The first three pictures is just to give you an idea as to the mountains we found in Northern Lao. They are so steep and rugged and covered with vegitation. A lot of Lao live in them and how they manage those steep mountains I do not know.

The 4th picture shows a typical house in the moutains. They are right along the highway but there is not enough flat space so the back of the homes are supported by long poles. The 5th is a typical village house down in the valley. The 6th is our first elephant we have seen in Lao. It is a working elephant. All of those logs were pulled out of the underbrush by the elephant.

The 7th is a typical garden along the Mekong River. During the rainy season the river is clear up to the top of that garden. Then as it goes down it leaves furtal ground for the garden. The people will then go to the river with buckets to water the garden. The next is a market at one of the major intersections along highway 13, up in the mountains. The last is women out in the rice fields threshing the rice by hand. As they cut the rice (by hand) they bundel it is small bundels, let it dry and then beat it on the ground to get the rice out.

I will send pictures of our playing during that trip on the next blog. So stay tuned folks.