Holiday Snaps - Day 4. Getting there and away

Champasack to Chiang Mai in 26 hours

So I was told it was easy. Easier than trying to work out flights and connections and other ways to travel.  I was told to have my bags packed by 6.30 as the staff were going across the water to the market and I could catch a ride.

Holiday snaps - Day 3. 4000 Islands and Irrawaddy Dolphins!

Holiday snaps - Day 2. Don Det

Don Det - Hammock Day

Running Like A Girl

Fifty, Fat and Fighting to Get Fit

Flitting into my head a few times after I arrived in Laos was the thought "now is a good time to run again".
 

Scooting the Loop - Thakek

An Adventure on Two Wheels

In November  '13 I had a conversation with a friend about doing the "Thakek Loop". A few friends had done it and it looked like fun. Four days on motorbikes scooting around the Laos countryside. What's not to love? We started planning.

Chao Anou - Hero

Looking across the Mekong towards Eastern Thailand, a giant statue of King Anouvong stands with one hand on his sword and other pointing across the river. Perhaps it’s a welcoming handshake but it looks like he is about to karate chop a block of concrete. Most Lao people I have asked think he is saying “that's mine, give it back”.

Mekong River: Fill 'er up!

The Mekong River - as yet undammed

This week I sat on a 5th floor balcony and gazed across the mighty Mekong River. I can only see a small bit of its 4000+ kilometres but what I see is pretty cool.

Wide brown waters

 



The Mekong starts on the Tibetan Plateau and cuts its way through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I have seen it in several of these countries. It's always brown. Sometimes it has boats. I've heard it can sometimes have dolphins in it too. There are usually people in it, fishing or washing. Often there are cute, laughing, playing, swimming, naked, shiny kids, too (or was that just in the travel brochures?)

 

I am watching it fill.

When we first arrived It looked a bit like this. Bare, sandy, grassy, not much water.

Grassy and sandy

Behind the dogs it's all just sand and grass, sand and grass

 

Back in May, we didn't know any better. We were still excited albeit slightly underwhelmed by the brown sliver. There were so many disappointments back in those days - the thin strip of brownish water representing one of the worlds mightiest rivers was just one of several slightly less-than-impressive experiences. (The green curry has also been sightly disappointing, but I digress).

 

 

 Martin and Clara - a little unimpressed, but it IS the Mekong! And we are here!

Over in the distance was the brown watery stuff with Thailand looking down on it. (Ah, those Thais! So superior!)

See the brown strip under the green strip?  That's all the water we could see, back in the day

Even as the June rain fell the puddles on our side of the riverbank were unimpressive and kind of useless. (No fish; no dolphins; no swimming; no good!)

Unimpressive puddles

 

Then we started to notice that the water was rising. Larger boats appeared on the other side. Some even had POLICE stickers. Border police? Water Rats?

 



Border police: stopping the boats

 

Admittedly its hard to observe water levels while jumping around with sweat in your eyes and pop music in your ears and aerobics moves to try to master, but the river had started to swell.

 

After days of rain and storms up north, we have a raging torrent. The grass is submerging. The puddles have joined up and I reckon they might even have fish in them now.

Submerging slowly

The banks are slowly being paved and built and riverside food stalls are a thing of the past. I vaguely recall a cocktail on the dirt riverbank a very long time ago. Maybe after all the concreting (if there are not pop-up aerobics classes taking up space) those riverbank cocktails might come back.

 

Paving and tiling and concreting and removing important cultural experiences like riverbank drinks.

Then again, perched on the fifth floor balcony of the Sengtawan Riverside Hotel, looking at this majestic view is certainly a fabulous replacement riverside drinks experience.
 

Riverside drinks, 2013 style

 

 And look at how much water there is now! Quietly flowing, moving massive amounts of water and various other things down south and out to sea. Now if only someone could harness that power! Oh. Oh yeah. Someone is. Dam.

 

Lots of water. Not yet dammed but possibly already damned.

 

Can't wait to see what happens next.

 

Aerobics Mekong Style

There's an inexpensive exercise option down beside the river in Vientiane: outdoor aerobics at sunset. Last night I went. It was fabulous.

And four and three and two and.. change!

 

These classes run from around 6pm every night on the open areas next to the Mekong River. The music is loud pop and mostly unfamiliar. The crowd is generally slim and fit and gorgeous. There are a few wobbly ones in there, but not many.

 

Popular or what?

I think that's a ninja up the back in the hoodie

 

After catching this spectacle a couple of times during our first weeks here, Clara, Martin and I braved the heat, the mossies and being laughed at and gave it a go.

 

The aerobics teacher was amazingly fit. He jumped and minced and pumped those hips and we all followed along. He didn't stop yelling and he hardly had to take a breath. He must be a real goer on the disco floor.

Pumpin' and stretchin'

 

I couldn't keep up with him. His instructions were in Lao and I had to copy the girls in front to work out what to do. As is usual with these things, I spent more time trying to coordinate my swings and kicks with everyone else than I did actually swinging and kicking.

 



Swingin' and kickin'

 

I knew I wasn't working hard enough when the mossies started to settle in and bite. Then I fell over. It was about then that I quit. We'd been going at it for over an hour. Enough!

Those lights on the other side of the river are in Thailand

 

A few stayers were still stretching and sweating as I took this last picture. The camera almost slipped from my sweaty palms. It was the coolest day I've experienced in Laos but I was sweating like the proverbial porker. My hair still wasn't dry an hour and a half later. I'd certainly earned that chicken curry.