Indo China 2

Firstly an explanation for the delay  - not that I am under any conditions to post this stuff  - but I have been asked if I had stopped blogging. Although I have been able to access the net to download, getting a good enough connection to upload, especially with HD pictures has been really tricky lately. So blogs will continue but only when I am able to do so and I hope you keep enjoying them.

No doubt you will recall the almighty thunderstorm and my misgivings about its impact on our progress, fortunately my fears were unfounded. The torrential rain soaked away quickly and by the time we left for the border it was back to normal with a clear sky and breakfast temperatures already in the mid 30’s

We had to cross the Mekong to get into Laos and after a formal, red tape laden 10 minute check out from Thailand we all piled into a dodgy ferry and sped across the 60/70 metres of muddy water to the second country of the trip.

Although neighbours there are aspects of Thailand and Laos that put them worlds apart, evident even from getting on and off the ferry. On the Thai side it is a walk down a tarmac path, a step onto a small concrete plinth and from there onto the boat. Don’t get me wrong, the Health and Safety Executive would still have had a field day here, but on the Laos side – and by the way you don’t pronounce the  ‘s’ -  the boat rammed itself into the mud and you had to walk  a very unsteady plank, from there up a mud bank to a steep, broken concrete path, not that easy with 30Kg of luggage!!

 

A totally disorganized border office, a clear disinterest in Duty Free facilities and a rather daunting beetle were the entertainment for an hour whilst immigration did their best to chat up every young female entering the country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then it was off in a small bus to meet our next transportation, a slow river boat, which was to be home for the next couple of days as we ‘cruised’ some 350kms down one of the great rivers of Asia

The boat was a family run affair with dad as captain steering at the front and mum and daughter confined to a rear room that doubled as both the kitchen and their sleeping quarters, but was also home to a deafening, hot, smelly engine. We were also joined by the first of the many encyclopaedic local tour guides that we would pick up on our travels, and a pilot to help the captain navigate some of the more treacherous parts of the river.

 

The boat was open sided affording a cool breeze as we sat, on what I was sure used to be, the seats from half a dozen old Ford  cortinas, nailed to planks of wood in pairs  around wooden tables, but everyone was in good spirits, mum cooked us a superb lunch and we watched the countryside drift by only interrupted by the odd rice carrying barge, fellow slow boat or motorcycle helmet wearing, speed freak water taxi that sped up and down the river seemingly oblivious to the risk of hitting any of the huge amounts of tree debris that floated on, or lurked perilously close to, the surface of the water and which we scraped over from time to time.

Either side of the river the rich green vegetation varied between forest and crops and the river banks and waters edge was populated by kids playing and swimming, fishermen, gold panners, women doing their laundry, spreading out the clothes on the rocks to dry, men collecting wood and the occasional herd of water buffalo.

As the scenery changed, so did the river, from placid slow moving pools to hectic rapids and violent reverse eddies, that caused you to doubt which way the river was flowing, especially when we passed some of the huge rocks that studded our route, and which the pilot helped to navigate us through.

All of this against a mixed backdrop of soaring mist wrapped peaks or flat, seemingly endless plains, it was  stunning.

Laos is a particularly mountainous country with less than 15% of its landmass available for what might be deemed ‘standard’ cultivation so farmers attempt to cultivate mountainsides and are clearing them by the slash and burn technique (cut what you can, set fire to the  rest), this technique leaves huge black scars on the landscape, no doubt reminiscent of what it must have looked like following the US’s deforestation attempts during what is known here as the ‘American War’.

This blog was always intended to be a predominantly light hearted diary-type record of my adventure, but the plight of Laos was quite disturbing and I wanted to note something about it.

 Although not a direct participant in the conflict, the people of Laos suffered, and continue to suffer, appalling casualties as a result of the American decision to bomb the country back to the Stone age and the figures are mind boggling

 A massive aerial bombardment against Laos and NVA forces was carried out by the United States in an attempt to prevent the collapse of Lao's central government and to curtail the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It has been reported that Laos was hit by an average of one B‑52 bombload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. U.S. bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the World War II and of the 260 million bombs that rained down, some 80 million failed to explode and a high proportion of these were cluster bombs ie dozens of small bomblets that spread out from the one shell, leaving a deadly legacy. Laos is officially the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in the world and casualties from unexploded ordnance are still reported almost daily.

Ironically some good is coming out of addressing the problems as it provides work for the lucky few, but for unfortunate individuals, the cost is catastrophic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhVq-9Y5n-Y

This is what a cluster bomb would look like on impact

 

We spent our first night in Pak Beng, a small village half way through the river trip and the following day carried on for a few hours before stopping to allow us to climb up to the Pak Ou caves. They were not  amazing, but it is considered a spiritual site and is home to thousands of Buddah statues, but what was remarkable, was that at about 25 metres above the water level, there was a line drawn marking the river height in 1966. From the cave, apart from the odd isolated hill, as far as you can see the surrounding countryside is flat, it is not as if a valley flooded, it was 25 metres deep for miles!!!

Eventually, after about 10 hours, we arrived at our next destination Luang Prabang where we spent three nights. It is a UNESCO World Heritage town, regarded by some as one of the most charming in SE Asia, and a great chance to check out some of the 32 local temples   ....  o joy.

The light relief was the chance to visit a busy and extensive night market, a great day out visiting a very impressive waterfall and lake system and a charming evening at a local home where a couple of old ladies cooked and served us a traditional evening meal.

 

Another full day travelling, this time in a small mini bus through some quite hairy mountain roads, bought us to Vang Vieng. Again we had three nights here, the first in a homestay  ie living like a local in a small village. Think Tenko with a smile and you are half way there. The villagers were a delight, especially the kids, but the accommodation.....OMG..... hard, uncomfortable beds in a smelly, unventilated, un air conditioned room you share with a couple of geckos and few dozen mosquitoes and the delights of a squat toilet. ( You were lucky, we used to dream of having a squat toilet .......)

 

The next day it was only a 10 minute drive back to the 21st century  and to be honest if I had known that the night before I would have cut and run from thr homestay and splashed out the probable £6 cost of staying in a hotel on my own.

We had 2 nights in Vang Vieng which I had hoped to use to take a hot air balloon trip over the mountains but the weather was not favourable and having learned that there had been 5 recent balloon incidents (!!) I was not happy to risk it in anything other than perfect conditions.

These were a couple of days chill out and gave me a chance to sort out laundry, take a few walks and have a few nice meals, especially an unexpected combination of Laos/Austrian cuisine from a little restaurant I found in the backstreets, where a local was busy entertaining a few visitors with, and later gave me the opportunity to play, a diggeridoo, although perhaps ‘play’ is gilding the lilly somewhat, as it was more like an elephant farting in a pressure cooker when I tried it, much to the amusement of my fellow diners, but the food and cocktails were fab.

 

The final leg of the trip was a relatively painless 4 hours drive to the capital Vientiane. More of the same stuff culturally ie temples stupas etc plus a visit to a centre dedicated to helping the victims of the unexploded ordnance I have referred to above which was quite moving, and then that was it.

Laos was great, simple, in many ways backward, but charming, friendly and honest, but for how much longer?

 My one fear for the place is that China is befriending Laos and offering to build roads and rail links which, it cannot be denied it is desperate for, but in exchange for what? Laos has very little apart from its timber and its potential for HEP generation both on the Meekong and in the mountains, and China needs both in ever increasing quantities. It also needs major construction projects for its own workers. It may be cynical but I picked up some of these reservations from talking with people as I travelled and I just hope that someone will ensure that Laos gets a fair deal out its dealings with its ‘benefactor’.

Ok   next stop Vietnam