LAST STORMS – BOAT RACING FESTIVAL – LAO OCEAN CYCLE – EARLY CHRISTMAS - MANAGEMENT PLANNING – ACROSS LAO CYCLE PT 1 – GOODBYE MOM.
Last storms of the season
last of the rain season storms, dramatic and ferocious, hit the country causing some serious flooding down south in the province of Savanakhet. Between these storms, the annual rice harvest is in full swing all over the country.
Approaching storm on the Vientiane waterfront.
Boun Ok Phansa / Boat racing festival
A subdued and largely reduced, (due to COVID restrictions) annual boat racing festival took place in Vientiane immediately after the last day of the Buddhist lent period. Along with all the people from our village, we got to place our small boat float of flowers, candles and offerings into the Mekong river. The ceremony represents a blessing to the Mekong river for all the gifts it provides villages, towns and cities along its route to the ocean. A primary source of fishing, transportation recreation and refuse removal, but now increasingly under threat due to the many dams built within its catchment areas and on the river itself, higher up in China.
Our river blessing float about to be let loose in the Mekong River.
Lao ocean cycle
To make the most of the long weekend this month, I decided on a 3-day circular cycle trip from Vientiane via the “Lao Ocean” which is the Nam Ngum dam. My original plan was to cycle to the dam, take the ferry over to the other side and continue around and over Phou Khao Khouay national park and back to Vientiane. When I arrived at the village on the other side, however, I was immediately blown away by the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the place. This was truly a paradise, one of the most beautiful, laid back places I have come across in Laos. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the next morning, so instead, I cycled around the village coastal areas, exploring the small bays, fishing jetties and villages. The children especially appeared to be thriving in the freedom and beauty of the place, diving off the wooden river boats, fishing and generally enjoying life on the “ocean shores. Huge mountains arise from either end of the horizon, adding yet another dimension of beauty to this place. It was difficult to leave when the time came, the local ferry loosely at anchor just below the window of my guest house. As with many of these experiences I have enjoyed in Laos over the years, I was the only foreigner.
Nam Ngum dam
Early Christmas
With some opening of international freight services, I received a number of very welcome packages, some of which I had ordered in March, before COVID lockdowns earlier in the year. My sister sent me my driver’s license, wrapped with Cape Union Mart clothes and cycling shorts for my trip across Laos, and a colleague brought in with her from Canada, a batch of film stock I ordered. This was followed a few day later by the arrival of the original batch of film stock I had given up on which I had ordered from China in March! In addition, 2 classic film cameras ordered through e-bay, arrived from Japan after a 5-month delay in Singapore.
Film stock from China arriving just after a back up stock from Canada.
NEPL Management plan consultations
I had time for one quick trip up to the Nam Et Plou Ploy National Park (NEPL) before starting on my Lao country crossing cycle. I have been trying to take my annual leave for a few months now, but each time, someone on the program has something so important, that I need to postpone my leave. In this case, it’s to participate in the NEPL management plan consultation process, which is an important task. I can feel I need a break, its been non-stop from before COVID, and I feel stale and unproductive.
Some of the NEPL technical team during a draft management plan review process.
Lao country crossing cycle
I have always wanted to cycle across Laos and with COVID international travel restrictions still in force, this was the ideal time. After a few days at home, catching up with a backlog of work and digging from next month’s pile, I was finally able to turn this idea into reality. My trip started on the 21st with an internal flight to Luang Namtha and a short cycle up to the Lao Border with China at Boten, a crazy casino city. I then basically headed SE across Lao on my Mercer steel framed custom cross bike, Southern Cross” By the end of the month I had travelled 846km’s from the border to Muang Mo in the central area of Laos, with body and bike still very much intact. The journey continues into November.
On the road near Oudomxay
Farewell Mom
On the 19th my mom passed away quite peacefully with my siter Ellen at her side. She was doing ok only a few weeks before, but then she had a small accident in her room and broke her hip. The operation seamed to go ok, but soon after, infection set in and she slid into her final days with us. Although not entirely what she had in mind, even before the accident, mom had come to terms with the fact that she was nearing the end of her life, even embracing it, saying that she was ready to move on and go to be with dad. Always a mom, ever content, consistently considerate. I'm happy she went peacefully, but I regret that I didn’t get the opportunity to visit her in Cape Town just once more time, to take her out for tea, have fish and chips at Kalkbay harbor and have her spend time with Mina.
Not only did she give me life, she taught me how to live.
Goodbye Mom.
Mom during my previous visit to Cape Town during 2019