Lone Rider
Blokes Who Can
Mapping Trip to the Hongsa and Xayaboury Area.
Plan was to update the Laos GPS map as many of the tracks in the Hongsa and Xayaboury area had been upgraded or would be upgraded soon. First stop was the Phra Thammacharik Hermitage near Ban Sop Puen on Rd 1080. Had seen the stupa many times but never stopped to have a closer look but, as the road was blocked due to the transport of heavy equipment for the Hongsa Power Plant, this was a good time
For as far as I know, the stupa was built under the auspices of the Thai government when they launched the Thammacharik Program with the goal of bringing the country's hill tribes into the mainstream of society. Monks were given training and the resources needed to go into remote areas to teach Buddhism. The reports on the progress of the Program make interesting reading. The monks' idea of spreading the Dhamma consisted, as one would expect, of teaching the tribes people how to bow to them properly, how to offer food in the right way and to chant the Metta Sutta for them. They didn't learn the language, they were not interested in making a long term commitment, they avoided hardship or inconvenience, they were not prepared to compromise on their rules and the locals were expected to change their norms to suit the monks, not the other way around. The Thammacharik Program was a failure as far as spreading Buddhism was concerned and was eventually abandoned. Christian missionaries soon moved in with their schools, basic health services and agricultural training programs etc. and today a large number of Thailand's hill tribes are Christian.
Source: The Broken Buddha. Critical reflections on Theravada and a Plea for a new Buddhism by S. Dhammika (http://www.buddhistische-gesellschaft-berlin.de/downloads/brokenbuddhanew.pdf)
Not sure what to make of it as there was no one around but it was clear that very recenty a party had been held as several empty boxes which had contained bottles of whiskey as well as beer bottles were lying around.
Transporting a transformer to the Hongsa Power Plant
Spent the night in Hongsa at the Jumbo Guesthouse and the next day went of with Monica from the Jumbo GH as she would like to see the same area I was interested in. Along the way we passed by the place with the baby elephant, which was born in February this year.
One of the upgraded roads to the south-west of Hongsa but the bridge somehow was forgotten
Village in the valley
Dam under construction for one of the reservoirs to supply water to the power plant
Rd 4A from Hongsa to Xayaboury
Ban Houayhip which has to mover higher up the mountain due to construction of the Xayaboury Dam
The new Mekong bridge at Thadua. The bridge was scheduled to open in May this year but it looks like it may take another year before everything is ready
Another resettlement village
Small waterfall along Rd 4 from xayaboury to Luang Prabang
The Mekong - the dam is supposed to be ready in 2019 and all these rocks will then be under water
New road and bridge being constructed along the east side of the Mekong
Ban Talan on the westside of the Mekong - this village needs to be partially resettled as it will be flooded by the Xayaboury reservoir
Another village which needs to be partly resettled
The Mekong river is one of the main sources of building sand to be used for the dam
Oops
and the reason for the Oops - going uphill, the load shifted and the guy suddenly found that he had only his rear-wheels on the ground and no control over where he was going. Actually, he was quite lucky as the rear-wheels dug into the soft soil otherwise he might have ended up in the Mekong
Fast flowing Mekong near the dam construction site
Better get all that wood out now before it disappears under water
All that is left of Ban Pakneun as the village has been demolished and its inhabitants resettled elsewhere
Nothing left of Ban Houayxouy as it had to make place for the construction camp
You need to time your travel along the old road which will be flooded in due time as up there on the left they are building the new road and rocks may come tumbling down
The waterlevel in the Mekong is still quite high as only the roofs of the shops and restaurants on one of the ferry landing sites are sticking out of the water on the other side of the river
Safety first
Busy at the ferry and Thongkhoon from Green Discovery was not happy that he had to pay the same for his bike as I had to pay for my truck to get to the other side
It is still a bit hazy in the mountains although quite a bit of rain had fallen
The dirt road to Luang Prabang had been upgraded - not sure how far they have gone though
Almost everywhere you looked there were new dirt roads either being constructed or being upgraded
Kids taking a bath in the mud puddles but their friends looked a bit skeptical
