Boat services suspended as level of Mekong plunges
by Bob on Mar.04, 2010, under Indochine, Laos
Having just returned from Laos, it was obvious that all water levels are low. The Nam Song we kayak on was low; Lake Nam Ngum, which is a big body of water, was low and the Nam Lik outside of Vangvieng was unboatable.
Now there are reports that the might Mekong, is at 20 year lows, and apparently no longer navigable.
Although tourist inconvenience is the the least of the problems caused by low water conditions, anyone looking to travel between Chaing Khong, Pak Beng and Luang Prabang should be consulting the internet and reports of whether boats are making it. At a minimum, be prepared to spend an overnight on a beach somewhere in case the boat gets grounded or can’t make it.
It was only a year ago that the Mekong was over its banks. Currently there are massive works in Vientiane to build a containing breakwater. Things can change fast on the river.
There are always reports that China’s mgmt of the river upstream is to blame, but it seems the current condition is simply lack of rain. It rained only once (overnight in Muong Khua) on our recent two weeks in Laos.
Boat services suspended as level of Mekong plunges.
Indochine Feb 27
by Bob on Mar.01, 2010, under Feb 10, 2010, Indochine
The participants in this year’s Tour d’ Indochine:
Barb M. from Wash DC
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L to R: Gwyn (from Ottawa Canada), Federica (from Italy) and Paolo (from Italy)
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Doug M from Canon City CO
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L- Maryvonne M (Canon City CO); R- Mr. Ken (Odomxai, Laos)
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Graeme (Austrailia)
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L - Chantal B (Arlngton,VA) R-Bob Bloomfield (MD)
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Jim W (VA) on his Bike Friday
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Elaine W (VA)
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L - Jeff T R- Jenny W (from Jersey City, NJ)
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Robin M (Arlington VA)
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Mr. Daolit
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Mr Thune (Odomxai, Laos
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L to R: Fede, Robin and the fabulous MS MAY!!!!
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Me....Bob
Thanks again to each of you who made it a fun tour. It’s never really been about the biking (of which there is alsays plenty).,. It’s all about the people.
Chantal and I head home from BKK tomorrow. So does Graeme, who is in BKK also.
Best,
Bob
Indochine Feb 26
by Bob on Feb.28, 2010, under Feb 10, 2010, Indochine
Today we bring it all home. Everyone has made it this far and you don’t want anything bad to happen on the last day. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty that happens on this final day of riding on the tour.
On the tours, we always do something to help a school along the way. We all pitched in this time to buy some books from Big Brother Mouse. Big Brother Mouse publishes books for children. Books are hard to come by in Laos and many kids never have hardly any books to read. We picked out school along the way to stop and drop them off. We never really know what to expect in doing this. We don’t plan it so the school never knows in advance.
I send our local guide out up front to make sure the school knows we are coming…maybe 15 minutes ahead of time.
That was apparently plenty of time, since the whole school of a 150 kids or so were in the schoolyard waiting for us.
I make a little speech and so does someone from the school. The highlight though was that Jim W. offered to teach the kids a song. ….”Old McDonald had a Farm”. This was a big hit. Apparently, ‘oink, oink” works in any language.
We had the usual lunch on the floating boats at Tha Ngon. All 17 of us went…..bikers and the Lao support crew. We had Shrimp tempura, lao salad, chicken with ginger and mixed veggies. We also had Beerlao and Jim bought a couple bottles of wine.
It’s only 25 k after lunch. Some folks took the van in and others rode the final distance. The biking in the last 25k is really not much. It’s always crowded, hot and chaotic. We all made it though.
Doug Mack gave his bike to Mr. Daolit, our Lao guide. Maryvonne Mack gave her bike to Mr. Thune, our driver. Ms. May, Mr Daolit and Mr Thune all did a great job.
I’d like to thank everyone who came on the tour. It was a great group. I will get everyone’s pic up in the next day or two. We have two nights in Vientiane at the lovely Intercity on the banks of the Mekong. I’’s a recovery of sorts. This is not an easy ride.
Best,
Bob
Some of the kids at the school where we donated books....
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The School where we stopped....
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Despite having only 15 minutes advanced notice, the entire school turns out. It was great that we had Italy, Canada, France and the US represented among us.
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Jim Wilson teaching the kids "Old McDonald". He had them going!!!! Us too!
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The assembled kids. They stood like this for about 1/2 hour.
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Chantal greeting the kids.
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A couple kids at the school.
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On the floating boat. For some, this was the end of the riding.....
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Shrimp tempura, Lao salad, mixed vegetables and ginger chicken.....and some Beerlaos.
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Doug and maryvonne Mack gave their bikes to Mr. Daolit and Mr, Thune. Nope, they are not hanging up their biking shoes (although they gave them away with the bikes). They simply have better bikes at home and thought they'd be better used with Daolit and Thune. That was very nice of them.
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The Old Burmese Stupa in Vientiane. The end of a tour is always bittersweet. Yeah, there is relief that the challenges are over, but sadness that the adventure ihas come to an end. This is not an easy tour, but that really is the attraction. You suffer through the hard spots, you take pleasure in the beauty, you meet a lot of great people and in the end perhaps understand the world a little bit better and yourself as well.
