03/10/03
After a bumpy 4 hr ride through the Nam Ha NBCA we arrived at our guest house in Vieng Phouka to find no-one there. We unloaded all the equipment (rafts, kayaks, tents etc.) and then had a quick bite to eat after that I went for a wander around the guest house but there wasn't a great deal to do apart from watch the river go by.
Events were livened up somewhat when the GH owner's children took a keen interest in the 2 kayaks that we had and once they'd been given the nod they dragged them down to the river to mess around. Soon all the kids were wanting a turn to jump off the kayak or to flip it over. I left 'em to it and caught up on some much needed sleep. I woke up at about 18:00 with our fellow explorers still absent.
We didn't have long to wait before they turned up and introductions were done; Mick the tour leader, Frank the camera man, Brian the kayaker and the civilians, John, Sandra and me. After an eventful evening meal of locust omelette and beer laos it was time to turn in and get ready for our first day on the water.
04/10/03
As Mick was inflating the raft and preparing all the gear, we were taken on a ride out to see some ancient ruins. It wasn't clear what the ruins were as a lot of detail was lost in translation, but it did give all of us a chance to practice leech removal; the sign of things to come!
When we returned to the guest house we were ready to go, but only the local governor had insisted that we take along an armed guard for protection from animals or bandits...(gumph!). After adding an AK-47 to our raft and receiving some tips and instructions from Mick we boarded our craft and were waved off by the bemused locals, laughing at all these falangs wearing yellow jackets and pink helmets..... we cruised down the river as there were no rapids this far up and we wouldn't hit them for a few more days, and after we'd drifted past another village of bemused locals, we were told that there'd be no more human encounters except with a few local fishermen.
Mick had done the very same trip 2 years earlier and there were no human inhabitants beyond this point and hopefully lots of wildlife. By about 16:00 we pulled onto the shore to take advantage of a fisherman's abandoned shelter and made camp for the night. After the tents were pitched we headed off into the jungle to pick a spot for the camera traps, but we found no where suitable and beat a hasty retreat after our armed guard was stung on the head by bees! Upon returning to camp, I removed my new collection of leeches, jumped in the river for a wash, applied tons of mossie repellant and settled for some food. After that a few of us sat on the river bank drinking whiskey before hitting the sack.
05/10/03
After breakfast and breaking camp we were back on the river and surprised to find another village so soon.
Our expert kayakers amused the local kids by giving them rides on the kayak and even letting them have a go themselves, and even the headman got in on the act much to the amusement of his villagers.
We loaded up with laos whiskey and carried on. Further downstream our way was blocked by a man made weir, built by the local fishermen and after they cleared the way for us to pass, we pulled into the bank and wandered back upstream to see what they'd caught.They gave us a massive fish, probably as pay off to stop us from telling the authorities, but that was tea sorted then.
By 15:00 we'd spotted what looked like a good place to set some camera traps and were pleased to find a drying out mud bath with a mixture of old and fresh tracks! The most likely owners were wild dogs, or even small cats, but no positive confirmation of the mighty tiger.
We made camp and followed a stream up into the jungle to set the traps. Upon return to camp it was the usual routine of leech removal, wash in the river, application of mossie repellant and then food, which tonight was going to be fish and chips at my request.
We spent another night of sitting on the river bank swigging whiskey,listening to the river and chatting before turning in.
06/10/03
Much excitement and speculation at breakfast as one of the camera traps had been activated! but hopes were dampened by the fact that a lot of pictures had been taken,and most animals would surely have been startled by the very first one. It was probably a malfunction or a bloody long snake.........
We hit our first major rapids today, which were great fun, but a 3-4m waterfall was not something that all of us could attempt,so apart from Mick and his assistant,Suk, and Brian, the rest of us watched as they tackled this drop and won out in style.I was gutted at not having been allowed to take part and jumping into the calmer water from a lesser height was some consolation, but this wannabe tough guy was soon gonna be tested.
We pitched camp just beyond the waterfall, but this was a small sandy bank, enclosed on both sides by high cliff faces with no opportunity to set the camera traps.
The drop in the river's elevation had begun and the rapids would become alot tougher and alot more frequent.
07/10/03
We didn't spend a great deal of time on the river today, because not longer after breaking camp we hit a point where it was impossible to carry on, either on the raft or by kayak.
The river had been squeezed into a narrow gorge and after shooting a few rapids we had to pull over and unload the equipment. The next section of the river was squeezed into one raging channel that dropped through a small hole in the rocks before it came bursting out on the other side. The noise and the power of the water was awesome.
Not quite so awesome was the ball-breaking task of carrying all the equipment along the other side of the steep bank to a safe point where we could re-enter the river. As this task was being carried out, Mick, Brian and Suk were preparing the raft to be passed over the river on a pulley system.
The whole process took about 4 hours and alot of effort and it was key that we pitched camp as soon as possible as it was getting late in the afternoon.
