After our stay at the Lao Elephant Home, we returned to Vientiane and, after a good night’s sleep, took the train to the cultural and former capital of Laos, Luang Prabang. The plan was to spend ten nights at the Saneehaa Homestay, located about 20 kilometres outside the city in the small village of Ban Sieou. The homestay is run by a Swiss–Lao couple who have three German-speaking children, and Sarah had been in touch with them well for a while. They kindly responded to a post in a travel group on Facebook, and although you might think (as I did) that Facebook is dead, there are actually many active traveller groups full of people willing to help and offer support where needed. Once we knew more precisely when we would be in Laos, we agreed to stay ten nights in their beautiful homestay and to help with whatever tasks we could, in exchange for a reduced accommodation cost. It’s a great concept: not only does it help our travel budget, but it’s also very rewarding to have a regular task again after a long period of travelling. It also brings you closer to the hosts, because you gain a better understanding of what it takes to keep a homestay running in a relatively remote Laotian village.

The train from Vientiane was a bit of a surprise, as it was a very modern, Chinese-built high-speed train that didn’t lack any comfort. The main difference compared to a German train was a full security check prior to boarding, comparable to airport security and noticeably more thorough. Our host had thankfully advised us in advance that the controls are far stricter than at most airports and that train staff would consequently confiscate any aerosol sprays, scissors and pocket knives. So, before boarding, we went to a local courier company, carefully packed all restricted items into a small box and sent it on to Luang Prabang. For less than 50 cents, that seemed like a sensible solution, especially since our pocket knives carry sentimental value. And we actuallly received our package just 3 days later.

Somlid, our host, was on the same train as we were and kindly offered us a ride in his large TukTuk that was already waiting at the train station. When we arrived at their cozy homestay, we were warmly welcomed by Nina, his wife, and two of their children: Anou and Santi. Another family happened to be visiting and stayed for the next three days with three more kids, so suddenly there were seven children playing together - a delightful change for our own kids, who had been the only children at our previous stays. I am writing these lines on February 4th which means we will be deaprting for Luang Prabang tomorrow. Life here has been quietly relaxed and peaceful. The other family has since departed, leaving four children behind, and our kids have since formed a sweet bond with Anou and Santi.

Somlid has taught us to craft mugs and cutlery from bamboo, which has kept us happily occupied for a couple of afternoons. Making a spoon look somewhat symmetrical is much harder than I thought ;). Sarah and I spent an entire day rebuilding a Petanque track. We’d already spent quite some time playing Petanque in the Elephant Camp, so helping to rebuild the one at the Saneehaa Homestay not only brought back good memories, but it also let us keep playing. I helped build a new fence for the chickens, and Sarah supported Nina by writing a Homestay manual for future guests and housesitters. We went swimming in the river that runs past their homestay and grilled catfish over an open fire, enjoying our meal on plates fashioned from the many banana palm leaves scattered around their beautiful property. We actually ate a lot of “new foods”, but everything was prepared by Nina and Somlid (often with our assitance ;)) with a lot of love. The blossom of banana palm for example, or buffalo skin or other herbs or pastes we hadn’t tried before. We also picked up tamarind directly of a tree which was a great sweet snack, especially for the kids.

The four dogs need regular walks, and over the last two days I assisted Somlid with digging a trench and pouring a concrete foundation for a fence that surrounds the large area where the dogs stay when they are not free to roam. While it was exhausting labour, it was also extremely rewarding to contribute to something that will have a long-lasting impact for the family. I also found it quite inspiring how much Somlid achieves with fairly little material. If a nail is missing to attach the fence to the ground, he will quickly grab his machete and build one from bamboo. And that actually might be a bit of an analogy to how life works over here. With a lot of willpower to do things, and the necessary creativity and craftsmanship to actually achieve it. I learned a lot from Somlid during our 10 days here in the Saneehaa Homestay which I am really thankful for. We also went to a local “weaving village” and spent about 4 hours on a loom and crafted our own scarf from cotton. We had already spent some time doing that in the Elephant Camp with a wife from a local mahout, and found the activity almost meditating. Hence, we really enjoyed spending some more time weaving and even better that wee were allowed to bring our own scarf home.

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our stay here in the “Saneehaa Homestay”, as Nina and Somlid really made us feel at home. Nina, Somlid, Anou, Santi: In case you are reading this: Thank you so much for everything and for the great time we spent together! We will take some long-lasting memories with us and we are truly thankful for your hospitality. Khop chai lai!

Tomorrow, we will continue to Luang Prabang for 6 more nights to actually see the cultural capital of Laos. Another update will surely follow. Until then, be well!

https://www.saneehaa.com/ https://www.instagram.com/saneehaa.homestay/