Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, Laos
In Vang Viang I came across a most spectacular photo in the guest house I was staying in. It was behind the reception, and looked like it was from a magazine clipping. The photo was taken in 1973 and it was of about one dozen US soldiers holding an enormous eel which must have been at least 30 feet long. The head of the eel looked dragon like, unearthly almost.
As I looked at the photo, I wondered if this was the same animal that adorned the Buddhist temples throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Was this the mystical "naga", a giant serpent that guarded the gates of the spirit realm?
I went on a one day kayak trip along the Nam Khan river near Luang Prabang and asked Mai , our guide about the photo. Mai, like most Lao men was a monk as a boy (for five years) and knew all about the Naga. He knew of the photo, which is quite famous to the Lao, and affirmed that yes, indeed it was the mystical "naga" which occupies the deep cave waters of the Mekong river. Evidently all of the soldiers in the photo died shortly after killing the animal, and there have been different accounts of other such serpents being caught, killed, and eaten. The hunters all met unfortunate premature endings...hence the belief that to kill such a creature is absolute bad luck. Some Naga have been described as giant electric eels, others massive anaconda-like snakes with 12 noses. Whatever the case, that photo (which is nowhere on the web) exists, and is quite incredible. Let's just say I am a true believer of the great naga and wouldn't want to meet it in a dark cave while diving.
As we kayaked down the Nam Khan we noticed a giant butterfly flapping in the river. It's wings were the size of my hand and it was drowning. We paddled over to save it and Mai picked it up with his oar quite gracefully (which I was unable to do). Within a few minutes, its wings were dry and it flew away. "Good buddhists...we save it" Mai said.
Later along the river we saw a skipping fish, a small rainbow fish that jumps out of the water and flys along the surface, skipping for about 20 or 30 feet. It was quite amazing and bazaar!!!
All along the Mekong and Nam Khan, different tribal people live (Akah,Hmong,Karen are just a few), growing cucumbers, lettuce, bananas, and anything that will grow along the banks. Many of the tribes originate from China, Tibet and Mongolia. They have a very Tibetan look (and manner about them), hence the easy going nature of the region. Smiling and friendly, the people always wave as you float by, (alien- like in helmet, life vest and firey red sea kayak looking completely like a tourist).
So many people rely on the rivers for their livelihood and sustenance. Fishing and collecting river moss (mekong weed) to make a dried, nori like edible paper (that is quite delicious with tomatos and garlic) are the main activities of those who venture into the upper waters of the Nam Khan, away from town.
It becomes hard to believe that every village in Laos (with the exception of Luang Prabang because the Royal Family sided with the Americans) was bombed to oblivion. But considering Lao's lack of infrastructure it becomes apparent that the scars run deep. Like Cambodia, Laos is a forgotten country in America's war in Vietnam. Just about every villager had to live in a cave, or underground during the relentless bombings. It's strange how Vietnam, thirty years later) ended up in much better shape than these two countries. Cambodia and Laos really were collatoral damage nations that have been written out of the history books, but carry on, if by a limp. It makes you wonder of all the other countries who have been forgetten, unfortunate neighbors in a strategic war against communism, drugs, terrorism, or whatever the US felt like justified mass killing at that moment in history.
As we float away from the villages and closer to Luang Prabang, you see the effects of the market economy seeping in. The activities on the river changes. Illegal logging of teak is becoming a big economy for locals, as is dredging the river of sand to make cement. Their small fishing boats (about 15 inches in width and 15 feet long) sink with the weight of the sand. Every boat is just inches above the water as its owner desperately tries to scoop the water out to keep the vessel from sinking to the bottom. It is a tremendously powerful symbolic image of the third world's predicament. A simple wooden boat, sinking, taking the life of the river to a large catipillar truck near town, the boat owner barely keeping the vessel from catastrophically sinking to the bottom (effectively ending his livelihood). Everything seems to be hanging by a thread the closer you get to "civilization".
