- Zzzz ...
- Portrait of same child at www.flickr.com/photos/claudio_ramirez/172919916/
Mountain school
North of Laos. While hiking, we had the pleasure to visit a school in a remote mountain area of Laos. It was a wonderful experience.
This is the translation of my answer to Christabell_. She asked me for the story.
Imagine walking about 3 days through valleys, rivers, and jungle and bamboo forests. You will not meet many people and the farthest you go; the stranger people will find you.
A friend of a few days - something very common while travelling - gave us the idea. "Don't go walking where millions of tourists do, there a places that are more real". The public transportation - an overcrowded open van - brought us to a village in the North of Laos. There, local groups were just starting to organize hikes in order to help the region and the indigenous villages. The number of tourist was limited by trip (we were four) and only one group per trimester was allowed. The price was low; the guides did speak almost no English at all (they were learning English and received monetary aid for that from the European Union), etc. The Government of Laos seems to have a policy to protect local ethnicities, this in contrast with the neighbouring countries like Thailand.
The school in the picture was halfway. We did not stay in that village, but went trough (and took the opportunity of visiting the school). Although the village was not used to see people from abroad, people received us with plenty of interest. My girlfriend, a teacher, gave a short class.
Walking for ever, crossing small rivers that left your legs full of leeches, or using "bridges" made of one small trunk that one fall would mean the certainty of a broken leg, at the end we arrived to a village far from everything, without road or any other connections.
Children fled with panic terror, women looked at you like if you were green. We were the second "white" people that they ever saw in their lives. Curiosity defeated fear, and the village got interested in us little by little. Women pulled my beard (I did not shave because I was lazy) and looked into the eyes of my girlfriend (she has blues eyes). The men and the children taught me some of their language and laughed wildly when I pronounced it like a mental patient.
The village chief invited us to celebrate with him with a rise spirit(the kind that burns in the inside) and as a surprise the woman virgins - with naked breasts - entered the room. They gave us a massage as an attention. They laughed from shyness like the girls they still were, and sometimes when you were lying down, they looked under your t-shirt when they thought you were not looking. The really wanted to see the colour of your skin.
I almost forgot the fatigue and the bored that I was of eating rice as breakfast, lunch and diner; but this was the food we carried on our backs. I don't think I will forget the rest.
Comments and faves
Cristabell. (73 months ago)
claudio esta esta muyy linda y sii la expresión del niño es muy simpática!!! y el orden de las niñas !! tb es justa!
te felicito
muy bella
la foto qu e me enseñaste mía me trae muchos recuerdos
ya un besito
cuidate
Claudio Ramirez (73 months ago)
Hola Cristabell_,
Quizás deberias contar esa historia en la pagina de esa foto? Es interesante conocer la historia detras de la foto ...
Claudio
Cristabell. (73 months ago)
pero tu cuenta esta historia!!!!
Claudio Ramirez (73 months ago)
Bueno, aqui va la historia de la foto:
Imagínate caminar unos 3 días por valles, montañas, rios, selva, bosques de bambúes. No encuentras a mucha gente y entre más lejos caminas, más raro te encuentra la gente.
Una amistad de unos días – como tan común es al viajar – nos pasó el dato. “No vayan a caminar donde miles de turistas lo hacen, hay lados mucho más verdaderos”. El transporte publico – una camioneta abierta y repleta – nos llevó a un pueblo en el norte de Laos donde grupos locales estaban recién empezando a organizar caminatas para ayudar a la región y a los pueblos indígenas. El numero de turistas estaba limitado por viaje (éramos cuatro) y solamente un grupo se permitía por trimestre. El precio era barato, los guías casi no hablaban inglés (estaban aprendiendo y para eso recibían una subvención de la Comunidad Europea), etc.
El gobierno de Laos parece tener una política para proteger a las etnias locales en contraste con los países fronterizos como Tailandia.
La escuela de la foto estaba a mitad de camino. No nos quedamos en el pueblo, pero lo cruzamos (y aprovechamos de visitar la escuela). Aunque el pueblo no estaba acostumbrado a ver gente de afuera, nos recibieron con bastante interés. Mi novia que es profesora dio una corta clase.
Caminando y caminando, cruzando pequeños rios que te dejaban las piernas llenas de sanguijuelas o subiéndote a “puentes” de pequeños troncos donde un resbalo o una perdida de equilibro igualaba a una pierna quebrada a la segura, al final llegamos a un pueblo insólito lejos de todo, sin caminos, sin nada.
