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This log is current to February 16, 2009 January 14, 2009 in Luang Nam The bridge itself is a challenge for someone Don’s size. He felt certain he’d break through and fall into the Namtha River. He lucked out, again. Most people walk across, or push bicycles. We saw a few brave souls riding motorbikes across. In the village, the houses are high on stilts. The people are friendly and live simple but, in some cases, fascinating lives. Photo: This man and his wife spin yarn and twine from local trees and plants. They invited us up to their home to watch, and take pictures (check our video page). They didn’t ask anything of us, and seemed pleased that we were interested in what they do. I doubt we could manufacture a device like this from bamboo. Village children were darling, and quite interested i Change of plans: we had intended to travel further northwest, to Muang Sing, very near the Mekong and both China and Burma. We changed our minds when other travelers returned from that area complaining about the cost of touring, the lack of other travelers to share th So we remained in Luang Namtha and he vicinity for four nights, riding bikes and walking through the area. We were fascinated by what appeared to be homemade trucks with Chinese tractor engines. In this photo, a man is washing his truck in the middle of the Namtha River. This is the dry season. He wouldn’t be doing that in July! We came across farmers working in the rice fields and quickly gained a new appreciation for the work involved in rice production. They were re-bedding plants, a highly labor-intensive process. They seemed as interested in us as we were in them. Warning to visitors using the town map for bicyclists: The scale is wildly inaccurate. What looks like about 5 miles is actually almost twenty. At one point we thought we were going to have to hitch a ride back to town. In this area, it was the delightful ch January 16, 2009 in Moung Khua Unfortunately, it would have taken two painful days on cramped, slow busses just to get to the starting point near Hat Xi. Instead, we joined a delightful couple from New Zealand, John and Shane, and shared the $170 cost of a van to take us directly to Muang Khua, a town on the Ou river south of our intended starting point. This turned out to be a smart decision, since there are fewer visitors in Laos this year (likely due to the political problems in Thailand). We probably would have had to charter an entire boat to our next destination. When we arrived in Muang Khua, it didn’t take long to realize the town wasn’t the kind of place one wants to hang around. We went to On the riverbank we found a family of pigs who had learned that sometimes, when goods are transferred between boats and vehicles, food gets spilled. In the background of this picture is the road on the far side of the river that leads to Vietnam. January 17, 2009 The trip down river was only three and a half hours, but it was beautiful! Our goal was Muang Ngoi Neua (spelled several ways). Muang Gnoi Neua has no electricity, room heat, hot water, refrigeration, or motorized vehicles of any kind (other than boats). There January 21, 2009: leaving the Lattanavongsa Guesthouse. We did get the manager to give us a thermos of hot water once a day, so we could avoid cold showers. It seemed the least he could do, since this was the m However, the town and area itself was terrific. We loved it. Photo: this is the town’s main street. It consists of small shops, guesthouses and a few “restaurants” and bars. It terminates at a small commercial sauna (and huge mountain). It is the kind of place where even as people bustle around and boats come and go, time seems to stand still. In the evening, a few businesses fired up gasoline generators to run a few lights, but by mid evening the entire town was pretty much put to bed. Many visitors enjoyed the last rays of sunlight sipping Lao Beer on one of the several platform/bars overlooking the river. This town is a treasure, once you get past the lack of creature comforts. It may be a sad thing that within a few ye The caves three kilometers east of town are a major attraction. They are huge caverns in which members of the Communist Lao insurgency hid from American bombing raids -- attacks conducted not just at the request of the then-Lao government, but because the caves are on the route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which during the Vietnam war was supplying weapons and manpower to the Vietcong. Photo: inside one of the ca Many of the bombs dropped during the war failed to explode, and many innocent people in the years since have stumbled across them and been killed. All across the area one finds defused bomb casings and cluster bomb casings. Per capita, more tons of bombs were dropped on Laos than on Vietnam -- an average of a planeload every seven minutes, 24/7. One needn’t get into a political discussion about merits of the Vietnam war, or the broader and ongoing conflicts throughout the region down through the centuries to understand that many people have died here throu When we were in Laos two years ago, we came across a place on the Mekong where a 500 pound bomb dropped by an American military plane in the 1960s had been discovered, and was detonated. When it blew up, the shock to us was both physical and emotional. Still, these people carry on their lives without showing the pain of war. We asked one young man about it. He smiled understandingly and said, “Look, that was my father’s generation. It is not mine. I only look ahead. We need to see the future, not t This morning we got on a boat (20,000 kip -- about $2.40) for the 52-minute trip down river to Nong Kiau. The difference there was immediately apparent -- electricity and all the trappings of a more modern life. This bridge carries traffic on to the Vietnamese border, from Luang Prabang, further south. The towns on each bank have different names, but people tend to call them both Nong Kiau. We were so thrilled to be in this beautiful pla January 28,, 2009, leaving Nong Kiau We found even bigger caves -- ones used by the Pathet Lao as a Ho Chi Minh Trail command quarters. It held 50 We shot video in the caves. Some of it turned out so nicely that we’ll post it on the videos page of this website. Meanwhile, the picture on the left is one more reminder of the wars waged here, and the price these people have paid to live here. Finally, it came time to leave. Because we needed twelve people to come up with 110,000 Kip each ($13.50), Becky posted a signup The previous day, only four people wanted to go down river to Luang Prabang (about 5.5 hrs), but Becky’s sign must have worked, because there were about thirty today and two boats had to be used. We were saddened to leave this place. It is now one of our favorites of all time, and I know we will return. Our trip south was not uneventful. It was awesomely beautiful, and deceptively dangerous. At one point, in rapids, the