And with that "civilization" comes tourism. Every town you go to in this part of the world, it seems caters to tourists hand and foot due to the industry's economic importance. The most disturbing aspect of which is the prostitution. Everywhere I go I see older men with young southeast asian women. Some of these men I see in multiple towns, each town carrying a different woman on his arm. It's gross. These men are fat, ugly and usually in their 50's and above, the women look 19 (sometimes even younger?). Child prostitution is out of control particularly in Cambodia and Laos. The Thai have begun to crack down on it more. Money and poverty, West and East....it seems so easy to tip the scales and create an imbalance with such extremes (most of my rooms I have been in cost no more than $5 a night..hot shower ensuite and sometimes cable TV!). It's dead cheap here for westerners. But the locals also pay a price. This imbalance forces an economy of prostitutes, beggers, maids and drug lords into the economic mainstream where before such occupations were in the minority. From my naive eye, it seems that those who live upriver, away from the towns seem to have it better, but I am sure they have their hardships as well (lack of clean water and medical care being examples).
I left Luang Prabang and headed to the Thai border by taking a two day slow boat up the Mekong. The first day was alright as the boat had plush airline seats (made for tourists) and relatively little hassle. We arrived in Pakbeng, one of those towns that wouldn't exist if the two slow boats didn't stop and drop off the tourists at night on the way to and from Thailand. The town's entire economy revolved around guesthouses and making sandwiches for our next days journey. It seems like every man woman and child wanted to make me a ham sandwhich in that village.
The guesthouse I stayed in was basically a rat infested chicken coop (which a family of five also called home). None of the tourists (myself included) got sleep because of the scurrying rodents (it sounded like there were hundreds of them on the roof, in the walls, on the floor under your bed... and I had earplugs!).
The next day, our plush boat vanished (this time the locals got to take it up river...well deserved I might add) and we got to take the local boat. It was twice as small, and had seats that were basically two by four pieces of wood benches, with enough leg space for small Asian people, but not big fat corn fed westerners.
In the first thirty minutes, water began to pour onto the passengers from the engine room. The Japanese toursists screamed like they were in a Godzilla movie and I looked up to see a waterful coming at all of us. The driver ran back and put the cap back on (good thing it was just the cap that popped off). About 3 hours into the journey, the engine began to smoke and we had to pull the boat over. Luckily some villager children were standing along the banks and they grabbed a rope (tiny 5 and 6 year olds were saving us from helplessly floating down the Mekong).
An idiot American guy started taking pictures of the children while we were all convinced the boat was about to blow from an engine fire. Many tourists seem to be really disrespectful in this department. Hilltribe Lao believe that taking a photo steals your soul and they become really distressed over it. He didn't care, he was just snapping away, happy to add to his collection to show to his friends back in Oakland. We all wanted to throw him to the naga.
They got the boat going again (it just needed more oil evidently), but the driver had a really distressed look on his face throughout the rest of the journey. His wife sat up front with her baby daughter, she would occasionally go back to the engine room (which was also their living quarters) and make food, hang the laundry or just do general chores. Such instances of drama seemed to be second nature to them, it was like brushing one's teeth.
I knew the border crossing would close at 5:30, and the boat man (regardless of the mishaps) seemed to be making good time. At 4:30, he began to slow the boat down, and in the last leg, started doing huge zig zags across the river, from one side of the bank to the other. We didn't know why until we arrived...10 minutes after the border closed to Houxai. Yes, it was another town that existed solely because of tourists from the two slow boats! Of course, it became apparent that our driver probably got some kind of kick back from the local guesthouses and restaurants if he brought a boatload of 15 stranded rich westerners with time on their hands and money to spend. Yes, such is the ways of South East Asia. Kickbacks, bribes and dodgy business practices...money talks (even louder in poverty stricken nations I suppose). It would be so easy to get angry about this, but there is no point. Some folks on the boat lost it when they got off (I can't blame them) as we all walked 2 km in the dark to the nearest guest house. We had to make this treck because he dropped us off up river so we definately wouldn't make the checkpoint on time. It was, dare I say, an experience.
I'm safely nestled in Chaing Mai Thailand now. I'm going to be offline for about 10 days so don't worry if you don't hear from me. I'll be staring at the walls in a monestary doing a Vipassina retreat. Wish me luck, if all goes well, I won't come out of it maniacilly twittling my fingers in front of my face and talking to myself.
Compared to Laos, Thailand is so developed. Fast food restaurants, internet cafes everywhere, all the modern conveniences. Sometimes it feels like you're not really outside of the west here. The Thais are gracious and sweet people though. Thailand seems to be a good buffer to Laos and Combodia in terms of modernity.
