Phongsaly is a city in the north of Laos. There are not many tourists here…during the 4 days we spent there we have met just 2 other foreigners! 😊 The city does not impress us and even we initially seemed it as a quite sad … There is not too much to do here except watching the daily life 😉 Life goes on here with its slow rhythm. Probably if there have not been so close to China, there would not even be a hotel here! 😊 However, we managed to rent a motorbike (the only 1 available in town!) and see the area on our own 😁 We had a lot of luck because despite the rain we drove clay-rocky roads and we could reach the places we wanted.

One of the ethnic minority who inhabits the surrounding areas and cultivates their traditions all the time is the Akha group, which also includes other subgroups. We visited Akha Oma and Akha Pucho vilages and Akha Nouheau we met at the market or simply on the streets❤️ In this tribe to this day they cultivate an animistic rituals. Women are supposedly seen as those that are more closely related to the nature. As we heard the possibility of having children, putting them somehow higher in the hierarchy and means that they have the duty of keeping tradition by wearing costumes and jewelry. Especially important are ornaments on the head and around the face. As we learned their head must be protected from bad spirits that can comes through their heads!! Sometimes the younger generation mixes traditional clothes with Western T-shirts. It was quite interesting to see the combination of ‘Hello Kitty’ shirts and traditional ornaments on their heads 😉

For us staying with representatives of ethnic minorities is extremely fascinating!!! We learn from them to look at life in different way. And Phongsaly is a good base for visiting tribal villages. What is more the views around the area are simply amazing and breath taking!!! ❤️