Rice Field Hike

The next day we took off on a 4 hour trek through the rice fields. Our guide picked us up at our bungalow and drove us up into the mountains where we would start our hike. Our guide was delightful with stories to tell and an amazing amount of knowledge of the area, rice farming and the people. We wove our way through the fields, walking between paddies and along the water ways. The people of the area used the same tracks and we often ran into women carting large loads on their heads. Why is it that the women always seem to be the ones that carry these loads?
The labor to keep these fields going is intense. It was amazing, watching the man wrestle with the ox to plow the field. It’s such a small field, the animals are huge, yet they move them from one plot to the next without destroying the dirt-made retaining walls.
Our trail took us through small communities. The family compounds were generally small with everyone working on something. Children helped the younger ones bathe, washed the clothing and were frequently found following small animals around. We stopped at one single home where the guide knew the people. They had a snack for us, drinks as well as some things to buy (of course). We did get a mat the woman had made. She worked on one while we were there and the man played one of their xylophone type instruments. A pleasant place to relax from the hike.