That said, I do miss Laos greatly already. Its spirit is gentle and beautiful. It's an incredible country that visiting in, changes your view of the world.
As I looked at the photo, I wondered if this was the same animal that adorned the Buddhist temples throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Was this the mystical "naga", a giant serpent that guarded the gates of the spirit realm?
I went on a one day kayak trip along the Nam Khan river near Luang Prabang and asked Mai , our guide about the photo. Mai, like most Lao men was a monk as a boy (for five years) and knew all about the Naga. He knew of the photo, which is quite famous to the Lao, and affirmed that yes, indeed it was the mystical "naga" which occupies the deep cave waters of the Mekong river. Evidently all of the soldiers in the photo died shortly after killing the animal, and there have been different accounts of other such serpents being caught, killed, and eaten. The hunters all met unfortunate premature endings...hence the belief that to kill such a creature is absolute bad luck. Some Naga have been described as giant electric eels, others massive anaconda-like snakes with 12 noses. Whatever the case, that photo (which is nowhere on the web) exists, and is quite incredible. Let's just say I am a true believer of the great naga and wouldn't want to meet it in a dark cave while diving.
As we kayaked down the Nam Khan we noticed a giant butterfly flapping in the river. It's wings were the size of my hand and it was drowning. We paddled over to save it and Mai picked it up with his oar quite gracefully (which I was unable to do). Within a few minutes, its wings were dry and it flew away. "Good buddhists...we save it" Mai said.
Later along the river we saw a skipping fish, a small rainbow fish that jumps out of the water and flys along the surface, skipping for about 20 or 30 feet. It was quite amazing and bazaar!!!
All along the Mekong and Nam Khan, different tribal people live (Akah,Hmong,Karen are just a few), growing cucumbers, lettuce, bananas, and anything that will grow along the banks. Many of the tribes originate from China, Tibet and Mongolia. They have a very Tibetan look (and manner about them), hence the easy going nature of the region. Smiling and friendly, the people always wave as you float by, (alien- like in helmet, life vest and firey red sea kayak looking completely like a tourist).
So many people rely on the rivers for their livelihood and sustenance. Fishing and collecting river moss (mekong weed) to make a dried, nori like edible paper (that is quite delicious with tomatos and garlic) are the main activities of those who venture into the upper waters of the Nam Khan, away from town.
It becomes hard to believe that every village in Laos (with the exception of Luang Prabang because the Royal Family sided with the Americans) was bombed to oblivion. But considering Lao's lack of infrastructure it becomes apparent that the scars run deep. Like Cambodia, Laos is a forgotten country in America's war in Vietnam. Just about every villager had to live in a cave, or underground during the relentless bombings. It's strange how Vietnam, thirty years later) ended up in much better shape than these two countries. Cambodia and Laos really were collatoral damage nations that have been written out of the history books, but carry on, if by a limp. It makes you wonder of all the other countries who have been forgetten, unfortunate neighbors in a strategic war against communism, drugs, terrorism, or whatever the US felt like justified mass killing at that moment in history.
As we float away from the villages and closer to Luang Prabang, you see the effects of the market economy seeping in. The activities on the river changes. Illegal logging of teak is becoming a big economy for locals, as is dredging the river of sand to make cement. Their small fishing boats (about 15 inches in width and 15 feet long) sink with the weight of the sand. Every boat is just inches above the water as its owner desperately tries to scoop the water out to keep the vessel from sinking to the bottom. It is a tremendously powerful symbolic image of the third world's predicament. A simple wooden boat, sinking, taking the life of the river to a large catipillar truck near town, the boat owner barely keeping the vessel from catastrophically sinking to the bottom (effectively ending his livelihood). Everything seems to be hanging by a thread the closer you get to "civilization".
And with that "civilization" comes tourism. Every town you go to in this part of the world, it seems caters to tourists hand and foot due to the industry's economic importance. The most disturbing aspect of which is the prostitution. Everywhere I go I see older men with young southeast asian women. Some of these men I see in multiple towns, each town carrying a different woman on his arm. It's gross. These men are fat, ugly and usually in their 50's and above, the women look 19 (sometimes even younger?). Child prostitution is out of control particularly in Cambodia and Laos. The Thai have begun to crack down on it more. Money and poverty, West and East....it seems so easy to tip the scales and create an imbalance with such extremes (most of my rooms I have been in cost no more than $5 a night..hot shower ensuite and sometimes cable TV!). It's dead cheap here for westerners. But the locals also pay a price. This imbalance forces an economy of prostitutes, beggers, maids and drug lords into the economic mainstream where before such occupations were in the minority. From my naive eye, it seems that those who live upriver, away from the towns seem to have it better, but I am sure they have their hardships as well (lack of clean water and medical care being examples).
