Local Boat trips
After boarding the long-tailed riverboat at the floating restaurant, Rivertime guests can choose to spend a relaxing hour sailing upstream and downstream from the resort. The trip takes us past three temples located on the riverbank, and we spend the entire journey surrounded by extensive areas of beautiful, old growth forest. We can also visit the traditional healer in Na Taer village to see him treat his patients in a sala outside his home near the Nam Ngum river.
Riverboat Journey to Ban Pako (one day)
The resort’s long-tailed riverboat takes guests east on a fascinating two-hour journey downstream along the mighty Nam Ngum River to Ban Pako - the first ecolodge to be built in Laos. At the site of the ecolodge, guests are able to learn about the ancient people who lived in the area thousands of years ago and left artifacts behind at the site.
View towards Ban Pako
Guests are invited to have lunch at the Ban Pako Restaurant overlooking a sweeping bend in the river and across to magnificent primary forest on the edge of the Phou Khao Kwai mountain range. Visitors can then trek through the local forest or just relax before choosing to either spend a night at the Ban Pako Ecolodge or travel back to Rivertime in the resort’s long-tailed boat. Riverboat Excursion to Tha Ngon (one day)
Increasingly popular with Vientiane residents, both local and foreign, Tha Ngon’s expansive and beautiful floating restaurants are located two hours’ journey from Rivertime. Guests travel upstream to Tha Ngon in the resort’s long-tailed boats along the Nam Ngum River through vast areas of magnificent, old-growth forests and several unspoilt villages where they can observe villagers fishing, trading, and bathing in the river. After a relaxing lunch in a floating restaurant, guests can do some local shopping or fishing before returning to the resort by long-tailed boat before sunset Local Schools Tour (half day)
We take the ecolodge longtailed riverboat directly across the river to Na Taer village then walk for 15 minutes to the local primary school. Guests at our ecolodge, along with a Lao charity (www.bigbrothermouse.com) provide ongoing assistance to the children of this and other local primary schools by providing school textbooks and Lao/English readers, along with other educational materials. In addition, we are this year building a much needed water supply system for the school in Na Taer village.
Local Village Primary School
Rice Farming Experience
In the morning, we take the resort bicycles or local ‘tuk tuk’ to the Thadokkham Agricultural Research Centre where we are treated to a detailed PowerPoint presentation on Lao rice farming practices given by experienced, English-speaking Lao agricultural scientists followed by a guided tour of the centre’s facilities.
The research centre is responsible for researching and developing the improved agricultural practices and various crop varieties, such as rice, mungbean, cassava, etc. (but mainly rice), that are essential to the sustainable agricultural development of Laos, a country where 70% to 80% of the population are involved in subsistence rice farming. The glutinous (sticky) rice varieties grown by the majority of Lao rice farming families and eaten by Lao consumers were developed here and named after the centre (e.g. TDK 1, TDK 5, TDK, 12, etc.). During our stay, we are likely to meet and be able to talk to the main agronomists responsible for the development and introduction of these rice varieties as well as other important Lao crops.
Following the presentation and questions/answers, we go out into the rice fields until lunchtime to experience actual rice farming work. The kind of work we do depends on where we are in the bi-annual rice-growing cycle and may include: seedbed preparation, transplanting of rice seedlings, applying manure to the rice paddy, weeding the rice paddy, removal of the golden snail pests from the fields, harvesting the rice crop, threshing the rice and milling of the harvested grain.
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Buddhist Meditation Experience
(Note: as of November, 2008 we are still developing this program. Check with us first to see when it will become available)
We ride on the resort’s mountain bikes (or walk) to the nearby temple of Wat Thadokkham or the smaller Wat Phon Thong, both of which are locatedon the banks of the Nam Ngum River. The larger temple and its resident monks are much revered and often visited by Vientiane’s city residents. Inside the temple main hall, we are given an explanation of the main tenets of Lao Theravada Buddhism and the role it plays in the life of all Lao people. Following this is a simple explanation of the techniques of basic Theravada or Vippasana meditation followed by a practical meditation session in which we meditate in the temple sim or ordination hall for 30 minutes.
Ecolodge Trail
Ideal for young children and those wishing to get a brief taste of forest trekking before attempting more ambitious trails, this 15 to 20 minute walk takes visitors along a safe, carefully constructed path through the old secondary forest in the resort grounds. The forest on either side of the trail is home to many varied species of butterflies, indigenous pineapple groves and bamboo stands, as well as agar trees, eucalyptus and a variety of indigenous Lao trees, bushes and shrubs. A brief walk along this trail enables visitors to appreciate the way in which forest cover develops when left to regenerate naturally without human interference.
Trek or Cycle to Local Temples
Just a short walk or cycle ride from Rivertime is the beautiful temple of Wat Thadokkham on the banks of the Nam Ngum River. This very large and famous temple with its resident monks are much revered and often visited by Vientiane’s city residents.
Lao Cooking Classes
A maximum of 4 persons can take part in the cooking class in the floating restaurant. Guests are shown in detail how to prepare the most popular Lao dishes using local ingredients. Then, guests try their hand at preparing the dishes themselves. The dishes taught include the ubiquitous papaya salad as well as fish soup and chicken ‘laap’.
Traditional Lao Massage
Rivertime guests and day visitors may take advantage of a traditional Lao massage in one of our garden salas or in the comfort of their own lodge. Massages are given by local village women highly skilled in the traditional technique.
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