Well deserved break - This photo was taken on a trekking - or raher a pleasant all-day walk - through the rice paddies from Batutumonga high in the hills above Rantepao to a small village, the name of which I don't remember. Before sitting down for a short break, these boys picked rice from one of the fields - all done by hand, naturally. Due to the expenses connected to cultivating the land with machines and rugged landscape, everything in these hills (as well as on most of the plains as well) is done by hand. Water buffaloes are used for ploughing and the rest of the tedious rice growing business is done manually. Now that's what I call hard work. Children start to help out at a very early age and still manage not to lose their smile.