Luang Nam Tha is not the most exciting of towns but it has a thriving eco-tourist industry. The main street has many travel companies all claiming to be environmentally friendly and offering visitors the opportunity to do anything from one day treks to week long back country tours involving trekking, staying in hil tribe villages, kayaking etc. We went for the one day trek with "Green Discovery Tours". We set off at about 8.30am and had about an hour long drive in a local open van. It was pretty cold that time in the morning. We drove up a dirt road into the hills. Our guide told us that the road had only been built a couple of years before. Prior to this, the Akhar village that we were to visit, could only be accessed on foot. This had made a great deal of difference to the lives of the villages because they could more easily travel to market, sell their goods and effectively join the cash economy. The village's integration into the modern world will be further strengthened when it receives a power supply. As we drove up the mountain, the electricity poles were already up and workers were installing the wire. In the past few years I have seen many poor villages and this was one of the poorest. We had a brief stop in the village and then went for our trek in the jungle, along narrow paths into deep and dark valleys. Fascinating but sadly not an easy place to take photos. For any decent shots I needed a tripod because the light levels were so low. We had lunch in a small clearing by the stream with lots of sticky rice (we were beginning to get a little fed up of sticky rice by this time on the trip). Despite our request for veggie food, we'd been given some fish which the company guide and the local Akhar guide finished very happily! After the trek we were invited for tea and a glass of the local brew at the chief's house. Although the house was wooden and on bamboo stilts, all the cooking was done on a wood fire inside the property - looked a bit risky to me! The village was very basic - no running water, no sewerage and no electricity. Unlike in India and many other countries, where the children run after you demanding to have their photos taken, there seemed to an sense of suspicion. We felt very much like rich people looking at poor people (which is hardly surprising because that is exactly the case). Akhar women traditionally go around topless after they are married and I got the feeling they were fed up with people staring at them. John did his best not to be seen even looking in their direction so as not to be categorised as a western male gawper! The children were not in the greatest of health. There were quite a few with rather unpleasant looking skin conditions and there was a toddler with a horrible eye infection. Our guide said that the Akhar did have some access to medical treatment but they preferred to consult the local shaman or healer. There was a primary school in the village but apparently attendance was not high. It was a very interesting experience but I do wonder how the Akhar are going to cope with the big wide world out there! We passed this valley on our way down the mountain on our return to Luang Nam Tha

Luang Nam Tha is not the most exciting of towns but it has a thriving eco-tourist industry. The main street has many travel companies all claiming to be environmentally friendly and offering visitors the opportunity to do anything from one day treks to week long back country tours involving trekking, staying in hil tribe villages, kayaking etc. We went for the one day trek with "Green Discovery Tours". We set off at about 8.30am and had about an hour long drive in a local open van. It was pretty cold that time in the morning. We drove up a dirt road into the hills. Our guide told us that the road had only been built a couple of years before. Prior to this, the Akhar village that we were to visit, could only be accessed on foot. This had made a great deal of difference to the lives of the villages because they could more easily travel to market, sell their goods and effectively join the cash economy. The village's integration into the modern world will be further strengthened when it receives a power supply. As we drove up the mountain, the electricity poles were already up and workers were installing the wire. In the past few years I have seen many poor villages and this was one of the poorest. We had a brief stop in the village and then went for our trek in the jungle, along narrow paths into deep and dark valleys. Fascinating but sadly not an easy place to take photos. For any decent shots I needed a tripod because the light levels were so low. We had lunch in a small clearing by the stream with lots of sticky rice (we were beginning to get a little fed up of sticky rice by this time on the trip). Despite our request for veggie food, we'd been given some fish which the company guide and the local Akhar guide finished very happily! After the trek we were invited for tea and a glass of the local brew at the chief's house. Although the house was wooden and on bamboo stilts, all the cooking was done on a wood fire inside the property - looked a bit risky to me! The village was very basic - no running water, no sewerage and no electricity. Unlike in India and many other countries, where the children run after you demanding to have their photos taken, there seemed to an sense of suspicion. We felt very much like rich people looking at poor people (which is hardly surprising because that is exactly the case). Akhar women traditionally go around topless after they are married and I got the feeling they were fed up with people staring at them. John did his best not to be seen even looking in their direction so as not to be categorised as a western male gawper! The children were not in the greatest of health. There were quite a few with rather unpleasant looking skin conditions and there was a toddler with a horrible eye infection. Our guide said that the Akhar did have some access to medical treatment but they preferred to consult the local shaman or healer. There was a primary school in the village but apparently attendance was not high. It was a very interesting experience but I do wonder how the Akhar are going to cope with the big wide world out there! A group of people taken with a long lens.