A Trip up the Mekong

The Mekong traverses major parts of Asia, descending from the Tibetan plateau in China, through or adjacent to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  Prior to this trip, I had never seen the Mekong...I just never made the time to go to the delta region when living in Vietnam.

The Mekong shortly after sunrise

This was dry season. The Mekong was low, vast areas of sandbars were exposed, and the river had retreated from its banks.  River boats were still plying their routes.  In a number of places we saw large bridges being built to span the river, Huay Xai and near Sainabuli are but two examples.  Roads are being built to ease transit between cities in Laos, and reliance on the river for transport is beginning to decline.  You can no longer able to travel by boat between Vientiane and Luang Prabang.  Dams are planned for the middle Mekong in Laos, and in the upper reaches of the Mekong in China.  In a few years the river will be managed with all the problems associated with the lower Mississippi River.  We decided to go upstream from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai by riverboat so we could experience travel on the river before it disappears forever.

The Mekong in the morning mist

I was reminded of how difficult travel could be in the 19th and early 20th century when reading a history of Laos.  French colonial officials would spend 6 weeks travelling from France to Saigon in Vietnam, and then spend and additional 6-8 weeks travelling up the Mekong by boat to Vientiane.  And the mortality rate was extremely high due to Malaria and other tropical diseases.  Talk about a hazardous duty assignment.  Today, moderately hard travel has us sleeping under chemically treated mosquito nets only in infested areas, and drinking bottled water.  For most of our travel we don't take anti-malarial drugs.  I can no longer count on losing 10-15 lb on a trip to SE Asia.  Maybe we are travelling at a higher level than we used to or health conditions are improving.  I think it is a combination of both.

River traffic on the Mekong - a slow boat

For our river travel, we had several choices: slow boat, speedboat, or a "luxury slow boat." We chose the later, in part because we wanted relative comfort (seat pads), non-overloaded boats as is the case of the slow boat, and to protect our hearing (on the speedboat passengers wear helmets).  The speedboats are basically longboats with an automotive engine on the rear powering a direct drive prop.

We took a short trip by tuk-tuk from our hotel to the dock at 6:45 am.  At the dock we were met by the staff who checked us off a list maintained on a smart phone.  We produced passports for checking-in.  Our luggage....two roller-boards were carried down the steep uneven steps from the street to the boat.  Water level was 100 feet below street level.  We boarded and the luggage was stowed below decks.  As we settled in fellow passengers arrived,  mostly a French tour group, with a smattering of Australians, British, and eastern Europeans.  A young Australian we met at the Elephant Conservation Centre was among the last to board.  He had just returned from Veng Vang and was suffering from several days of heavy partying.

Promptly at 7 am we were off.  We had two pilots and several additional crew members.  A short safety instruction was given in French.  Evidently, life preservers were available, but in a locked cabinet under the pilots platform in the bow.  We were assured the pilots were very experienced.  Shortly after departure breakfast was served, french pastry, fruit, juice, and coffee/tea.

Exposed rock formations in the Mekong - dry season water levels

As we moved up the river, we could see the towering rock formations that line the river channel.  Since it was dry season, all the formations were exposed.  Navigation guides on top of the rock formations, were obviously well worn over the years when the river was at flood stage.

An altar in the lower cave of Pak Ou

About 90 minutes after departure our first port of call, the Pak Ou Caves.  This was a short stop, 20-30 minutes.  We climbed up to the caves which contained hundreds of Buddha images.  We lit prayer lamps and joss sticks while thinking of a sick friend.    According to the guide, the Laotian king would annually make a pilgrimage to the caves to honor the Buddhas.  We visited only the lower cave, forgoing another steep climb to the upper cave.

