About Stupa's, Reservoirs and School Improvement Projects

[Lone Rider]

About Stupa's, Reservoirs and School Improvement Projects

As usual at this time of the year, the air quality in Chiangmai was once again bad so it was time to give my lungs a little respite. I decided to head for Laos in the hope that the air would be a bit better than in Chiangmai. So, an early start and some sources of the bad air in the north of Thailand were visible everywhere in the mountains around Chiangmai

As I was planning to meet Mac of the Thai-Lao-Cambodia Brotherhood in Phonsavan to see the results of some of their school projects I took the same route I had taken on an earlier trip - from Vientiane first east on Rd 13S and then north to Mueang Bolikhan and Ban Phamuang on Rd 5101 to Thasi on Rd 1D. Rd. 5101 was still bad but at least the biggest potholes on the part from Phamuang to Thasi had been filled in so it was a relatively smooth ride. Somewhere along the road a big truck had broken down in the middle of the road and while there was enough space for me to pass the truck, the bigger trucks were less lucky and they were all waiting for the broken-down truck to be cleared away.

In December, when I was passing along the same road I had seen a sign for the Nam San (Nam Xan) 3A & 3B hydropower projects so this time I headed of to the north-east to have a look at the construction site. Still early days so there was not much to see yet other than the sign and a lot of earth moving, etc. The sign indicated that it was only 2.5 Km. to the site but that was to the project office and I had to travel another 14 km. to get to the project site.

The river is being diverted to enable the dam builders to get on with their job

Nice views to the east from where the dam will be constructed (at least that is what I assume where it will be)

Even though the construction has barely started, the loggers are already busy to get the logs out

Another Hydropower Project being planned for the Nam Chiane (Nam Chiang) River

After another longish ride I made it to Phonsavan where I stayed at the Dok Khoune hotel (my favourite place to stay, the Nice Guesthouse, was again fully booked). In the evening I met Mac and his friend who had arrived a day earlier from Xaysomboun via Long Chieng (LS-20a) and we discussed the plans for the next day. Three school improvement project funded by the TLCB were more or less completed and Mac, after inspecting the projects, would officially hand them over to the Education Department of Xienghhouang Province.

To be continued

 

[Lone Rider]

About Stupa's, Reservoirs and School Improvement Projects - Part 2

The next morning after picking up officials from the Education Department we set of for the first school of the day - the primary school in Ban Yodt Pair/Gnotphe which is located on Rd. 3910 (Mueang Phoukout to Mueang Viengthong on Rd 1C). After our visit to the school in December 2013, the TLCB decided that they would provide the funds to put in a concrete floor and repair/replace the roof of one of the school buildings. When we arrived the workers were still busy putting the new roofsheets on the building.

The other buildings could use a new roof as well

Mac is trying to convince the school people to get some more light into the class rooms - most schools in rural areas of Laos have no electricity and just a few small windows to let some light in so the class rooms are generally quite dark

In schools in other areas like in Xaysomboun they have now put a few transparent roofing sheets in the roof but in Xiengkhuang they claim that these transparent sheets will be damaged during hailstorms so they stick with galvanized roofing sheets

After the speeches, etc. it was time for a Baci-ceremony followed by a party with plenty of food, Lao Lao and Beer Lao. At the other 2 schools at Ban Lat Yai (concrete floor) and Ban Naxaithong (new toilets) the same thing happened but minus the Baci-ceremony and when we returned to Phonsavan none of us wanted to have dinner anymore. Sorry, no pictures of the parties, just some pictures of the kids at the three schools.

The next morning Mac and his friend had to return to Vientiane and I went my own way to look at touristic things and do some exploring around Phonsavan. One of my touristy destinations was the "Crater Field" (N19.57729 E103.31880 near Ban Khai on Rd 3901) followed by a trip to the Nam Khan river to check if there was a car ferry for a potential trip to Luang Prabang later that week.

Laos and the area around Phonsavan was heavily bombed during the Vietnam war - some info here: Watch the US Drop 2.5 Million Tons of Bombs on Laos | Mother Jones and the video show the location of nearly 600,000 bombing runs on Laos between 1964/5 and 1973.

From Ban Kay I followed dirt roads to the west but I must have taken somewhere a wrong turn as I ended up at Rd 7.

