Siengphet and Siengphon, leading the team of porters, live in a village along a dirt track in a narrow valley of Phongsaly in Northern Laos.

As most of the farmers of this hilly region, they practice slash and burn rice cultivation.

We usually spend a night in their house on stilt before the trek.

Doing so you’ll experience the true life of a Lao family.

You’ll taste sticky rice, stroll around the tiny market where hill tribes, mostly Pala and Akha come to sell their products (bamboo shoots, wild game).

Electricity of every house hold is provided by a turbine dipped in the current of a nearby river.

In the village, there are a couple of grocery stores and eateries, the last ones before the trek.

Siengphet and Siengphon are expert in plants used for traditional medicine, in fauna and flora of Northern Laos, and are always happy to share their knowledge.

They do beekeeping with wild bees. During the trek they take care of the cooking.

One of their specialties is to cook rice in a bamboo tube. Both of them have been novice in the village temple right in front of their house.

As you have understood Siengphet and Siengphon are more than ordinary porters.