Very quirky outpost in the process of becoming a small trekking mecca. (Muang Sing (Laos))

Member Name: Pablo_Sevilla

Product:	Muang Sing (Laos)
Date:	28/06/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic sustainable trekking and a unique cultural melting pot

Disadvantages: After you're all trekked out (which can take days!) there is little else to do.

About 50km north-west of the provincial capital of Luang Nam Tha lies the town of Muang Sing, in Northern Laos.

Muang Sing sits only 9 kilometres from the Chinese border and only about 25 kilometres to neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) to the west.

This geographical location probably goes someway to explain why Muang Sing is the most ethnically and culturally diverse towns you are likely to come across in your trip to Lao; Thai Lu, Thai Neua, Lolo, Thai Dam, Mien, Hmong and Akha are just some of the ethic groups present in this town of just 40,000. This makes the place a real cultural melting pot and very different to your usual Laotion town.

Another big ethnic group present in Muang Sing are the Yunnanese as the huge Chinese Yunnan province is only 9 kilometres over the border. Many Chinese come over the border to trade as Muang Sing sits on part of the road to China and it's close proximity to both China and Burma has inevitably put Muang Sing firmly on the trade route between these countries. The market in town actually used to be the biggest Opium market in this part of the world when the French ruled over Indochina. It was a hugely lucrative source of income for there Imperial ambitions at the time. These days Opium use is illegal in Laos (except for the various hill tribes in the area that use it in foods, medicines and for rituals amongst other things), and the market is now just mainly full of Chinese goods.

You are likely to hear Chinese-Mandarin (and unique ethnic minority languages) here just as much if not more than the Lao language. Chinese currency the Yuan seems to accepted alongside the Lao Kip fairly readily in many places and many resturants and guesthouses will have menus in Chinese script. You may also notice that many of the lorrys, motorcycles and tractors in Muang Sing are Chinese built with Chinese license plates! When I switched my phone on here I even had a network message saying welcome to China!

The town itself is small (only a 40,000 population at the last estimate) but the main draw here is the trekking around the surrounding area.

Only a couple of trekking companies exist and it's very wise to hire a guide with one of them as going off without a guide is frowned upon and you may get a hostile reaction if you turn up at a hill tribe village unannounced. The treks here have won praise from the UN because they ask permission from the culturally sensitive hill tribe villages in the area and work with them to maintain a sustainable level of eco-tourism in the area. Don't ruin it by going off on a trek by yourself just because you are looking for some adventure! The Lao government and people have learnt from the mistakes of neighbouring Thailand where treks in Chiang Mai have all but decimated the fragile ethnic minority cultures there. They are keen not to make the same mistakes and for now seem to be doing a decent job.

The trek companies I must say were fantastic. I managed to buddy up with 5 other people so we negotiated a price that came to $10 a day for a wonderful guide (who spoke seven languages quite fluently!) and all the food, water and supplies we would need for our 3 day trek. You should have no problem fidning other people to trek with as everyone comes here to trek and there are only a handful of guesthouses in the town (around 5$ a night). So get 6 or 7 people together and you should be looking at paying no more than 15$ a head per day of trekking. Which quite frankly is truly awesome value for money.

Our group spent only maybe 4 hours walking a day, and the terrain isn't that hard to cover. The mountains aren't all that steep and are more of the lush green rolling type rather than steep rocky crevices. That said, it isn't all easy and you will probably feel quite tired after those 4 hours. If you want mindblowing landcsapes and huge snow capped mountains with truly challenging treks then head for the Himalayas or the Andes! These treks are much more about staying with famalies in hill tribe villages and experiencing the culture.
We stayed every night at a different village along the Burmese border. The villages were ethnic Akha and Hmong hill tribes and the trek was one of the funnest i've ever been on. Every time we came to the village we were welcomed by a large contingency of curious wide eyed children who would spend the entire day glued to us following us around and playing football. We were also greeted by the village chief and always stayed in the chief and his family's stilt house in sleeping bags.

It took a lot of getting used to at first as it's a totally different world and packs some serious culture shock! The animals roamed freely and there is no electricty. If anything it really showed me how much we depend on our technology back home to provide entertainment. Here people just spend time together talking to each other (imagine that!), working the fields, playing games with the kids, hunting, weaving and of course cooking and eating and singing. No internet, no pubs, no starbucks, no playstation, no showers! Here you make your own fun and wash in the river!

But I must say, by the time evenings came we all felt comfortable and some of the villagers would come to a big feast in the evening. We learnt how to kill and cook a chicken on a fire. That was eye opening to say the least, it makes you appreciate the food a lot more when you see the life blood, care and effort that goes into making it. These evening meals were the vocal point of the village and after the meal a few bottles of Lao-Lao (rice whisky) appeared and everyone talked (via our guide/translator), drank and sang songs into the night around a fire. Every village we went to we were met with nothing but kindness and were a curiousity.

The beliefs of the various hill tribes can also be quite interesting. Usually it's a curious mix of the ancient Animistic spirit worshipping blended with Therevadin Buddhism, I never really got my head around it but as it seems to be very complex! Still, you will see a little shrine that looks somewhat like a large birdhouse outside of each village. This supposedly houses spirits that protect the village and you're not supposed to walk past this point without first getting permission from the village chief and the spirit guardians.

Getting here from Luang Nam Tha is relatively staright forward. Pick up trucks (Sawngthaew) leave regulary about seven times a day and cost about 2 or $3 for the two hour trip along a sealed tarmac road that winds through very beautiful green monsoon-forest mountain scenary.

Muang Sing itself does hold some interest in itself without the trekking as you can still see a lot of French colonial architecture around town and after a few hours of walking around you will probably really start to enjoy Muang Sing's multi-culturalism and the sheer quirkiness of the place; It really doesn't feel like anywhere else in Laos and the Chinese and hill tribe influence makes it feel like an entirely different country at times!

Muang Sing, in short, is the place to be for both culture vultures and trekoholics and also those who just want to experience something a bit different and quirky well away from the crowds further south.

Definitely recommended if you have the time, especially for people who are more attracted to cultural experiences rather than following the typical backpacker trail.

Summary: Muang Sing, in short, is the place to be for culture vultures and trekoholics!