The remnants of an old Russian PT-76 amphibious tank (N19.54562 E103.08197) along Rd. 3910

On my way to the Nam Khan river crossing there is a 3-story concrete structure in the middle of nowhere (N19.64570 E103.10984 along Rd 3909) - not sure what it is but it may well be related to the "secret war" in Laos or more precise the L 109 airstrip which was located here.

The Nam Khan crossing at Ban Vangtong/Longhang and there is now indeed a car ferry to get to the other side of the river to Ban Pakvang and Rd. 2504 in Luang Prabang province

More to follow

 

[Lone Rider]

During my travels around Phonsavan I had noticed quite a few road improvement projects so I decided that I would follow the advice of the Lao National Tourism Administration to "stay another day". My first road to check up on was Rd. 3908 from Mueang Khoune to Mueang Moc. The last time I had travelled this road they had started upgrading the road so I just wanted to know how far they had gone. Unfortunately or maybe I should say "as usual" they had not come very far and it looked like the contractor had abandoned the project as at one point the pavement stopped with only one side of the road paved and another few hundred meters or so, the road had been improved and again a few kilometers later I found that very little improvements, if any, had been made.

Rd. 3908 started of nicely but later on it was back to the old gravel road - not bad but a bit bumpy and here and there potholed

Around the Mueang Khoun area as well as in other areas around Phonsavan you will see lots of rectangular sandy patches cut in the mountain slopes. Every year, beginning in August/September, migratory swallows/swifltlets (in Laos called Nok Aen), traveling from Russia and other northern areas, visit Xiengkhouang to bathe on dust platforms located on hill tops. The birds are caught with nets by people sitting in a small hut at the top end of the sandy patch. Once caught they are put in stone jars or other containers in order to ferment. Later they are prepared by either frying or cooking in a stew. The birds are best eaten whole - without the feathers of course. Certainly not my favourite food but when in season, the deepfried variety are served at every party.

At this moment you only see the places where the swiftlets are caught

So I returned to Mueang Khoun and went to have a look at one of the three hydropower projects the Chinese are building in Nam Ngiep River. Nam Ngiep 3 is a small project - see also: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-ride-reports/3673-laos-dams.html#post41743

The reservoir and the powerhouse

Back to playing the tourist as there are several stupas and a temple in Mueang Khoun worth a visit. Had been there before but from time to time I like to have another look and see if things have changed

Wat Phia Wat (N19.32800 E103.37010) survived somehow the heavy bombardment during the war although the temple did not get off without a scratch. This is how the temple looked before the war while the other pictures show how it is now

Nearby are That Foun (sometimes called That Chomsi) - N19.33480 E103.36746 and That Chomphet - N19.33523 E103.36515

That Foun as seen from That Chomphet

A bit further on you will reach That Chomphet. This stupa was heavily damaged by invaders as well as during the war but from here you have good views over Muang Khoun

The view over Muang Khoun from That Chomphet with the swallow/swiftlet catching sites on the hills in the background.

People like to come over here in the late afternoon and enjoy the views. The road in the background goes to the Nam Ngiep 3 hydro power project.

Some remnants of columns of another temple on the southside of Muang Khoun now used as fence posts

Still haven't been able to figure out the purpose of the old stone wall with brick archways south of Muang Khoun. Some sources suggest that the wall was built during the French colonial era.

From here you do have a good view over Muang Khoune and the two old stupa - That Found and That Chomphet

On to other touristic sites - the Jars but this time I went to Site 25 also known as the Songhak site (N19.62980 E103.09467) which is north-west of Phonsavan. Some big jars hiding between the trees

The danger of unexploded ordnance is everywhere in this part of Laos and here also safe path to the jar site have been set out by MAG

Not sure what these are but as they are just some 10 meters from the "safe path" I assume that the de-mining people have been removing some UXO here

Not far from Site 25 there is an old stupa on top of a small hill

Not sure how long this stupa will survive

Nearby the stupa there were two airfields: L-109 and L-110 during the war and there are several strange structures which may have had something to do with these airfields

Sorry, no coordinates for the above two structures as they are in a military area but the concrete structure shown below is at N19.64570 E103.10984 along Rd 3909

A bit further on, near Ban Nongtang or in the good old days called Muaeng Sui, there are a few more stupas and ancient temples but I could not visit all of them as from time to time there was heavy rain

This stupa is located in Ban Nong Kang at N19.56060 E102.91816

At least here one of the village elders approached me and asked if I would know an organization which could help them to restore the stupa as well as the ancient temple nearby in the village. Told him that I would ask around and see what I could do as this village put at least some "value" on their wat and stupa.