I left Luang Prabang and headed to the Thai border by taking a two day slow boat up the Mekong. The first day was alright as the boat had plush airline seats (made for tourists) and relatively little hassle. We arrived in Pakbeng, one of those towns that wouldn't exist if the two slow boats didn't stop and drop off the tourists at night on the way to and from Thailand. The town's entire economy revolved around guesthouses and making sandwiches for our next days journey. It seems like every man woman and child wanted to make me a ham sandwhich in that village.
The guesthouse I stayed in was basically a rat infested chicken coop (which a family of five also called home). None of the tourists (myself included) got sleep because of the scurrying rodents (it sounded like there were hundreds of them on the roof, in the walls, on the floor under your bed... and I had earplugs!).
The next day, our plush boat vanished (this time the locals got to take it up river...well deserved I might add) and we got to take the local boat. It was twice as small, and had seats that were basically two by four pieces of wood benches, with enough leg space for small Asian people, but not big fat corn fed westerners.
In the first thirty minutes, water began to pour onto the passengers from the engine room. The Japanese toursists screamed like they were in a Godzilla movie and I looked up to see a waterful coming at all of us. The driver ran back and put the cap back on (good thing it was just the cap that popped off). About 3 hours into the journey, the engine began to smoke and we had to pull the boat over. Luckily some villager children were standing along the banks and they grabbed a rope (tiny 5 and 6 year olds were saving us from helplessly floating down the Mekong).
An idiot American guy started taking pictures of the children while we were all convinced the boat was about to blow from an engine fire. Many tourists seem to be really disrespectful in this department. Hilltribe Lao believe that taking a photo steals your soul and they become really distressed over it. He didn't care, he was just snapping away, happy to add to his collection to show to his friends back in Oakland. We all wanted to throw him to the naga.
They got the boat going again (it just needed more oil evidently), but the driver had a really distressed look on his face throughout the rest of the journey. His wife sat up front with her baby daughter, she would occasionally go back to the engine room (which was also their living quarters) and make food, hang the laundry or just do general chores. Such instances of drama seemed to be second nature to them, it was like brushing one's teeth.
I knew the border crossing would close at 5:30, and the boat man (regardless of the mishaps) seemed to be making good time. At 4:30, he began to slow the boat down, and in the last leg, started doing huge zig zags across the river, from one side of the bank to the other. We didn't know why until we arrived...10 minutes after the border closed to Houxai. Yes, it was another town that existed solely because of tourists from the two slow boats! Of course, it became apparent that our driver probably got some kind of kick back from the local guesthouses and restaurants if he brought a boatload of 15 stranded rich westerners with time on their hands and money to spend. Yes, such is the ways of South East Asia. Kickbacks, bribes and dodgy business practices...money talks (even louder in poverty stricken nations I suppose). It would be so easy to get angry about this, but there is no point. Some folks on the boat lost it when they got off (I can't blame them) as we all walked 2 km in the dark to the nearest guest house. We had to make this treck because he dropped us off up river so we definately wouldn't make the checkpoint on time. It was, dare I say, an experience.
I'm safely nestled in Chaing Mai Thailand now. I'm going to be offline for about 10 days so don't worry if you don't hear from me. I'll be staring at the walls in a monestary doing a Vipassina retreat. Wish me luck, if all goes well, I won't come out of it maniacilly twittling my fingers in front of my face and talking to myself.
Compared to Laos, Thailand is so developed. Fast food restaurants, internet cafes everywhere, all the modern conveniences. Sometimes it feels like you're not really outside of the west here. The Thais are gracious and sweet people though. Thailand seems to be a good buffer to Laos and Combodia in terms of modernity.
That said, I do miss Laos greatly already. Its spirit is gentle and beautiful. It's an incredible country that visiting in, changes your view of the world.
posted by Mr. Sophie at 7:36 AM
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