. Travel lesson # 2: Sometimes it pays to pay to do work. And the best part was that we were the only participants there as it was the low season so it felt very much like a private tour.

Later in the evening, after our afternoon rest at the hotel, we went to the Mekong riverside for the promised boat ride. Now, practically every tour agencies and hotels will be able to sell you the Mekong Sunset Cruise. You could buy one of these or you could walk along the riverside and wait for one of the boatmen to come and try to get you on their boats. We did the latter and paid probably a third of what we would have paid to a travel agency. Cut the middlemen, I always say.

So we spent the remaining hour of the day cruising down the Mekong, watching the village kids diving into and swimming in the river and waiting for giant catfish to surface.