Pak Ou Cave

After departing Pak Ou Caves  we cruised upriver, making a short stop to pick up some tourists who stayed at a remote lodge along the river.  We saw large beach areas along the river.  While beaches looked arid, it was evidently fertile with corn, beans, squash and peanuts.  Some crops were ready to be harvested. At one stop, we were told that freak rains and winds a month earlier had destroyed the maturing corn crop.  Villagers raise chickens, pigs, cattle, goats, and water buffalo.  Animal production is a "cash" crop and the meat is not eaten within the village.  Other protein sources are used.  As a bird watcher we met later in Malaysia said of Laotians,  if it moved, they ate it.

A Lao-Tai village

A whiskey still

Villages are located on the bluffs above the river.  Villagers build bamboo thatched walkways to get over the sandy beach.  We stopped at a "whiskey" village, with an operational rice whiskey still.  I sampled and it reminded me of rice wine I tasted near Dak To in Vietnam.  I did not purchase any, but we purchased locally produced Hmong textiles in this mixed Lao/Hmong village.  The Lao government has moved the Hmong closer to the river so it can provide services.

Village weavers selling cloths

A child in the village

Village scene

Along Lao-Tai, Hmong, and Kamu rivers villages seem to line the riverbank.  Each ethnic group has its own style of housing, with Lao-Tai, and Hmong building on the ground and Kamu building on raised stilts.  In this area electricity is available, as well as satellite dishes.   In one village, electricity was installed a year ago, and an electric meter I looked at showed a grand total of 256 kwh used in one year.  (When in Raleigh, NC,  our base usage was 1,000 kwh per month).   A local medical officer was present and we were told schools were nearby on the outskirts with one primary school serving several villages.

The village medical officer

  Secondary schools are in larger communities.  While most of the villages were served by roads, river travel was preferred due to speed, and I think comfort (no potholes).

Gardens on the banks of the Mekong

Padi field after harvest

Besides the crops listed above, a hay like plant with fronds that are used for household brooms.  padi is grown.  It appears the Lao-Tai have first choice on the padi field, with the Hmong, and Kamu relegated to more remote fields.  In the villages among the Kamu, individual plots of land are allocated to a family.  As the family grows and children marry, the plots are subdivided for household formation.  When the plots can not longer sustain subdivision a request is made to the village head and additional land is allocated on the village fringe.  The villages we saw had about 800 inhabitants.

Village products

Palm fronds are dried on the sand banks. Children spend time beating them on the sand to free them from their seeds. Behind the villages were padi fields.

Sunset on the Mekong as we approach Pak Beng

We stopped at Luang Say Lodge at Pak Beng for the night.  Shortly after arrival, we were treated to a dance performance with Hmong, Lao-Tai and Kamu dances.  As in most tourist performances, audience members are invited to dance.  They always seem to pick on Liz, an ardent non-dancer graciously joined in.  Hotel employment assists the local economy, by hiring and training locals, and by setting standards for local agricultural production.  The food was acceptable, and the hotel had an extensive French wine list at reasonable prices.  I took advantage of the clear sky to use our Sky Scout to look at the stars, something we virtually never see in Kuala Lumpur.

The next day included one village visit, a customs stop when the boat entered the area where the Mekong served as the border between Thailand and Laos.  We could compare the relative economies of the two countries.  Thailand appeared to have a higher standard of living, with a lot of road construction and river levies being built.

Proof that a mosquito net can be romantic

At 5 pm we docked in Huay Xai.  Our fellow passengers hurried off to exit Laos, and cross the river to Thailand before the immigration and customs offices closed at 6 pm.  We chose to stay at a local hotel.  We left the next morning by air to Vientiane.  Lonely Planet wondered why the airport was built at the top of a hill.  The simple explanation is security, and why build on the flatland where padi and other crops can be grown.  It reminded me of the remote airports in the mountains of central Vietnam.  We flew on a Laotian Airlines MA-60 (a Chinese manufactured two-engine short field aircraft which I later found had been banned from flying in Indonesia and has not been approved for flying in Europe and North America).

A SMART has migrated from SW China

Dogs are used as movable billboards for a local mobile phone company

Airport Security (an X-ray was available and used)

Our aircraft to Vientiane