Los niños se arrancaban con un miedo pánico, las mujeres te miraban como si fueras verde. Éramos la segunda vez que algunos habían visto personas blancas en su vida. La curiosidad le ganó al miedo, y el pueblo poco a poco se interesó en nosotros. Las mujeres me tiraban la barba (me la dejé de flojo) y le miraban los ojos a mi novia (tiene ojos azules). Los hombres y los niños me enseñaban su lenguaje y se morían de la risa al yo pronunciarlo como un enfermo mental.
El jefe de la tribu nos invitó a celebrar con su trago de arroz (que te quema por dentro) y como sorpresa llegaron las mujeres vírgenes del pueblo – con los pechos desnudos – a darnos un masaje como atención. Se reían con vergüenza como las muchachas que eran, y a veces cuando estabas estirado te subían – escondidas – la polera para ver tu color de piel.
Ya casi se me borró de mi memoria el desgaste físico y lo aburrido que estaba de comer arroz de desayuno, almuerzo y cena, pero la comida era lo que levábamos en la espalda.
El resto creo que no lo olvidaré nunca.
Cristabell. (73 months ago)
awwww que bueno leer esto
que suerte la tuya y la de tu novia..
te felicito por ser un viajero y no un turista....
mee ncanto y me ilusiono leer esto
ZLZ (73 months ago)
NICE!
Memo Vasquez (73 months ago)
Maravillosa foto!
Gasti (73 months ago)
Superbe photo. Une vraie salle de classe avec les attentifs, les distraits par le photographe et ceux qui sont carrément ailleurs...
Claudio Ramirez (73 months ago)
Heheh. Merci. La pluspart des elèves m'avait oublié, mais une petite pas ...
Je crois que tu as raison, c'est une vraie salle de classe :)
Claudio
L8o (73 months ago)
..love their adornments.
Tyler Gavett (old account) (73 months ago)
Beautiful. Awesome hats.
fleur ou neige (73 months ago)
Captivating
JJC's (72 months ago)
bonita.
tan obscuro estaba como para usar 1600 asa?
salu2
Claudio Ramirez (72 months ago)
Se me pasó la mano, pero no había mucha y estaba intercambiando con un lente 70-300 bastanta lento. Sin subir el iso no hubiera resultado sin flash.
Fijate que lo obscuro que sale el fondo en esta foto (mismo lugar): www.flickr.com/photos/claudio_ramirez/1729199 16/
HORIZON (72 months ago)
This is a great and lovely shot!!!!
SarahGeleyn (72 months ago)
the colors and lighting are really beautiful, also the faces of the children, they don't seem to know you're there
Ed Roth (71 months ago)
This whole post is inspiring. I love the photograph of the children with their hats, not put on as a costume, but as it is their custom. And your story??? Wow. You really can still have an adventure in this world! Thanks for sharing all of this.
Ayeshkena (67 months ago)
WOW! What a capture!!!!
brown-dog (67 months ago)
Wow, what a story and the photo is incredible.
Sarah Underhill [deleted] (64 months ago)
Great... also found on:
www.nikonstunninggallery.com/
saysana13b (63 months ago)
How far north was this? How remote was this? I can really imagine, I only spent time near the Mekong Valley when I was in Laos.
Claudio Ramirez (63 months ago)
saysana13b,
It was pretty close the Chinese border and Myanmar. The lack of roads, the hills and the bamboo jungles make it remote.
pierre pouliquin (60 months ago)
Thanks for sharing, picture and story.
--
Found in a search. (?)
worldwidewandering (60 months ago)
You are invited to post this and other nice photos you have of Laos to worldwidewandering - a travel atlas. Post comments
and thumbnail photos to the Laos discussion thread.
hellochris (60 months ago)
an exquisite photo. thank you for travelling so far to bring it to us.
llkoran (57 months ago)
great photo!
courge poivrée (51 months ago)
de Appel (49 months ago)
great!
Boris Taratutin (47 months ago)
love the colors here and the story that goes along with the pictures is even better
Nuragic Man~A bit busy (38 months ago)
Very fine shot!
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Traditional world's costumes, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Thanks.
Čajka (34 months ago)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Seasons’ Magic INVITE ONLY-P1/A2 - Summer in the City, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Doria Durwin (32 months ago)
I love it..
Nice Shot. :)
KoenPyls (30 months ago)
Hi, I work for a local government and I would like to use this photo for a slideshow presentation about the Millennium Development Goals.