We re-loaded the raft and got back on the river, but the river still had a few grade 5 rapids left that we had to get past in order to find somewhere to camp. This is the moment when I thought my number was up.
I was at the front of the raft on the right hand side and shooting a powerful rapid we headed straight for a massive rock, which we hit side on. The force was enough to jolt me from the boat, and the recoil of the boat against the rock left a nice gap for me to go into the water. This is where it got really scary as I was under the boat with my right leg pinned between the boat and the rock. The guys on the boat eventually got it clear of the rock as I managed to drag my leg free and try and swim to the surface. I briefly rose to the surface with just enough time to gulp in some air,and water,before getting swept under again.I was sure that I wouldn't be coming back up, but after what seemed like an age, I was in the clamer water but still being carried downstream at a pace and forgot the rule about putting my feet up and straight out in front of me and cracked my shins against a submerged rock.
Brian was waiting in the calmer waters and told me to get a hold of his kayak and hang on. I couldn't feel my legs at first, but eventually I was taken into the side and barfed up a lung as well as a shit load of water. We set camp a bit further downstream and a very sub-dued shatner had a terrible nights sleep.
08/10/03
With more rapids ahead, I was very reluctant to get back in the raft, but with no other way home, I had no choice. The first rapid was the worst for me, but it wasn't a patch on yesterday's and confidence returned. By lunchtime we'd seen the worst of the rapids and could get back to wildlife spotting. The one thing that had been apparent from the off was the lack of birdlife and any sort of movement in the trees. Maybe we'd scared them away without knowing it or maybe they'd seen humans on a regular basis and so had moved away from the riverbanks.
As we sat having lunch on the riverbank, we heard voices and shouting from behind us, and after a few responses from our laos guides we were suddenly joined by 3 local villagers, except there shouldn't be a local village here! All 3 were dressed in traditional dress and each carried a knife and a home made gun. After gentle persuasion they agreed to let us accompany them back to their village. This was a risk on their part as no-one knew they were there and we could have been representatives of the laos government, but they agreed and we were soon in the heart of their village. These people had moved into Laos from the edge of the tibetan plateau and had been here over a year. The children certainly didn't know what to make of us and it was probable that the elders hadn't seen white men before. Pulling out a camera caused all the kids to scatter but eventually the village warmed to us and during a discussion told us that there were tiger tracks 2 hours away from their village and that they could take us if we wanted. It was disappointing to say no, but it was late in the afternoon and we had to set camp and keep on moving down the river. They would have allowed us to stay in the village I'm sure, but as exciting as this unexpected part of the trip would have been, we had to stick to the schedule.
09/10/03
We hit the Mekong by early afternoon and floated downstream on it's immense
current, occasionally having to break from catching a tan to get the boat
out of the way of the big Chinese cargo ships that were firing up and down.
By mid-afternoon we pulled in at a village who kindly agreed to let us stay,
and hey what do you know, they were celebrating the full moon that very
night and a party was on...........
The traditional drink is rice whiskey called Lao-Lao which is absolutely
horrible. I mean really, really bad. At first I was drinking it to be polite, but would really have preferred more beer-lao
but carried on drinking all the same. The villagers were friendly and welcoming and in a party mood. They served
us food, but the squawks of chickens and the squeals of pigs died down and it became obvious why when we were served up
dishes of fresh chicken and pork......
The festivities continued and I drank far, far too much and got
caught out when it came to the lao tradition of drinking songs. Mick told them all that I was gonna do a song.
My mind went blank. I know a thousand songs to sing (even though I can't sing for toffee) but they all
went under the pressure of the moment. Sing a Leeds drinking song, prompted Mick, so what
could I do but show my colours? I was mashed, under pressure and started up some Leeds United
chants, but they were done so badly that it left a lot of the Lao villagers
looking politely blank. I'm cringing at what I can remember of it.
Things got worse from there, and I can recall being handed a constant supply of whiskey while watching the villagers line-dance (!) to Laos dance beats. I can also remember suggesting to the village 'guard', whom I'd met earlier in the day, that perhaps I should look after his gun. This suggestion was declined in no uncertain terms. I can't remember falling off my chair and the villagers doing a 'pile-on' but I can remember Mick helping me home and then the delightful memory of being sick over the side of someone's balcony and biran very kindly washing the bits out of my beard....I blame my illness on the food.........
10/10/03
I have never felt so rough in all my days. The tricky task of getting down the steep muddy bank took everyone else no time, but took me a bout 15 minutes, much to their amusement. We loaded our belongings onto the boat that was taking us downstream, and just the rocking motion was enough to set me off again and I hurled bile over the side of the boat much to the amusement of everyone.
A seven hour boat ride is not what you need in such a fragile state, but that was the only option to get back to Huay Xai. That evening was the last time that we all ate together before we would head our seperate ways. The next morning we headed over the rive and into thailand. The rest of the guys were heading to Chiang rai, while I boarded the bus to Chiang Mai for the next part of my 'asian adventure'.
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