Tribasia Blog

After trekking hundreds and hundreds of miles (or km), greeting thousands of smiley faces and a few grumpy ones, travelling through many different landscapes -from the turquoise seas to snow-capped mountains, discovering fascinating cultures, living in indigenous villages and sleeping in too many kinds of beds to remember -without having slept around, we have come to the end of these Asian adventures.
For every end, there is a new beginning. We might have gone quiet in the last few months and might remain so until summer but it does not mean that our tribal adventures end here. Indeed, they are just starting.
We are actively seeking ways to share our experience with you in 2010 or early 2011 in London, and possibly around Europe.

Keep in touch via our Contact page and let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can best share our 'tribal experiences', not only via the website, but also in real-life venues in London and around Europe.
We look forward to hearing from you!

Labels: Asia, contact, discovering, indigenous, Trekking, tribal

(Picture by Prince Roy)
We are entering our fifth day of travel here in Laos.
After one day in Luang Namtha, one word came to our mind: changes. Changes are like coins, there are two sides to them.
1) Positive:
- Prosperity which comes as a result of foreign investment and an increased flow in tourism and trade movements.
For instance, the European Union financed the recently built Luang Namtha airport.
It might not be quite true but it seems that the Chinese pretty much financed everything else or own many of Laos' assets in the north of the country. Many new building structures and companies' names are a testimony to these. Chinese characters are also very often written side by side with Lao on road signs.
As a result, Lao children in the northern part of the country now learn Chinese as well as English and Lao at school.

- Better living conditions. The first time we came to Luang Namtha, dirt roads were hampering transport between this city and other major hubs. Now the dirt has been replaced by paved roads at every turn. As a result, transport time between cities has been reduced and road transport for passengers and goods made easier.
The traditional wooden houses are also slowly but surely replaced with bricked ones. The latter require less up keeping and as a construction material, brick is more resistant to adverse weather conditions.

- Greater awareness about the environment. Many ecoprojects have flourished as a result of foreign investments and tourism.

2) Negative:
- Loss of traditional cultures under the influence of those foreign cultures.
Young people increasingly watch Chinese, Thai and American T.V. Many turn their backs on their traditional lifestyles in favour of others perceived as more 'in'.

When we visited to the village of Namdy (Ban Namdy in Lao) 5 kms away from Luang Namtha, where Lanten people resides, we were shocked to see how it had changed since our last stay. Many women no longer sported their traditional costume and children begged for money in return for pictures.
When we first visited the place a few years back, we gathered a completely different picture from this area. Locals were shy but happy to communicate with us without money involved. We quickly understood that the increasing flux of tourists which had recently come to nearby Luang Namtha, had also used Namdy as a stopover on their way to a nearby waterfall and it had changed it all.

- Threat to social integrity: Minority women, in particular the Akha, leave their families and traditional lifestyle behind to work hundreds of miles/kms away from their villages to sell their crafts or/and sometimes, drugs, to dollar/euro-happy tourists.
Young tourists see drug-taking as a fun way to pass their holidays, unaware that their consumption only encourages more local young people to peddle drugs and become dependent on them -physically and economically.
For every local man becoming an addict to drug, a family suffers. Far from the hustle-bustle of tourist destinations, we witnessed a minority village where one household in three had a problem with drug abuse. Often, the husband is addicted to opium and his wife has to provide alone for their - large and young- family.

- Increased cost of living for Lao people and travelling for backpackers. It is now really difficult to find anything to eat for less than 5,000 kip on the street (a dollar is currently worth 8,500 kip) which was not the case two years back.

Besides, hordes of tour groups now in Luang Prabang are uninterested in knowing the real local cost of living and happy to throw 20 dollars on a hotel bed, which was barely worth 5 two years ago.

- A widening socioeconomic gap between 'the haves' and the 'have-nots'.
We could add more to the above list...

We therefore gathered a mixed picture of Laos this time round.

In a few days' time, we will leave the country as we want to take a break from travelling before going back on the road in 'Tribasia' style.
We will probably come back to Laos, but not in Luang Prabang, which seems to have lost its way on the package tourism highway.

Labels: Asia, changes, ethnic minorities, foreign investment, lanten, Laos, loss of cultures, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang

We went visiting Menghun market, Xishuangbanna, southern China, in the hope of coming across new groups.
We came across Akha, a sister group of the Hani, as well as a few Lahu people and a couple of Bulang women. Some of them were sporting their traditional costumes but the most surprising of all groups' attire were the Dai' s.

We witnessed groups of women in matching coloured short-length tops and feet-long narrow tubular skirts going about the market. Their hair was coiffed in a bun or/and a flattened piece of hair at the back, held by dozens of carefully placed pins whose shape seemed to mimic an open fan. Colourful brooches were providing this hairdo its final feminine touch. The silky material and intricate design of the dresses they wore were astounding compared to that of the Dai people we had seen in other parts of this region. Groups of women were all fitted in purple, others all in red, others again in yellow with green designs... a rainbow of colours and a great display of the Dai wealth.

We were aware that market day is of great importance to locals but we were highly puzzled. Why dressing up so ostentatiously to go and browse the stalls?
We found the answer when we left the market and followed a group of Dai women.

Dai people are Hinayana Buddhists (whereas China's majority follows Mahayana Buddhism) and these ladies were going to the temple. We left our shoes by the entrance (customary for Dai women). As soon as we got in, we realized that a celebration was under way: a peacock chariot was being adorned with white flowers -albeit plastic ones- offerings were laid inside the temple and hundreds of people (mostly Dai) seemed to be waiting for something major to happen.

Waiting for what? All temple-goers knelt down and bowed at once. A four-wheel drive was driving through the temple gates, and another, and another. The passengers got out. Here was the answer we had been waiting for: A very senior monk and other high-ranking religious figures were visiting the temple and lead the day's prayers. The locals wanted to show their fervent faith by giving them a ceremonial welcome.

Following the prayers, the peacock chariot was pulled out of the temple with the help of a line formed by monks and two others by civil men. Behind the chariot, Dai women were forming a parade whose array of colours were mimicking the peacock feathers. The groups we had seen earlier in the market were each forming part of this colourful display. All ladies danced gracefully at the strum of traditional bronze and long drums. The parade went round the small community before heading back to where it started, the temple.

We left Menghum not so much under the spell of his market as his Dai impromptu celebration. That was a good surprise which left us with sparkling eyes and a big smile!

Labels: Asia, Buddhism, China, Dai, Markets, Menghun, peacock, temple