Friday March 1 Mekong River near Pakse, Laos

In addition to having our own air-condition controls, an advantage of the upper deck cabin is the breakfast area is right outside our door.  So we roll out of bed, put on some clothes, and head for breakfast. 


About the time breakfast starts, the boat pushes off from Khong Island and heads up the Mekong.  This area is called the Emerald Triangle, where Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet. 

Early morning fishing on the Mekong

About 9:00 in the morning we make a stop at Ban Deua Tia village.  This is a small Laotian fishing and farming village.  We are greeted by four young girls, the oldest of whom is holding a puppy. 

Greeting party at village



 

The puppy appears to be a pet as the Lao people don’t eat dogs.  We had been told earlier that the only people in the region who do eat dog are the Vietnamese.  We will be careful what we eat when we get back to Saigon.

On the short walk to the village, we pass a termite mound about 10 feet high. 

Termite mound

The people in the village are ‘Lao Lum’, or lowland people.  They are Buddhist, and generally have families of six to ten children. 

The huts here, as well as in other villages we have visited, are mostly wooden with thatch roofs.  They are on stilts, which one guide told us was to discourage snakes from getting up.  The other, more plausible explanation, is that the area under the hut is used for daytime activities, including work and play.  The upper portion contains the living and sleeping quarters.

Mango tree with lower portion of hut in background

 

The thatch roofs need replacement about every two years.  We see villagers making mats and thatch for the roofs. 

 

 Making mats

 

In addition to fishing, the villagers grow the food they eat.  Enough rice is grown to feed the villagers, with some left over to sell. 

Building for storing rice

 

The villagers also raise chickens and water buffalo to sell.  One of the aspirations of Lao farm people is to make enough money to buy a ‘petro buffalo’.  A petro buffalo is essentially a tractor and trailer to make farming easier. 



Petro Buffalo transporting children

 

There are lots of flowering and fruit trees in this fertile Mekong area.  The trees include banana, guava, egg fruit, mango, coconut, and several others. 

 Egg Fruit

 

Coconut

There is a tree with frangipanis, which is the Lao national flower.

 

Frangipanis (Lao national flower)

 

We also visit a school at this stop.  The French contingent from the boat presents the students with school supplies, as we had done earlier in the Hmong village.  We then watch as the students do their morning exercises.  The students are in uniform, and some are wearing red or blue scarves.  We are told the red scarves are for those with perfect grades, and the blue scarves are worn by students with very good grades.
 

Exercise session led by honor students

 

As we walk back to the boat, we observe a villager sitting in the upper level of a hut talking on his cell phone.  He must be making a stock trade. 

Villager on cell phone - maybe with his broker?

We walk past the village pharmacy, which appears to be well stocked.

Village Pharmacy

There is a hut along the way, with a garden plot nearby.

Garden spot in village

We also pass a petro buffalo loaded with supplies.
 

Loaded Petro Buffalo

 

Then there is the bamboo.

 Bamboo

 

We also see fish baskets drying out.

 

Fish baskets

 

On the shore, by the boat, there are wild flowers growing.

 

Wild flowers along the shore

 

Back at the boat, we have lunch as we continue the cruise.   Along the shore, there are water buffalo, with their egret friends.

Water Buffalo and egrets

In the water are two birds, which appear to be herons.

Herons?

After lunch, the boat crew demonstrates their skill at carving designs in various fruits.  They work quickly, and create beautiful pieces of temporary art.

  Boat crew carving fruit 

Finished product

Our afternoon stop is at the village of Huei Thamo, where the Oum Muong Temple is located.  The temple, built in the 9^th century, is Hindu.  Parts of the original temple remain, and have not been rebuilt. 

 

 Temple ruins

 

 Temple ruins

Temple ruins

 

At the site of the ruins, we also see a few interesting trees.  Our guide tells us one of them is the Camembert (Cheese) tree.  

 

 Camembert Tree

 

Camembert Tree with termite mound inside

 

Another one is a gum tree.  People burn the tree to get the gum.  At this site, people are not supposed to burn the trees, but there is evidence this rule is not exactly enforced.

 



 Gum Tree at temple site

There is also a Betel Nut tree.  Many Asians chew Betel Nut, which is a mild stimulant.  It stains the teeth red.

 

Betel Nut

  

In the village, there is a rice paddy.  This is one of the very few green ones we see on our trip during the dry season.  There is a spring feeding this paddy.  Most places we've been have only one rice crop a year, though there are some with up to three, depending on what varities of rice they grow.

 

Rice growing

 

We take a short jungle path back to our boat.   There are interesting sounds along the way, including cicadas, other unidentified insects, and birds.  We look for, but do not find, Dr. Livingston.  We are on the wrong continent.
 

Path back to boat

 

We watch another beautiful sunset on the Mekong. 

At dinner, our table partners are only our German friends. 

Werner and Regina, our German friends

The Swiss man from the evening before has apparently made peace with his protagonist.  We enjoy a multi-course meal before heading up to the nice air-conditioned cabin for a good night’s sleep.