boat in front of us hit a rock wall and damaged its propeller and rudder. We were on top of it in moments and very nearly rammed it. Had that occurred, two boatloads of people could have been thrown into the roiling water. A woman at the stern of the stricken boat tried to pole the vessel away from rocks, but she soon lost her pole to the river. At the last moment, our captain ran at full power and we slipped past the bow of the other boa We stopped down river on a sand bank and looked back to see the other captain in the water, working on his boat. Using boulders to straighten his prop, and bamboo to shore up his rudder, he had his boat operating within a half hour. We were all greatly relieved. We ran in tandem with the other boat the remaining hours on the trip south. The other boat’s engine was smoking badly, and again quit briefly. The trip itself was magnificent, as beautiful a ride as c We fully intend to return to this area before Laos is completely overrun with tourists and things start changing radically. We feel most fortunate to have visited this wonderful country three times. We are certain to return someday. January 30, 2009 in Luang Prabang Meanwhile, we won’t soon forget our travels in Laos -- overland in the northwest, via water in the northeast. If you must choose but one area, we recommend the northeast. We have a single month left in Asia on this, our sixth time here together. We’re making new plans to explore new places in the country, and will post them in our next log. You may wish to view our newest Thailand and Lao photos in our galleries. Double clicking a gallery p February 11, 2009 When we planned this expedition, the criteria were (1) we only get Thai vista 30 days at a time, (2) we need at least three weeks in Laos, (3) we couldn’t miss the Chiang Mai flower festival. It worked perfectly. We left for Laos on day 30 of our first Thai via, and will leave for America on day 30 of our current visa. And, we got back to Thailand in time for the flower festival. Especially interesting about the festival was the The festival lasted two full days. Fortunately the temperature was only in the 80s. Still, it was clear that many of these people were hot and tired by the time it was over. See larger photos in the Thai Photo Galleries. Also watch for new videos on the Videos page. We have always opposed touring ethnic sites that charge an entrance fee, feeling the the experience would not be authentic. We b This is not a “dog and pony” show. This village is populated with members of the Karen Hill Tribe community who formerly lived in Burma but were driven out by the oppression of the Burmese Army, which is doing its best to murder or drive out of the country Karen and other minorities. Most of the people in this small village -- the women known as the “long necks” -- spent years in one of the ten refugee camps along he Thai/Burma b Unable to return to possible death at the hands of the Burma Army, and not allowed to immigrate into Thailand and obtain employment, they are stuck. There are people in the 20s who were born in the camps and have little hope of living a normal live. A few lucky people, such as the ones in these pictures, were allowed to come to the village we visited, where the entrance fee and items they can make and sell to visitors provide their income. Some entrance fee money goes back to relatives still in the refugee camps. One women who is unable to read or write in any language, has learned English from tourists visiting her village. We recorded in high definition video her candid comments about her life and her prospects for the future. They are troubling, enlighten Before then, we will talk with the leader of the “Free Burma Rangers,” a group of people led by a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer. The Rangers undertake clandestine missions in to Burma, providing aid and comfort to people in Karen villages, and many others who have been driven from their homes and are on the run. Several Rangers have been killed by the Burma Army, but they persevere. We continue to regret that the world’s media remains so focused on the mid-east that the horrifying situation in Burma receives little coverage. On an entirely different topic, we are pleased to View more pictures of the Karen Padaung Village, and Thailand’s orchids -- both beautiful in their own way -- in our Thailand Photo Galleries. New plan: We’ve decided to return to the Krabi area in southern Thailand for a few days. We’ll depart Chiang Mai on the 18th and return the 23rd. For the first time, we’ll take a high def. video camera. After we return to Chiang Mai, we’ll only be here six more days before beginning the long series of flights back to headquarters in Montana. |
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tha, Laos
n us. These people have maintained their distinct culture, even though there is a strong and growing Chinese influence along these border regions. Luang Namtha is located on the highway that is being upgraded and in some cases rebuilt from China down to southern SE Asia. It will be a major route when completed.
e expense of guides, uninteresting hilltribe experiences and local markets, and highly polluted air.
ildren who most moved us. Their inquisitiveness and native good cheer will remain in mind for a very long time. How could you forget a face like this? Photo: a Mon village girl.
the river crossing (there is no bridge, just a rather clever ferry system for vehicles going to and coming from the border crossing into Vietnam to the east.
ach. We could only round up six people, so we all had to chip in to buy the final three tickets.
are no roads here -- of any kind. Everyone coming or leaving does so via the Nam Ou.
ost expensive place in town, even before he tried to overcharge us. We also had no luck pleading for maid or even waste basket disposal during our stay -- this in a place that allows nothing to be flushed down the toilet.
ars there will be full time electricity and significant development of the tourist industry.
ves, looking out.
gh no fault of their own.
he past.”
ce that we checked into a bungalow at the Riverside Guesthouse, the best in town. Because it was expensive for us (300,000 Kip, about $37, less a 15% discount for three days or more), we thought we would stay a single night. But once we got to bungalow and saw the incredible view and cuddled up in the electric blanket (!) we were hooked. We ended up staying a week!
0 people during the war and included management, banking and related offices within.
sheet at the boat ramp.
t with only inches to spare.
an be imagined.
Thailand.
icture pops it up.
chance to see scores of ethnic minorities in traditional clothing.
roke our own rule outside Chiang Mai and toured the Karen Padaung Village (500 baht). We were not sorry.
order. 
ing, and even inspiring. We will edit the tape and post her story on our videos page as soon as we return to America.
be in northern Thailand during the flower season.