With the TLCB to Laos - December 2014

[Lone Rider]

With the TLCB to Laos

After the rainy season was over it was time for Mac of the TLCB to organize another trip to Laos to check up on progress of the projects the TLCB supports in Laos and I was again invited to join in this trip. So on Sunday 7 December we all met up at the Friendship Bridge at Vientiane to set of for the trip and our over-night stop at Long Chien. Here the TLCB supported the improvement of the dormitory for students who attend school in Long Chien but who live to far away to commute every day to their home.

On the Lao side at the bridge new offices have been constructed for the customs people as well as insurance and freight forwarding agencies.

The usual trip from Vientiane to Pak Ngum for lunch and then onwards to Long Chien via Thabok. We took a small detour by taking the old road to the Nam Leuk Power House and from there eastwards to Longsan and on to the Phou Bia Mine and Namgnon where we had a brief stop at the market before heading north to Long Chien.

The Namngon market at the junction (N18.88159 E102.90106) where you head north for Long Chien. South-East goes to the Phu Bia mine and Xaysomboun while west brings you the ferry landing to cross the Nam Ngum 2 reservoir.

This time again we took the shortcut/by-pass (sharp turn down east at N18.91648 E102.89396) via the Phu Kham mine as the regular road is quite bad.

Long Chien has been upgraded to a District and it looks like that this will make it a bit easier to travel there without the need for permits, etc.

Upgrading the road to Long Chien

Getting closer to Long Chien but not yet there

The bridge over the Nam Phar at Ban Namphar

Heading down into the Long Chien valley

The old runway with the ramp area

Getting ready to go to school

The dormitory for students and teachers at the Long Chien school and additional "cottages" built by the students so they have their own place to sleep (N19.11295 E102.91269)

View from the Skyline Ridge

The Xamthong school (N19.18168 E102.88922_, one of the class rooms and the only remnant from the time this was LS20 - the chimney of the old fireplace for the Lodge (N19.18196 E102.88914)

The road at Tha Tham Blueng (N19.20470 E102.97730 - the former runway of LS 72) and Ban Nam Chien both on the way from Long Chien and Xamthong to Phonsavan

The remains of a PT-76 amphibious tank (N19.32472 E103.14362) used by the NVA during the war

Almost all of the pictures were provided and are copyright by Chris aka Steve Canyon

To be continued

 

[bsacbob]

Thanks for the information Auke, great news that the roads in the area are being upgraded, so as you say let's hope it becomes more accessible to would be riders. The area is surely one of the most interesting in terms of wartime historical significance and mystery.

 

[Lone Rider]

Part 2: Once in Phonsavan the work started with meetings with people from the Education Department of Xiengkhuang Province as well as visits to schools which were being supported by the TLCB and schools which had requested assistance. Just some random pictures of the schools, the students, parents, teachers and village officials. The school in Ban Lat Yai (Mixai) had been supported before with a new roof but during one of the storms, part of the roff had been ripped of so the TLCB decide to provide the funds for the repairs as otherwise the students woul have to sit in the open.

The building with the repaired roof

The students during their morning break trying to keep warm

A toilet with a view. The whole school with 600+ students and teachers has only 2 toilets so there is need to build some additional toilet facilities

The meeting with the official transfer of the new roof to the school - speeches and a baci ceremony and lots of food and drinks

During the baci ceremony the people tie "sacred" threads around your wrists and during that process you are supposed to sit there with an egg and a glass "Lao-lao" (locally brewed alcohol which often tastes horrible) in your hands

Most of the times you better don't ask what the food is - in this case it is raw blood with herbs

The beer and Lao-Lao keeps flowing and when the party is over there is still plenty of the stuff at home

Another school (this time a kindergarten at Ban Viangthong) and more of the same

Back to Phonsavan and another school at Ban Naxala

The bare hills of Phonsavan - during the war plenty of defoliants were used and now some 40-50 years later still very little can grow on these hills.

The welcoming committee at Ban Naxala

The school building here will get a new roof and a concrete floor

Visiting a friend in Ban Yodt Pair - plenty of warscrap around here - a "dispenser for the bombies (tiny but potentially lethal bombs resembling balls) but now used as a barbeque

and ofcourse also plenty of beer and Lao-Lao

One of the TLCB team members on this trip had not been back to this area since the early seventees (some 50 years ago) so we visited some of the touristic sites around Phonsavan

The old hospital (N19.33034 E103.36822) in Muang Khoun or rather what was left of it after the bombardments and the sign showing "To the hospital is old in the war"

That Foun (N19.33480 E103.36746) north of the town

An old gate (N19.32907 E103.36161) and part of a city wall south-west of the town probably from the time the French ruled Laos but this has not yet been conformed

The remnants of Wat Phia Wat (N19.32810 E103.37001). Basically Muang Khoune was the capital of Xiengkhuang Province but it was more or less obliterated during the war. After that it was decided to abandon the city and build a new provincial capital about 30 km to the northwest called Phonsavan.

After the touristic part it was back to "work" with a visit to the last school to be visited during this trip. For me this was in a way the highlight of the trip as at this school the parents decided to provide new material for the walls and doors and basically construct the new school building with their own labour instead of upgrading the old school

The old school and the Kindergarten for which TLCB provided funds for a new roof, a concrete floor and new furniture for the children

The new school school building taking shape with the parents busy to cast the concrete for the floor

The new furniture to be used in the new school building

And yes, the situation is a bit different here than in our countries as here the teacher can bring her small child to school to take care of it

Here also a baci and party at the end of the trip with the food being brought in by a small tractor with the help of a few parents as the tractor was not strong enough to get up the hill. Besides beer and Lao-Lao they served also Lao-Hai which is a kind of rice wine which is drunk from large communal earthenware pot (called the hai) through long bamboo straws.

Most of the pictures were provided by Chris and a few by myself

 

[bsacbob]

Great stuff Auke, thanks also for the GPS co-ords.

Interesting bamboo re-bar being used on the floors.

 

[mactbkk]

Lone Rider, you're faster on the trip photos than I am!! Thanks, will pass on the url for this thread to the TLCB.

FYI, a cautionary note for potential visitors to Long Tieng. Yes, things are loosening up as far as access is concerned, and next year is supposed to be: Visit Xaysomboun 2015 Year. But, I'd suggest being circumspect as far as taking photos in the valley is concerned, don't take any of the Lao Army camp across the runway, same with the "ramp" area partially hidden behind the karst there at the NE corner below Skyline Ridge. Would also skip driving up to the former "King's House" on the west side unless you obtain specific permission to do so.

And a note for Lone Rider re the Lao home brew whiskey. It's "lao Lao," as in Thai, that adjective comes after the noun. Lao-Lao - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mac

 

[Lone Rider]

Thanks Mac - never to old to learn new things so in the future it will be lao (low tone) - Lao (rising tone). Yes, don't even try to ride to the Kings house nor enter the gate to VP's house (or stand in front and take pictures) as both are used by the military and they are not too happy with attention.

 

[2wheels]

A wonderful insight; thanks Auke.

 

[Lone Rider]

Another write up of this trip prepared by a good friend who joined the TLCB on this trip to Laos. His report can be found here: Motorcycle: Long Cheng LS-20A With The TLCB.

 

[heilong]

Very interesting pictures, Auke!