Day 2 - Rice experience & phousi sunset

Shoes off, heading to the farm.

Using water buffalo to plow the field.

The buffalo dropped three pineapple-sized poop right before we jumped in to walk behind it. It was his welcome gift to us.

Spreading out 3mo-old seedlings to allow space to grow.

Harvest time!

It took some work to wash all the mud off our feet. The nails remained black.

Thrashing to knock the rice off of the plants, then using a fan to blow away the lighter empty shells.

Farmers from different villages carry rice differently.

Pounding it separates the rice from its shell.

By tossing and swirling pounded rice, you can separate out and throw away the shells, as well as separate out smaller grains for feeding animals.

Milling to make rice flour.

This is the small mill.

Interesting way to cook rice. Smells good.

Sugar cane grinders, uses leverage to squeeze out juice from the sugar canes.

The fruit (or juice) of our labor.

Cheers!

The masters there were good at bamboo weaving, but we only learned to make stars.

We wrapped up our experience with a delicious meal.

The rice wine wasn't the best, but it was interesting.

Desert time!

What a great way to wrap up an awesome experience!

The Rice Experience at Living Land Farm was fantastic, definitely exceeded our expectations. The tour guide explains the 13 steps of making rice and lets you try hands-on each of the steps. Very unique, fun and educational!

Voyagers tips: Book directly on their website, and they’ll contact you via email to confirm the reservation. You pay upon arrival, either with card or with cash.

phousi hill sunset

There's an entrance from the middle of the night market street, but we followed google and took a long detour. Google isn't always reliable.

The hike isn't long, but the climb was definitely a good workout, especially in the heat and humidity.

The view is already great half way up.

This is a very popular spot in LPB, the most popular spot for sunsets.

Pollution makes for a more dreamy sunset. Sad, but true.

This rock that juts out makes a great picture, people line up to take pictures on it.

Going... going... gone!

Top of the hill where we watched sunset.

Time to head back down.

Night market is a tent city. Hard to believe this entire market is put up and taken down completely every evening.

We headed to Buong for a nice dinner afterwards. Good food, good ambiance, great place to enjoy a meal.

Mount Phousi, or Phousi Hill, is by far the most popular spot for sunset. The view is indeed beautiful there, if you can get past the crowds.

Voyagers tips: Don’t trust Google Maps, it takes you to a side street away from the night market street. There is an entrance near the middle of the night market, and both entrances work, so pick one that’s closest for you. The climb takes about 20-30 minutes and is pretty steep. Plan to get up there about half an hour before sunset to take some pictures before sunset. Expect big crowds.