Closer to Nongtang you can have a look at That Ban Mang at N19.51434 E102.90376 and just across the road there is an ancient temple

The ancient temple

The temple got a new roof but I must admit that the old roof looked better (well the whole picture looks better but it was not taken by me but by Midnight Mapper so please note Copyright by LaosGPSMap).

from his post at http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/laos-ride-reports/1849-jungle-run-dams-tiger-road-2-a.html

More to follow - You can find more information on Wat Phiawat and the two stupas as well as other touristic things in Phonsavan at: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...on/2429-about-xiengkhouang-things-see-do.html

 

[Lone Rider]

So, after a few days in Phonsavan it was time to continue my trip to Luang Prabang. Cruising along Rd 7. I heard a strange noise coming from under the hood and found that the radiator cooling fan was wobbling like hell. As I had just passed through Phouvieng-Noi (about halfway between Phonsavan and the Phoukhoun junction) I went back and the first place I stopped asking where the local mechanic lived, I found I was at the right place and the guy indicated that the water-pump was the culprit and needed to be replaced. So a new water-pump was ordered which should arrive that same evening from Vientiane but it took a bit longer and only made it to Phouvieng sometime in the afternoon on the next day.

No problem, the mechanic and his family took good care of me and for the next 24 hours or so they fed me, made sure I had a place to sleep, shared Beer Lao with me, etc. But what to do in the mean time? Well my small friend living on the other side of the road was always looking for someone to play soccer with on the road but he could keep up longer with the game than me. So most of the time it was just sit and wait and watch the world go by.

I must admit that I was quite happy when the water-pump arrived and the guy got to work (must say professionally as he knew exactly where and when extra care was needed) and 2 hours later I was on my way. The next day it was again mapping day in and around Luang Prabang and as my background is in Renewable Energy, I like to visit some RE projects. Well, the first one, the Nam Ou 2 hydropower project was a bit of a problem as the Chinese guy, at the gate a few kilometers from the site, would not budge and let me have a look.

The resettlement area looks nice on the drawing but I guess that most of the people would have been more content to stay at or near there old place instead of being uprooted to an area where everyone lives in the same type of house and where farming will be difficult.

On the way back to Luang Prabang I noticed some nice new resorts popping up along the Nam Ou

The bypass around Luang Prabang is still far from ready but they are still working on it albeit slowly

Sunset in Luang Prabang and I am trying to catch the sun in the bottle

After updating the map in Luang Prabang I went on my way to Nan and home but with a few intermediary stops at a temple and another RE project - this time the Nam Khan 3 Hydropower project

The resettlement village with in the background on Rd. 13N a new hotel and coffee-shop with magnificent views

Road 4 from Luang Prabang to Xayaboury is now paved with the exception of a short stretch where there had been a landslide and another short stretch where they were busy putting the pavement on. It is now a high-speed road but it does not always end up well as this Chinese truck driver found when he twisted his truck a bit

The road cuts through the mountain just before reaching the new bridge at Pak Khone to Tha Deua

The old very Ferry Ramp without the normal hustle and bustle

A big new Buddha statue under construction on top of a hill near Xayaboury

If the sky is clear you probably have nice views over the country side from here

Lots of burning also along the road from Xayaboury to Hongsa

By the way, the road from Xayaboury to Hongsa is badly potholed so watch out as on-coming cars and bikes choose the for them best pieces of the road which might be the same as weher you are riding - had a few close calls but otherwise no problem as you can't drive fast on that road anymore.

 

[bsacbob]

Huge amount of work going on in that area Auke, those resettlement villages look like a real fun place to live but like most things in Laos the people have little say in what is going on. I can certainly vouch for the conditions of the road from Sayaburi to Hongsa a number of the corners are washed out and it's potluck on every corner.

Thanks for the updates.