AM: In the morning, start driving from Le Grand Pakbeng follows the main road about 6Km, the leisurely local transportation takes you on dirt roads to the Kamu villages, about 17 km away. Follow your guide on a red-soil dirt road, passing small forests, rice fields, some spectacular scenery and a rustic village with wooden houses. Stop along the way for photo ops of the local children and hard-working farmers in the field. You can also visit local primary schools and kindergartens.
One the way, you will be hop off and hop on visiting these following local villages such as;
Ban Houy Sengkham: This rural village hosts a primary school. Here you will have the opportunity to observe their traditional lifestyle. As simple rustic village that is constantly building and growing, some signs of modern buildings are appearing here, however the old traditions are kept.
Ban Souksai: Watch and help the hard-working farmers going about their daily life of the rice farming and blacksmith making. Visit the buffalo farm, see how they use their traits in ancient farming whilst witnessing the beautiful landscape.
Ban Lai: This small village is very rural the buffalos, chickens, dogs freely walking amongst the Kamu people. The village are constantly building and are always curious of the visitors. Some households have a small vegetable garden and fruit trees.
Ban Kham: Traditional bamboo houses are built on stilts above the ground. People live on the first floor of houses raised on timber stilts. Under the house the family keep animals, craft equipment such as a loom and simple food processing machines like large wooden mortars and pestles, a tradition dating back many years and finally we experience gold panning with local villagers.
Our final visit this morning is Ban Kham. On arrival of a Kamu family at Ban Kham village, we take part in daily life, including some steps of peeling rice by hand, experience the gold panning by local people, this is highlight and you may try your luck by panning gold with local Kamu hill tribe. During your time in the villages, your guide will introduce you to some traditional customs of the Kamu people and how difference between three biggest ethnic groups in Laos, from there, we return hotel. (Gold Panning is seasonable and by chance)
