Hi my name is Hanna and I am from Sweden. I am working as an intern at Tiger Trail in their Fair Trek Responsible Tourism Division. I will be here in Luang Prabang, Laos for three months. During this time I will put up a post once a week where I tell you about different projects that we are working on as well as my own experiences and thoughts about Laos and Luang Prabang.
One of the projects that I am working on is the ECO Bungalow project which is a project that Tiger Trail does together with the Swedish organization, World Volunteer. It involves building a clay bungalow in a remote village called Ban Long Lao Mai; the people living there all belong to the Hmong ethnic minority group. When the clay bungalow is done, the village will be able to benefit more from tourism in Laos.
My first week was mostly spent in the office, but last Friday we visited the village where we are building the clay bungalow, which was really exciting. We went there and talked to the village chiefs about the clay bungalow project. For me, it felt like going back in time, they cook over an open fire and you need a flashlight to get around because it gets really dark at night, most of the houses are made of bamboo roofs and dirt floors. Hmong houses look different from Lao houses, they have no windows and they are on the ground. Actually I thought it looked quite similar to a Viking house, which is kind of funny. What do you think?
Viking house Hmong house
The best thing about the visit to the village was that I got the opportunity to be invited to eat with a family from the village. The food was really delicious and it was a great experience.
Me eating Jackfruit, it´s delicious and sticky as glue!
I have really enjoyed myself during my first week here. Luang Prabang is a wonderful place, with mountains in the background, every view is a picture and in this time of year it is really green and lush. The people of Luang Prabang are very friendly and welcoming; they often ask where you come from and how long you will stay. If you want to learn some of their language, Lao, people are eager to help and often they want to practice their English with you.
I’m very excited about what is ahead for me during my internship here!
Read this blog and follow my adventures in Laos!