Laos (Part 1)

After a domestic flight connection on Thai Airways from Bankok to Udon Thani we board a Korean built van and head toward the Thai border with Laos. At this point, the mighty Mekong river is an international boundary and appears impressive in spite of the current dry season. We cross the border without incident after filling out the Thai departure forms and Laotian arrival forms on the respective sides of the border and pay the entry fees. Having Mark P to lead us is a tremendous help as he knows all the entry procedures well and can speak Thai which is phonetically similar to the Lao language.

We drive from the border through the outskirts of Vientiane directly to Savannakhet in central Laos – a long journey that will take a further 8 hours. We were able to see a little of the somewhat impoverished interior as well as the rapid development of some urban centres and we finally arrive at around 11pm. Savannakhet seems like an outback town with no high rises buildings; the government administrative buildings being among the newest and most impressive. But even here in the rural towns one can easily find internet access for the equivalent of around RM3 an hour.

The MOU is finally signed in the afternoon of the second day after waiting most of the morning in a government building for the Laotian provincial government officials to arrive only to have them ask for more time to study the translation of the document. It looks like the Wawasan GMR (Greater Mekong Region) will eventually have to get properly started on the proposed feasibility study (what the MOU was for) which I think is still in a state of gestation.


After the signing ceremony we travel more than 2 hours east from Savanna-khet in the direction of the Vietnamese border and would like to take a look at the proposed project area to see what the terrain and ground cover is like but there are no roads into the area.




The closest we can get is by using footpaths from a village near where the project area is supposed to be. We walk in a short way on desiccated grass in dry rice fields passing several clumps of Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) only to find a broken water-gate beside a small reservoir (supplying the general area).


Most likely as a result of un-controlled discharge through the broken water-gate, the water level in the reservoir is very low.






A little down the path we observe that the inlet of an irrigation water-gate meant to channel water from the reservoir to adjacent fields is completely dry because of the low level of water.











Life for people in the 5 local villages seems hard. It is not hard to notice that the people often look somewhat like Malays or Chinese.






On our return to Savannakhet, we have a light meal at an esplanade beside the Mekong river. As it is past 8:30pm and already dark, we can see the lights from the Thai town of Mukdahan on the opposite bank. The roasted beef, chicken patties and grilled squid are delicious as are the ice blended sapodilla (chiku) drinks that are like smoothies. I am surprised at the carefree abandon to which we are consuming street food and iced drinks in a rural Laotian town.

We are later told that Mukdahan is a much larger and better developed town and a new bridge connecting the two riverside towns is under construction and is expected to be ready some time in 2007.

Sipadan revisited

After an absence of about 2 years, I finally got to visit Sipadan again in late February 2006, this time with my good friends Kong-Yoon, Yvonne, Michelle and Jens. It is pleasing to note that all the former shanty resorts had been moved off the island since the previous year. The only residents on the island now are the employees of various Malaysian government agencies including the military forces. Whilst brief landings are allowed for visitors who pay a fee of RM40 per person, this is mostly for a toilet break because we are not allowed to walk more than a few metres from the landing area. We are disappointed that walking around the island or exploring the central patch of rainforest (as we had done in previous years) and picnics on the other beaches is not allowed now. This dashes my hopes of seeing once more the black megapodes I had spotted at the forest fringe some years back.

Having made very good dives off Mabul island the previous day during which we saw a number of turtles (some resting on the reef) and prolific numbers of reef fish species of every hue, we look forward to seeing pelagic species and sharks. Two dives are planned at White Tip avenue in the north-east and the Hanging Gardens to the south of island. The first dive finds us cruising the magnificent wall resplendent with fan coral, gorgonians, anemones, sponges and various hard and soft coral varieties that are mostly in good condition to our left; we keep gazing into the deep blue hoping to meet something large cruising within sight from the opposite direction. Visibility today is moderate for Sipadan at around 35 metres and the first half hour would have been rather uneventful if not for some large bump head parrot fish and green turtles and maybe a hawksbill but as we head toward the 5 metre safety stop, we spot a nearly 2 metre long White Tip reef shark on a ledge beside hard coral formations.


The second dive is more exciting with two white tips cruising past just after entry. The unusual daytime sighting of a pair of maori wrasse (the exotic and expensive “sou mei” in Chinese or in scientific nomenclature Cheilinus undulatus) is most welcome as this suggests that the area is adequately protected. Midway through the dive we see a Gray shark swimming from the opposite direction. This curious creature circles around and comes to visit us again within a few minutes prompting the Dutch girl Joyce diving with us to think she saw two separate Grays. The highlight of the dive is actually toward its end when the legendary shoal of Chevron barracuda make their appearance and even allow some of us to drift slowly into them. The shoal estimated at over 300 needle shaped fish each measuring about a metre long is impressive but we remember days when they came in groups of over a thousand fish with wicked looking teeth. As I carefully fin through this beautiful shoal of silver, it brings back fond memories of dives made around a decade ago off the nearby Barracuda point when large shoals were seen at practically every dive made there then.

It is just too soon when we have to leave Sipadan and head back to Mabul island where we are rather comfortably accommodated. Food served at all meals is very good here and seems to have actually improved from what I remember of previous stays here at the Sipadan Mabul Resort. The resort has expanded with the addition of very charming bungalows "on the water" to the north-eastern corner of the island. This new addition seems rather posh and is probably quite expensive. A walk around Mabul island reveals that whilst the Suluk and Bajau villages have not changed much, large chunks of formerly undeveloped land have either been developed or cleared and fenced off for future development. Borneo Divers have moved here but the resort does not look very inviting with the gardens in an immature state. The beaches near the resorts are much cleaner now with dedicated teams of local villagers employed to cart away rubbish. More than half of the population of the traditional villages seem to comprised of children below the age of 12. Well, it has been a wonderful couple of days spent here with good friends and I do look forward to when we can come back again.