Plan was to update the Laos GPS map as many of the tracks in the Hongsa and Xayaboury area had been upgraded or would be upgraded soon. First stop was the Phra Thammacharik Hermitage near Ban Sop Puen on Rd 1080. Had seen the stupa many times but never stopped to have a closer look but, as the road was blocked due to the transport of heavy equipment for the Hongsa Power Plant, this was a good time
For as far as I know, the stupa was built under the auspices of the Thai government when they launched the Thammacharik Program with the goal of bringing the country's hill tribes into the mainstream of society. Monks were given training and the resources needed to go into remote areas to teach Buddhism. The reports on the progress of the Program make interesting reading. The monks' idea of spreading the Dhamma consisted, as one would expect, of teaching the tribes people how to bow to them properly, how to offer food in the right way and to chant the Metta Sutta for them. They didn't learn the language, they were not interested in making a long term commitment, they avoided hardship or inconvenience, they were not prepared to compromise on their rules and the locals were expected to change their norms to suit the monks, not the other way around. The Thammacharik Program was a failure as far as spreading Buddhism was concerned and was eventually abandoned. Christian missionaries soon moved in with their schools, basic health services and agricultural training programs etc. and today a large number of Thailand's hill tribes are Christian.
Source: The Broken Buddha. Critical reflections on Theravada and a Plea for a new Buddhism by S. Dhammika (http://www.buddhistische-gesellschaft-berlin.de/downloads/brokenbuddhanew.pdf)
Not sure what to make of it as there was no one around but it was clear that very recenty a party had been held as several empty boxes which had contained bottles of whiskey as well as beer bottles were lying around.
Transporting a transformer to the Hongsa Power Plant
Spent the night in Hongsa at the Jumbo Guesthouse and the next day went of with Monica from the Jumbo GH as she would like to see the same area I was interested in. Along the way we passed by the place with the baby elephant, which was born in February this year.
One of the upgraded roads to the south-west of Hongsa but the bridge somehow was forgotten
Village in the valley
Dam under construction for one of the reservoirs to supply water to the power plant
Rd 4A from Hongsa to Xayaboury
Ban Houayhip which has to mover higher up the mountain due to construction of the Xayaboury Dam
The new Mekong bridge at Thadua. The bridge was scheduled to open in May this year but it looks like it may take another year before everything is ready
Another resettlement village
Small waterfall along Rd 4 from xayaboury to Luang Prabang
The Mekong - the dam is supposed to be ready in 2019 and all these rocks will then be under water
New road and bridge being constructed along the east side of the Mekong
Ban Talan on the westside of the Mekong - this village needs to be partially resettled as it will be flooded by the Xayaboury reservoir
Another village which needs to be partly resettled
The Mekong river is one of the main sources of building sand to be used for the dam
Oops
and the reason for the Oops - going uphill, the load shifted and the guy suddenly found that he had only his rear-wheels on the ground and no control over where he was going. Actually, he was quite lucky as the rear-wheels dug into the soft soil otherwise he might have ended up in the Mekong
Fast flowing Mekong near the dam construction site
Better get all that wood out now before it disappears under water
All that is left of Ban Pakneun as the village has been demolished and its inhabitants resettled elsewhere
Nothing left of Ban Houayxouy as it had to make place for the construction camp
You need to time your travel along the old road which will be flooded in due time as up there on the left they are building the new road and rocks may come tumbling down
The waterlevel in the Mekong is still quite high as only the roofs of the shops and restaurants on one of the ferry landing sites are sticking out of the water on the other side of the river
Safety first
Busy at the ferry and Thongkhoon from Green Discovery was not happy that he had to pay the same for his bike as I had to pay for my truck to get to the other side
It is still a bit hazy in the mountains although quite a bit of rain had fallen
The dirt road to Luang Prabang had been upgraded - not sure how far they have gone though
Almost everywhere you looked there were new dirt roads either being constructed or being upgraded
Kids taking a bath in the mud puddles but their friends looked a bit skeptical
