In speaking on behalf of the teacher team, there have been many awe-inspiring sights that have surprised us on this trip – wild scorpions, meandering elephants on the highway, and picturesque waterfalls to name a few. Without question, though, one of the most surprising experiences encountered this week would be hearing the students say they appreciated being able to wake up at 7:30 AM today as this is what was now considered “sleeping in.” Granted, the extra thirty minutes of sleep did truly prove to be crucial as today ended up being a lot busier than many of us anticipated.

Our day began (for at least some of us who decided to start a bit earlier) with one final wander up to the worksite before our departure. A bittersweet endeavor, no doubt; we couldn’t help but notice just how quiet and still the site felt when only 24 hours earlier it was brimming with life, laughter, and energy. That being said, as we quietly beheld our contributions to the eco-dormitory after our four days there, so much was said without saying anything at all.

Returning to the village, we enjoyed one final breakfast, reluctantly said goodbye to our homestay hosts and the community children who had woken up early enough to bid us farewell, avoided any further eye contact with the squat toilet, and were on our way. Returning to the very boat that carried us down the Mekong a short four days earlier, we enjoyed a quiet mist-filled cruise further down the river. Well, as quiet as Mr. Dunn could be as he painfully listened to the Edmonton Oilers lose another hockey game, much to the chagrin of the Vancouver Canucks- supporting Ms. Lam and Calgary Flames- supporting Ms. Doland.

Reaching our arrival point, we made our way through a small suburb of Luang Prabang before entering the trails into the mountains, which offered superb views of the rice fields and rugged countryside. It was here that we casually trekked through the lush greenery, tiptoeing around the MANY spiderwebs that kept most of us (or a few of us) on edge, and learning various tricks of the jungle, such as “grass arrows” as well as “tea tree bleeding,” from our guide, My. A beautiful walk, no doubt; though confirming for many of us that leg day won’t be in the schedule anytime soon when we get back to Macao.

At the end of our hike, we found ourselves at the doorstep of one of Luang Prabang’s most renowned natural parks. Quickly devouring lunch at a local restaurant (might be an understatement – four days of rice and vegetables will do that to you), we journeyed into the park where we were dwarfed by the spectacular Kuang Si waterfall. It was here where we were able to finally get some rest and relaxation in through the natural rehabilitation of swimming in the waterfalls’ bathing pools. This was definitely the best way to deal with all the various sore muscles gained from the week’s labour.

Our time in the park came to an end with a visit to the nearby Black Bear Rescue Center where we learned all about issues surrounding bear survival in Laos as well as across South East Asia. We were also given the opportunity to peer into the lives of several young rescue bears who’d manage to luckily find their way into the hands’ of the Center. While highly informative and inspiring, the information and stories about the bears on site were heartbreaking, and prompted many of us to consider how we can strive to reduce, if not eliminate, the issues plaguing bears in the area.

With energy waning, our final journey back to Luang Prabang was interrupted one final time with a stop at the self-proclaimed “best ice cream in Laos” Buffalo-milk ice cream stand. With the amount of satisfied faces (who would’ve thought that pumpkin pie ice cream would be as good as it is), no one was complaining to have made the last pitstop. Fortunately, the ice cream did not manage to ruin anybody’s appetite either as, after arriving in Luang Prabang and quickly showering a week’s worth of dirt, dust, mud, blood, and the like away, we made our way to arguably our best meal of the trip. From curry to beef chili, French fries, soup, and… more rice… the entire team walked away very full and very happy.

Despite the long day, the TIS team managed to somehow spend the remainder of our evening exploring the Night Market one final time, grabbing a few more souvenirs for friends and family, as well as to stock up on more comfy elephant pants unavailable in Macao. As you can imagine, if your impression was of a group of zombies only a few days prior, we were that much closer to the living dead now. Thankfully, we managed to get rid of the stale, grotesque scent of four day old body odor with our showers prior to going out for dinner. Had we not, I fear we may actually HAVE been mistaken for mindless zombies.