‘World Theme Travel – When It Rains, Laos!’ Part 4, ‘How Laos Spends the Rainy Season’, will air on EBS1 TV today (26th) at 8:40 PM.
A new landscape we didn’t know about unfolds in the rain. When it rains, it’s Laos!
Are you hesitant to travel during the rainy season? No, it’s better! When it rains, a new door to Laos opens. Find the unique scenery that can only be seen during the rainy season! A trip to Laos in the rain.
The land of the Talian tribe, the unknown tribe shrouded in mystery, Sekong
The Real Life of Laotians in the Rainy Season Vang Vieng, Si Phan Don
If you need a break on a rainy day, Luang Prabang
How Laotians Survive the Long Rainy Season Pakse, Luang Prabang
Come to Laos during the rainy season! You will discover the true face of Laos that you have never seen before.
From June to October, it rains every day in Laos. How do Laotians spend the long rainy season? To find out, we head to Pakse, the largest city in southern Laos. At Wat Luang, the oldest temple in Pakse, the Buddhist event Boun Khao Phansa, which marks the beginning of the rainy season, is in full swing. It is a festival that marks the beginning of Khao Phansa (summer retreat), a three-month period of spiritual practice for Buddhist monks and Laotians alike, to welcome the rainy season. The sight of people offering carefully prepared offerings and releasing fish in hopes of abundance is full of piety.
The rainy season in Laos is a time of vitality when all life blooms. Accordingly, the fish market is also full of various fish from the Mekong River. Among them, we find a special creature that reminds us of the old market in our country! It is the frog, a delicacy of the Laotians. We look around the lively Laotian fish market while seeing the wild frogs that came from the rice fields.
As we continue our journey, we come across a place where rice planting is in full swing. The three-month Khao Phan Sa (summer retreat) period is also the time to wait for the rice to grow after planting. We decide to help out, hoping that the Laotians will be blessed with abundance after the three months that are no different from the barley pass. Unlike Korea, where the spacing and rows are even when planting rice seedlings, the rice planting in Laos is free-spirited, just like the Laotians. After working hard, we try to finish the rice planting with a hearty meal of freshly steamed glutinous rice, but there is no such thing as a free lunch! Perhaps because we were short on manpower, the production crew who were filming also harassed us to come into the rice fields. In the end, we all jumped into the fields together. We paid our fair share of the rice planting and headed to the next journey.
The next place we arrived at was the Katu village. It is a village where you can experience the culture of a minority group with government permission. We started the village tour with the Katu guide, Mr. Hook. The village is filled with the unique culture of the Katu people.
We crush ‘weaving ants’ to make natural mosquito repellent, and make burn treatment and even soap bubbles with ‘Jatropha’ sap. We also taste coffee grown and produced by the Katu people, roasted on the spot. The strong taste of coffee brewed with a dripper made from a bamboo tube is impressive. However, instead of roasting the coffee, Mr. Hook inhales through his mouth into a thick bamboo tube! The bamboo tube turned out to be Katu tobacco. The Katu people believe that tobacco expels bad energy and purifies the soul. Through their culture, we get a glimpse into the wisdom of the Laotian people.
The end of the Laos journey is back in Luang Prabang. Here, there are those who are burning with passion as they prepare for the end of the rainy season. This is the preliminary round of the Boun Suang Heua, a boat racing festival held on Ok Phansa, which marks the end of Khao Phansa. It is a festival to pay homage to the river god and pray for safety. The preliminary round, which is held two months before the main competition, is just as passionate as the main competition. The passion of the boat players who practice every day with a burning will to fight warms my heart. I finish my journey amidst the passion of the Laotian people who shine even brighter in the rainy season.
Photo courtesy of reporter Park Yu-mi = EBS World Theme Travel
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2024-09-26 14:56:36